Story highlights
- Israeli University test Zenyatta graphite for graphene applocations
- Tested for dispersion and application for composite property enhancement on drug delivery and hydrogen storage devices
(2D Materials Magazine)- Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. has announced that the company has received positive results related to the characteristics of the Albany graphite from testing at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (“BGU”), Israel. BGU has identified properties of Zenyatta’s Albany graphite that show positive attributes for use in multiple graphene applications.
Dr. Oren Regev, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at BGU, stated “Zenyatta’s purified graphite material was tested by our R&D team on dispersion and application for composite property enhancement on drug delivery and hydrogen storage devices. BGU regularly uses various types of commercially available natural flake graphite but found Albany graphite to exfoliate under sonication much easier and with higher yields of graphene nano-particles than any other natural graphite types that we have tried. Sonication is a highly effective process using sound energy to agitate the graphene layers for separation. The Zenyatta graphite appears to be composed of smaller and cleaner particles with a narrower particle size distribution. We believe that this is a high value special material with unique characteristics that could make Albany graphite the preferred material for conversion to valuable graphene applications.”
The BGU research group focuses on carbon nanotubes and graphene product derivatives for new applications. The Advanced Technologies Park (ATP), adjacent to BGU is home to many multi-national high-tech companies, such as EMC, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, and Deutsche Telekom, which are leveraging the R&D expertise of BGU mainly through B. G. Negev Technologies and Applications Ltd. (“BGN”). BGN is the technology transfer and commercialization company for development of university technologies with industry partners.
Dr. Regev further stated, “Thermogravimetric Analysis (‘TGA’) by BGU on Zenyatta material found it to be completely different from any other natural graphite flake products studied so far in our lab. As a matter of fact, it is the same order of magnitude as commercially available Graphene Nano Platelets (GnP) derived from more expensive sources. These ideal properties probably stem from the unique geological process by which the Albany graphite deposit was formed.”
Zenyatta and BGU (through BGN) have identified funding support opportunities and are presently in discussions with governments and private corporations to secure these arrangements for scaling up our collaboration. Additionally, BGN is in discussions with a commercial partner in Israel that will collaborate with them on the research and development of graphene products from Albany graphite in a specific application that will be discussed in future news releases. BGN believes the project will also identify other methods and uses for commercially viable graphene products from Zenyatta’s Albany graphite deposit.
Dr. Bharat Chahar, VP of Market Development for Zenyatta stated, “The Company is excited with these results and is very pleased to learn that BGU has expressed a strong interest in the potential of our material. It provides further evidence of the suitability of this unique material for many applications. Zenyatta is convinced of the importance of this new and superior (graphene) material and recognizes the $billions spent globally on R&D by large corporations and academics. It is important for Zenyatta to play an active role in R&D related to graphene research but at this point it will supply limited resources and Albany graphite samples to research facilities and receive results in return. We still believe that graphene requires technological development before the world sees large scale commercial viability but are delighted to play a prominent part in the advancement of a new innovative material.”
