Standardisation
The further commercialisation of materials and technologies based on graphene and related materials, as well as the establishment of robust, underlying value networks, remain a challenge. Industry has identified that the lack of standardised materials, processes and characterisation methods are important factors that slow down innovation in the field.
The Graphene Flagship Standardisation Committee seeks to overcome this challenge.
Why standardise graphene and related materials?
We can illustrate the issue by posing two important questions.
Firstly, which of the properties of graphene, or a related layered material, do I need to know and control in order to reliably achieve the desired function in my application? And secondly, which supplier can guarantee that their raw material meets my specifications in every single batch of production?
The first question is often surprisingly hard to answer. For example, in the case of polymer composites where graphene is used as a filler, factors like flake size, surface functionalisation, lattice defects, aggregation behaviour, the method of material processing and many more have a decisive impact on the performance of the composite.
Additionally, finding a supplier who can meet all these specifications can also be a challenge. Standardisation lays the basis for solving these issues: it will help us to enable better quality control, improve reliability and establish more trust in our communities. Furthermore, standardising graphene and layered materials will lower the barrier to entry for innovation, commercialisation and industrialisation in the field.
Our Mission
Our work on standards in the field of graphene and layered materials focuses on:
· Characterisation methods
· Sample preparation
· Data analysis
· Classification
We are involved the different standardisation committees (ISO, IEC, CEN) and in the OECD expert working group on graphene family materials. Our activities include the morphological, structural, chemical characterisation of graphene related and other 2D materials and the measurement of different properties (e.g. electrical, optical).
Within accompanying EU projects interlaboratory comparisons and round-robin tests are being conducted under the umbrella of VAMAS, and new methods are being developed.
Different training sessions about standardisation and validation are being performed to enhance the knowledge about the reliable characterisation of graphene and other 2 D materials (and beyond them).