Technical FAQs
Graphene is so expensive, how is it possible to make them into coatings?
The purest form of Graphene is indeed expensive, especially when making into a one atom thick layer structure. However, we utilise Graphene Oxide, which is much more economical to be functionalised and complement our coatings.
How does Graphene Oxide (GO) work in a silicone polymer matrix?
We disperse Graphene Oxide (GO) that are processed into nano sized particles smaller than 1 micron into the formulation, hence the name Nano Graphene Coating. To compare, a strand of human hair is about 50 microns. The coating itself is NOT made from Graphene. With nano sized particles, we are able to increase the particle count of graphene oxide to provide a higher concentration and coating surface coverage.
Ceramic Coating VS Graphene Coating?
Most surface protection coatings are made using many different silicon based polymers and silanes, that all contain silicon (Si) groups including SiO2. This is the reason why manufacturers affix names like GLASS, CERAMIC, QUARTZ, CRYSTAL to their products since these are derived from SiO2. They are simply just names for ease of marketing. Artdeshine’s graphene coating formulations utilizes the same silicon based polymers and silanes as with many other brands/manufacturers. We call some of our products “ceramic coatings” too.
Ceramic Coatings are very hard and strong, what about Artdeshine Nano Graphene Coating?
The term “Ceramic Coating” have become synonymous with a very hard and tough coating due to the fact that most manufacturers prefer to cure them into a glass-like material that is hard, transparent and reflective. However many do not know that these “Ceramic Coating” can also be cured into softer more flexible materials. For ease of identification’s sake, many prefer to associate hard and tough coatings as “Ceramic Coating”. Artdeshine Nano Graphene Coating cures into a softer (but still tough) and more flexible material due to the type of silicone
polymers and curing agents used for certain functional properties.
Artdeshine Nano Graphene Coating is soft so it is not scratch resistant?
To simply put it, soft or hard, brittle or flexible, thin or thick, a coating’s ability to resist abrasion and scratches is not significantly dependent on the hardness, toughness or thickness. Any product applied by hand to a surface is too thin to exhibit any real scratch resistance (9H scratch test rated coatings or otherwise). The real reason why a treated surface is able to reduce chances of scratching is due to the lack of friction, or slickness.
What is 9H Scratch Resistance or MOHS Hardness Scale?
9H is the grade of pencil tip used to scratch a surface to measure abrasion resistance while hardness is measured using the MOHS Scale. Some brands or manufacturers use the words “9H Hardness” that carries no meaning. While many coatings are made with materials that resist a 9H abrasion test or are made to be hard like glass/quartz rated 5-7 on the MOH Scale, Artdeshine Nano Graphene Coating V3 as a cured material is softer and very slick that is still able to resist a 9H pencil scratch test due to lack of friction but as a thick cured sample!
Will Graphene Oxide (GO) in coatings increase the hydrophobic properties?
No. GO used in our products is not functionalised to exhibit that property. All hydrophobics are the result of the type of polymers used.
Will Graphene Oxide (GO) in coatings increase the hardness or abrasion resistance?
No. The hardness comes from the silicone polymer material while abrasion resistance comes from the lack of friction due to the slickness our products exhibit.
Is Artdeshine Nano Graphene Coating a one-atom thick layer of Graphene on the treated surface?
No. Contrary to popular assumptions, our product is dominantly a silicone polymer coating, whereby Graphene Oxide is suspended in the polymer matrix when cured.
Will Graphene Oxide (GO) in coatings increase sleekness?
No. Slickness is made possible from using a variant of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a type of silicone polymer.
Will Graphene Oxide (GO) in coatings increase reflectivity/gloss?
No. These properties are entirely dependent on the polymers used. In “Ceramic Coatings” that are cured to be hard and transparent, these usually look like optically transparent glass, which gives reflectivity (shine) and gloss.
Coatings (Artdeshine Nano Graphene Coating) that are cured to be softer are usually slightly cloudy though when applied onto a surface is still optically clear, these will darken and saturate (vibrant) colours.
What is the percentage of Graphene/SiO2 in the coating?
We would first need to clarify that any silicone polymer coating cures to form a layer of SiO2 or Si derivatives on the substrate, that is the reason why brands would claim “High SiO2 Content” or “100% SiO2 Coating”. In actual fact, the coating itself in uncured form will have to contain solvents to aid in application or mixing of different materials together. So yes, high content or 100% SiO2 or Si claims are a fact if we are talking about the cured coating on a substrate but not true for the uncured coating itself.
Because Graphene Coatings are NOT made from Graphene itself but are only used as additives, the question “what is the percentage of graphene in the coating?” becomes irrelevant since this is not an indicator of performance and having that knowledge will not serve any purpose for installers using the product. Though we would be transparent about the contents of our products and confidently say that NGC contains approximately 0.05g-0.1g nano-sized GO per 1000g of coating solution in terms of weight, that is only 0.00005-0.0001% of total coating composition by weight. The accurate measurement we would use is 50-100 parts per million or 50-100ppm.