Saint Jean Carbon Inc. has completed an initial phase of research and development (R&D) work on the development of superconducting graphene, as part of a NSERC grant (National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada). The research has produced graphene that may possess magnetic properties for superconducting applications. Potential end use applications are in high-performance smart grids, electric power transmission, transformers, power storage devices, electric motors used in vehicle propulsion as in maglev trains, magnetic levitation devices, spintronic devices and superconducting magnetic refrigeration.
According to the company the base graphite used in the research program was very pure, which minimized the need for costly and environmentally harsh purification. In addition, the graphene that was produced has excellent electrical/thermal connectivity; large high surface area, very good wettability, and had some promise of magnetic properties.
The production method has been initially shown to be less aggressive and significantly more cost effective than other processes such as the Hummers Method. This should further improve the overall ability to produce base material for many other needed applications for graphene today. The process may greatly shorten the time to market, and we are encouraged that there are already real needs for the material in all sorts of applications including polymers, epoxies and other coatings. The company plans to work with industry partners to develop a solution based application that can be developed today and be in use in a short time frame.
The next phase of the joint research effort is to prepare a bench scale system capable of producing larger quantities of high purity graphene samples for potential industry partners.
