Graphene in automotive parts

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90524-4.00030-X

The design of lightweight vehicles is a principal keystone to improve fuel efficiency and vehicle performance by reducing adverse environmental impacts. Therefore, the automotive sector focuses on lightweight part production and the replacement of metal parts with composite structures in order to reduce fuel consumption and reach the targeted CO2 emission values defined by the EU regulations. At this point, graphene becomes a solution with a high potential to further reduce vehicle weight and improve mechanical and thermal properties. Graphene shows great potential with several vital applications such as structural and body parts, coatings, tires, electronics, and fluids and fluidic systems. The implementation of graphene in automotive parts aims to reduce the part weight by acting as a co-reinforcement with carbon or glass fibers or minerals. However, there are still challenges in the usage of graphene in the polymer matrix in mass production due to its high cost, aggregation problem, sustainability, and processability. On the other hand, OEMs are expected to gain momentum in the graphene-enhanced composites market and utilize graphene into their part production lines, with the leading graphene suppliers. This chapter addresses the needs of the automotive sector, and the challenges and proposed solutions for manufacturing graphene-enhanced composites and automotive parts. In addition, this chapter explains the usage of graphene in exterior and interior parts by providing the production techniques, and cost-efficient, lightweight and eco-friendly solutions with the specific studies. Also, the selection of an ideal graphene type and the preservation of the structural integrity in the lightweight structures with graphene have a direct impact on the acceleration of graphene commercialization in electric vehicles.