Graphene aerospace composites

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9421739-B2
Application number	US-201514589085-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2015
Priority date	Jan 5, 2015
Publication date	Aug 23, 2016
Grant date	Aug 23, 2016

Abstract

Composite prepreg materials made from a plurality of layers of graphene film having a size that spans an entire width and an entire length of the composite prepreg material, each of the layers of graphene film being functionalized with holes formed through the graphene film, amine groups formed on both an upper and a lower surface of the graphene film, epoxide groups formed on at least one edge of the graphene film, amine monomers and/or epoxy monomers. The plurality of layers may be formed by stacking a plurality of layers of graphene film to form a stacked composite prepreg material or by folding a graphene film to form a crumpled composite prepreg material.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A composite prepreg material comprising a plurality of layers of graphene film having a size that spans an entire width and an entire length of the composite prepreg material, each of the layers of graphene film being functionalized with holes formed through the graphene film, amine groups formed on both an upper and a lower surface of the graphene film and/or epoxide groups formed on at least one edge of the graphene film.

2. The composite prepreg material of claim 1 , wherein the layers of graphene film are stacked on top of one another such that upper and lower surfaces of adjacent layers of the graphene film are in contact.

3. The composite prepreg material of claim 2 , wherein the adjacent layers of the graphene film are bonded together through epoxy-amine bonds.

4. The composite prepreg material of claim 3 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 12-80 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface density on both the upper and the lower surface of the graphene film of about 4.0E10 to about 4.0E13 groups per square millimeter of the graphene film and epoxide groups formed on the at least one edge of about 7,000 to about 1,400,000 groups per millimeter.

5. The composite prepreg material of claim 4 , wherein the graphene film further comprises a density of amine monomers and epoxy monomers of about 1.0E-3 to about 4.0E-2 grams per square meter.

6. The composite prepreg material of claim 3 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 12-80 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface density on both the upper and the lower surface of the graphene film of about 4.0E12 to about 4.0E13 groups per square millimeter of the graphene film, and a density of epoxy monomers on at least one surface of the graphene film about 1.0E-3 to about 4.0E-2 grams per square meter.

7. The composite prepreg material of claim 3 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 12-80 carbon atoms, epoxide groups formed on the at least one edge of about 140,000 to about 1,400,000 groups per millimeter, and a density of amine monomers on at least one surface of the graphene film about 1.0E-3 to about 4.0E-2 grams per square meter.

8. The composite prepreg material of claim 3 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 6-19 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface density on both the upper and the lower surface of the graphene film of about 4.0E10 to about 4.0E13 groups per square millimeter of the graphene film and epoxide groups formed on the at least one edge of about 7,000 to about 1,400,000 groups per millimeter.

9. The composite prepreg material of claim 1 , wherein the graphene film has a density of holes in the range of about 4E7 to about 4E10 holes per square millimeter, or about one hole per 1,000 to 1 million carbon atoms.

10. The composite prepreg material of claim 1 , wherein the graphene film is folded to form a crumpled graphene sheet having a height that spans an entire height of the composite prepreg material.

11. The composite prepreg material of claim 10 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of greater than about 100 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface density on both the upper and the lower surface of the graphene film of about 4.0E10 to about 4.0E13 groups per square millimeter of the graphene film and epoxide groups formed on the at least one edge of about 7,000 to about 1,400,000 groups per millimeter.

12. The composite prepreg material of claim 11 , wherein the graphene film further comprises a density of amine monomers and epoxy monomers on at least one surface of the graphene film in the range of about 1.0E-3 to about 4.0E-2 grams per square meter.

13. The composite prepreg material of claim 10 , wherein the graphene film further comprises lines extending across a width of the graphene film where some portion of carbon bonds in the graphene film have been modified to permit the graphene film to preferentially fold along the lines.

14. A method of making a composite prepreg material comprising the steps of:
forming a plurality of layers of graphene film functionalized with holes formed through the graphene films, amine groups formed on both an upper and a lower surface of the graphene film and/or epoxide groups formed on at least one edge of the graphene film and having a size that spans an entire width and an entire length of the composite prepreg material; and
laminating the plurality of layers of graphene film to form the composite prepreg material.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the plurality of layers of graphene film comprises stacking the plurality of layers on top of one another such that upper and lower surfaces of adjacent layers of the graphene film are in contact.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein laminating the plurality of layers of the graphene film comprises applying heat to form epoxy-amine bonds between the adjacent layers of graphene film.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 12-80 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface density on both the upper and the lower surface of the graphene film of about 4.0E10 to about 4.0E13 groups per square millimeter of the graphene film and epoxide groups formed on the at least one edge of about 7,000 to about 1,400,000 groups per millimeter.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the graphene film further comprises a density of amine monomers and epoxy monomers in the range of about 1.0E-3 to about 4.0E-2 grams per square meter.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 12-80 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface density on both the upper and the lower surface of the graphene film of about 4.0E12 to about 4.0E13 groups per square millimeter of the graphene film, and a density of epoxy monomers on at least one surface of the graphene film about 1.0E-3 to about 4.0E-2 grams per square meter.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 12-80 carbon atoms, epoxide groups formed on the at least one edge of about 140,000 to about 1,400,000 groups per millimeter, and a density of amine monomers on at least one surface of the graphene film about 1.0E-3 to about 4.0E-2 grams per square meter.

21. The method of claim 16 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of about 6-19 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface density on both the upper and the lower surface of the graphene film of about 4.0E10 to about 4.0E13 groups per square millimeter of the graphene film and epoxide groups formed on the at least one edge of about 7,000 to about 1,400,000 groups per millimeter.

22. The method of claim 14 , wherein the graphene film has a density of holes in the range of about 4E7 to about 4E10 holes per square millimeter, or about one hole per 1,000 to 1 million carbon atoms.

23. The method of claim 14 , wherein forming the plurality of graphene layers comprises folding the graphene film to form a crumpled graphene sheet having a height that spans an entire height of the composite prepreg material.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the graphene film is functionalized with holes having a size of greater than about 100 carbon atoms, amine groups having a surface densi

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Humfeld Keith Daniel

Classifications

• B32B7/12

  using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties · CPC title

• B29C45/02

  Transfer moulding, i.e. transferring the required volume of moulding material by a plunger from a "shot" cavity into a mould cavity · CPC title

• B32B9/04

  comprising such {particular} substance as the main or only constituent of a layer, {which is} next to another layer of {the same or of} a {different material (next to a glass layer B32B17/06; layered products with at least two ceramic layers composed mainly of ceramic B32B18/00)} · CPC title

• B32B9/007 Primary

  comprising carbon, e.g. graphite, composite carbon · CPC title

• B32B2305/72

  Cured, e.g. vulcanised, cross-linked · CPC title