The Global Market for Graphene Quantum Dots

Published September 2022 | 72 pages, 19 tables, 21 figures | Download table of contents

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) represent relatively new members of the carbon nanomaterials family. Studies have demonstrated that quantum confinement could appear in graphene with finite size and edge effects-graphene quantum dots (GQDs). GQDs display properties derived from both graphene and quantum dots (QDs), combining the structure of graphene with the edge effects, non-zero band gap, and quantum confinement effects of QDs. They possess unique optical and electrical properties such as:

high quantum yield
high electrical conductivity
high thermal conductivity
excellent photostability
biocompatibility
superior stability compared to non-carbon QDs.
highly tunable photoluminescence (PL)
electrochemiluminescence
exceptional multi-photon excitation (up-conversion) property
ease of functionalization
low-toxicity.

As a result, they are being widely investigated for applications in optoelectronics, photonics, biomedicine, energy storage and conversion, anti-counterfeiting and sensors.

Report contents include:

Properties of graphene quantum dots (GQDs).
Comparison to quantum dots.
Synthesis and production assessment.
Applications of graphene quantum dots (GQDs).
Addressable markets for graphene quantum dots (GQDs) including Optoelectronics, Photonics, Energy storage and conversion, Biomedicine and life sciences and Anti-counterfeiting.
Global revenues estimated to 2033 by market.
Market and technology challenges for graphene quantum dots (GQDs).
Pricing.
14 company profiles including Dotz Nano Ltd., Green Science Alliance Co., Ltd., Quantuag Nanotechnologies and Qurv Technologies.

1 GRAPHENE 8

1.1 Properties 9
1.2 Types of graphene 10
1.3 Graphene materials 11
- 1.3.1 CVD Graphene 11
  - 1.3.1.1 Applications 12
- 1.3.2 Graphene nanoplatelets 13
- 1.3.3 Graphene oxide and reduced Graphene Oxide 14
- 1.3.4 Intermediate products 16
  - 1.3.4.1 Graphene masterbatches 16
  - 1.3.4.2 Graphene dispersions 16
1.4 Production 17
1.5 Quality 19
1.6 Assessment of graphene production methods 20
1.7 Demand for graphene 2018-2033, in tons 24
1.8 Commercial production capacities 25
1.9 Graphene oxide and reduced Graphene Oxide production capacities 26
- 1.9.1 By producer 26
1.10 Graphene nanoplatelets production capacities 27
- 1.10.1 By producer 28
1.11 CVD graphene film 29
- 1.11.1 By producer 29
1.12 Graphene production issues and challenges 30
- 1.12.1 Oversupply 30
- 1.12.2 Quality 30
- 1.12.3 Large-volume markets 31
- 1.12.4 Commoditisation 31
- 1.12.5 Industrial end-user perspective 32

2 QUANTUM DOTS 33

2.1 Properties 33
2.2 Synthesis 35
2.3 Types 36
- 2.3.1 Cadmium Selenide, Cadmium Sulfide and other materials 36
- 2.3.2 Cadmium free quantum dots 37
- 2.3.3 Perovskite quantum dots 37
- 2.3.4 Carbon and graphene quantum dots 37

3 GRAPHENE QUANTUM DOTS 39

3.1 Composition 39
3.2 Comparison to quantum dots 40
3.3 Properties 41
3.4 Synthesis 41
- 3.4.1 Top-down method 41
- 3.4.2 Bottom-up method 42
- 3.4.3 Comparison of synthesis methods 42
3.5 Applications 44
3.6 Markets for graphene quantum dots 45
- 3.6.1 Electronics and photonics 45
- 3.6.2 Energy storage and conversion 46
- 3.6.3 Sensors 47
- 3.6.4 Biomedicine and life sciences 48
- 3.6.5 Anti-counterfeiting 49
3.7 Market and technology challenges 50
3.8 Global revenues for graphene quantum dots, 2019-2033 51
3.9 Pricing 52

4 GRAPHENE QUANTUM DOT SUPPLIER AND PRODUCT DEVELOPER PROFILES 53 (14 company profiles)

5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 65

5.1 Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 65

6 REFERENCES 68

List of Tables

Table 1. Properties of graphene, properties of competing materials, applications thereof. 9
Table 2. Applications of GO and rGO. 15
Table 3. Assessment of graphene production methods. 21
Table 4. Demand for graphene (tons), 2018-2033. 24
Table 5. Graphene oxide production capacity by producer, 2014-2022. 26
Table 6. Graphene nanoplatelets capacity in tons by producer, 2010-2022. 28
Table 7. CVD graphene film capacity by producer, 2014-2022 in 000s m2. 29
Table 8. Chemical synthesis of quantum dots. 35
Table 9. Comparison of graphene QDs and semiconductor QDs. 40
Table 10. Advantages and disadvantages of methods for preparing GQDs. 43
Table 11. Applications of graphene quantum dots. 44
Table 12. Markets and applications for graphene quantum dots in electronics and photonics. 45
Table 13. Markets and applications for graphene quantum dots in energy storage and conversion. 46
Table 14. Markets and applications for graphene quantum dots in sensors. 47
Table 15. Markets and applications for graphene quantum dots in biomedicine and life sciences. 48
Table 16. Markets and applications for graphene quantum dots in electronics. 49
Table 17. Market and technology challenges for graphene quantum dots. 50
Table 18. Prices for graphene quantum dots. 52
Table 19. Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Examples. 66

List of Figures

Figure 1. Graphene layer structure schematic. 8
Figure 2. Illustrative procedure of the Scotch-tape based micromechanical cleavage of HOPG. 8
Figure 3. Graphite and graphene. 9
Figure 4. Graphene and its descendants: top right: graphene; top left: graphite = stacked graphene; bottom right: nanotube=rolled graphene; bottom left: fullerene=wrapped graphene. 11
Figure 5. Types of CVD methods. 12
Figure 6. Schematic of the manufacture of GnPs starting from natural graphite. 14
Figure 7. Fabrication methods of graphene. 17
Figure 8. TEM micrographs of: A) HR-CNFs; B) GANF® HR-CNF, it can be observed its high graphitic structure; C) Unraveled ribbon from the HR-CNF; D) Detail of the ribbon; E) Scheme of the structure of the HR-CNFs; F) Large single graphene oxide sheets derived from GANF. 18
Figure 9. (a) Graphene powder production line The Sixth Element Materials Technology Co. Ltd. (b) Graphene film production line of Wuxi Graphene Films Co. Ltd. 19
Figure 10. Schematic illustration of the main graphene production methods. 20
Figure 11. Demand for graphene, 2018-2033, tons. 25
Figure 12: Quantum dot schematic. 33
Figure 13. Quantum dot size and colour. 34
Figure 5. Perovskite quantum dots under UV light. 37
Figure 14. Green-fluorescing graphene quantum dots. 39
Figure 15. Schematic of (a) CQDs and (c) GQDs. HRTEM images of (b) C-dots and (d) GQDs showing combination of zigzag and armchair edges (positions marked as 1–4). 40
Figure 16. Graphene quantum dots. 42
Figure 17. Top-down and bottom-up graphene QD synthesis methods. 43
Figure 18. Revenues for graphene quantum dots 2019-2033, millions USD 51
Figure 19. Dotz Nano GQD products. 56
Figure 20. InP/ZnS, perovskite quantum dots and silicon resin composite under UV illumination. 60
Figure 21. Quantag GQDs and sensor. 62