Qualified graphene has a new standard
"We provide a quality monitoring method for the ash content of the entire production process of graphene materials, which solves the pain points of the upstream and downstream of the industry." Chen Chengmeng, leader of the 709 project of Shanxi Coal Chemical Institute, and member Huang Xianhong introduced the behind-the-scenes story of the standard.

In recent years, the application scenarios of graphene materials have gradually increased, but too many impurities affect the quality of graphene products and even the performance of graphene composite materials. Therefore, the ash content of materials must be strictly limited within a certain range. There is no experience to use for reference in the measurement of ash content of graphene materials, and many companies that produce and use graphene are "at a loss" for ash content indicators. This is a blank for the whole industry.

Huang Xianhong said, "After several years of research, we believe that the impurity content needs to be controlled within 0.1%. Graphene products higher than this standard line are unqualified, which will affect the preparation and application of downstream graphene composite materials. At present, the graphene industry actually lacks many key control and testing standards, and the ash content is only a small part of it, and the standardization of its testing methods has only begun. "

In 2017, the 709 research group proposed to the International Electrotechnical Commission the international standard proposal of "graphene-based materials-ash content: combustion method", solicited opinions from industry experts all over the world, and finally officially approved the project in July 2021. Huang Xianhong and Chen Chengmeng served as project team leaders for the standard proposal. The project team used 4 years to polish a low-cost, high-efficiency ash measurement solution. On November 4, 2022, the international standard IEC/TS 62607-6-22 (Nanomanufacturing - Key control characteristics - Part 6-22: Graphene-based materials - Ash content: Combustion method) was officially released.

"We report progress twice a year to scientists from member countries of the Technical Committee on Nanoelectrotechnical Products and Systems of the International Electrotechnical Commission. Due to the solid foundation of previous work, the standard proposal was officially released a year and a half after the project was established, and the adoption speed was much faster than most international standards. " Introduction by Huang Xianhong.

Chen Chengmeng said that the introduction of international standards in the field of graphene will provide an important reference for various countries to issue their own standards, and it is likely to be adopted as national standards and industry standards in the end. This is very important to accelerate the growth of the nascent graphene industry.