sp2nano LLC is a start-up business that is focused on applying graphene and other carbon allotrope technology to pervasive problems in need of immediate solution. Our initial application is in structural materials and composites. Our first task is to modernize and disruptively enhance Armor technology. By increasing the intra-laminar strength of the fabric, the fabric becomes significantly better in energy dissipation which will allow lighter, comfortable and less bulky protection.
sp2nano carbon structures provide planar two-dimensional materials that are the strongest and most conductive ever studied. Graphene is the building block of all graphitic materials. It is a monolayer of carbon atoms bonded in sp2 configuration arranged in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice. Imagine a chicken wire, a graphene sheet looks exactly like it. It is considered as the basis of carbon nanotubes (scrolled graphene), fullerenes (round graphene, also called bucky balls) and graphene nanoribbons (unzipped carbon nanotubes).
Graphene is a carbon honeycomb material just one atom thick and was identified by the University Of Manchester, UK, in 2004 winning Andre Giem and Konstantin Novoselov the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. The material is prized for its strength and conductivity properties as well as being extremely lightweight compared to other materials. (Ten times stronger than steel at one sixth the weight).