Smart Characterization for Smart Coatings
The quality of a product depends among others on the raw materials. But the type of dispersion, energy input, and stabilization are also crucial. This study uses two graphene dispersions and their processing into coatings to show which characterization methods are relevant for which process steps.
Coatings are diverse and occur in a wide variety of industries, be it to dye, protect, or functionalize surfaces. When high-performance plastics replace metallic materials such as steel or aluminum, the characteristic material properties such as conductivity or electromagnetic shielding are lost in the product. By modifying polymers with conductive materials, the properties important for the component can be combined with the advantages of high-performance plastics, such as corrosion resistance and flexibility, thus also enabling new applications. There are various methods for attributing electrically conductive properties to polymers or plastics, and the products made from them. These include incorporating electrically conductive fillers into the bulk material, using intrinsically conductive polymers, and coating with conductive materials. A very interesting application is equipping "smart" clothing with sensors. Conductive layers are also required for this. For example, clothing that records body temperature, pulse, and breathing rate could be manufactured. Water-based polyurethanes (PU) are often used to coat clothing (such as the logo). Carbons (such as conductive carbon black, CNTs, and graphene) are used as conductive additives. The function and performance are directly related to the quality of the coating, which in turn depends on the quality of the dispersion (as a preliminary step). It is therefore necessary to characterize the raw materials, and especially the quality of the dispersion, in order to develop new products. In this study, the process from graphene powder through dispersion, to the final layer was followed using different characterization methods.
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