Oxford Advanced Surfaces (OAS) — a pioneer in the surface treatment of polymeric, plastic and composite materials by the application of highly reactive carbene chemistry — has entered into a collaboration agreement with 2-DTech Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Versarien plc.

The aim is to develop a new range of products that incorporate nano-materials (such as graphene) into OAS’s proprietary Onto chemistry platform to deliver enhanced mechanical performance and improved electrical and thermal conductivity.

This platform delivers a range of versatile and reliable chemical surface treatments that are used to improve the adhesion of paints, coatings and adhesives to composite materials and engineering plastics.

Current Onto products are used in demanding applications ranging from transportation and aerospace to wind energy.

By combining 2-DTech’s graphene products with OAS’s Onto chemistry, the collaboration is intended to lead to new products that will allow both companies to cater for a wide range of applications and address new materials challenges.

Jon-Paul Griffiths, Oxford Advanced Surfaces’ CTO (www.oxfordsurfaces.com), said: “Challenging applications for new and existing materials require innovative surface treatments; through our collaboration with 2D-Tech, we have the opportunity to develop new products by incorporating nano-materials such as graphene to meet these challenges.”