Cabot Corporation has
added graphene technology to its portfolio.

Cabot has added this
emerging performance technology to its portfolio through an intellectual
property licensing agreement with XG Sciences Inc. Under the agreement, Cabot
will license intellectual property rights to XG’s xGnP graphene nanoplatelets
technology, including detailed know-how regarding the manufacturing process.

The move is consistent
with Cabot’s commitment to provide customers with enabling materials solutions
that deliver high performance, says Fred von Gottberg, Cabot vice president,
New Business segment.

“Graphenes have the
potential to be a dramatic step forward for our customers as they strive to
find ways to make parts lighter, stronger or store energy more
effectively,” says von Gottberg. “Our expertise in carbon black
production, surface treatment, and material science makes us a natural fit for
delivering performance in automotive plastics, electronics packaging, advanced
batteries, and other applications with graphenes.

Graphenes are highly
electrically and thermally conductive, mechanically strong, thin sheets of
carbon atoms. They are used as performance-enhancing materials in composites to
add strength, stability, electrical, and thermal conductivity, and other
properties at lower loading levels than traditional materials.

“XG Sciences has been
working with graphenes for six years,” says Michael Knox, XG chief
executive officer. “We are excited to see a company like Cabot take the
technology to the next level.”

Although both are made
from carbon atoms, graphenes, because of their unique shape and structure,
provide different application opportunities from standard carbon black. For
example, the thermal transfer properties of graphenes extend beyond those of
carbon black, making graphenes useful for applications in plastics that are
heat sensitive and require a good conductor of heat. Because the particles are
flat, graphenes can also be used as a barrier layer to reduce gas transfer in
packaging applications.

Cabot Corporation,
www.cabot-corp.com