Graphene Sheet vs. Graphite Sheet: A Cool Comparison of Heat Dissipation Materials

Alright, so let’s talk about two superstar materials in the tech world: graphene sheets and graphite sheets. Both are great at handling heat, but they’re not quite the same. Think of them as siblings—related but unique in their own ways. Let’s dive in and see what makes each of them special when it comes to keeping our gadgets cool.

Table of Contents

What Are They?

Graphite Sheet:

Graphite is the older sibling here, and we’re pretty familiar with it. If you’ve used a pencil, you’ve used graphite! On a technical level, graphite sheets are made up of many layers of carbon atoms stacked on top of each other in a specific pattern, giving it a “layered” structure. Imagine a deck of cards: each card represents a thin layer of carbon atoms, which can slide over each other easily—this is part of what makes graphite sheets effective at spreading heat.

Current phone models that use graphite sheet cooling

A number of cell phones use graphite sheet cooling technology in order to efficiently manage heat in a thin and lightweight design. Here are some of the phone models that utilize graphite sheet cooling:

1. Apple iPhone series:

- Starting with the iPhone 12 series, Apple has used graphite flakes for cooling in several models, especially for improved stability performance in high-temperature environments. Graphite flakes are effective in helping to evenly distribute heat inside the device to avoid localized overheating.

2. Samsung Galaxy Series:

- Flagship models such as the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy Note 20 utilize graphite flakes for heat dissipation. These graphite flakes are placed around the processor and battery to help disperse heat and ensure the stability of the device in high-performance mode.

3. Xiaomi Mi Series:

- Xiaomi has used graphite flakes in several models such as the Xiaomi 11 and Redmi K40 series. These graphite flakes keep the phone cooler when playing games or multitasking and enhance the user experience.

4. Huawei Mate and P series:

- Huawei’s Mate 40 and P40 series phones also rely on graphite flake technology when it comes to cooling. These graphite flakes help conduct heat away from high heat generating areas, enhancing the thermal performance and durability of the device.

5. OPPO Find X series:

- High-end models such as the OPPO Find X3 Pro utilize a multi-layer graphite flake structure for dispersing and lowering device temperatures, which significantly improves heat dissipation, especially during high-load tasks such as video recording and high-definition gaming.

6. Vivo X Series:

- Vivo has also applied graphite flake technology to manage device heat in models such as its X60 Pro to ensure that temperatures remain cool even during extended periods of high-performance use, extending the life of the battery and other components.

7. OnePlus series:

- Several of OnePlus’ flagship models such as the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus Nord series also use graphite flakes for heat dissipation. Graphite flakes help keep the phone cooler over extended periods of time, providing users with better feel and performance.

Graphene Sheet:

Graphene is the shiny new material on the block. It’s also made of carbon, but it’s just one layer of carbon atoms—yes, just one! This makes it the thinnest material possible. Despite its thinness, it’s incredibly strong and conducts heat better than just about any other material known. Imagine a single, super-strong spider web of carbon atoms.

Current phone models that use graphene sheet cooling

01 Huawei Mate Series:

- APPLICATIONS TO HEAT DISSIPATION SYSTEM: Huawei has introduced graphene heat dissipation technology for the first time in its high-end models, such as the Mate 20 X and Mate 30 Pro series. The graphene film heat dissipation system in these models can effectively enhance heat dissipation efficiency, reduce the temperature of the phone during prolonged and intense use, and improve phone performance and user experience.

02 Xiaomi:

- Heat Dissipation and Battery Life: Xiaomi uses graphene-based cooling film in some of its flagship phones, such as the Xiaomi MIX series, which improves heat dissipation efficiency through this innovative material, resulting in better temperature control when playing games or multitasking, as well as extended battery life.

03 Samsung Galaxy Series:

- Transparent Conductive Film for Flexible Displays: Samsung uses graphene material in some of the foldable screens of the Galaxy Fold series. The flexibility and transparent conductivity of graphene provides stable support for these flexible displays, which not only reduces wear and tear during screen folding, but also improves touch sensitivity.

04 OPPO Find X series:

- Battery fast charging: OPPO uses graphene film to enhance the conductivity of the battery, accelerating the charging speed of the battery, so that the charging efficiency and battery stability can be improved. Especially in the fast charging technology of the Find X series, graphene material plays a key role.

05 Flexium Technology:

- For fully flexible displays: FlexTech has developed the Royole FlexPai, a flexible screen phone that uses graphene conductive film. the high transparency and flexibility of graphene allows the phone to be folded with a stable display, providing consumers with an innovative product form.

06 Vivo Nex Series:Flexium Technology:

- Graphene Sensor and Cooling:Vivo has also included a graphene film in the cooling system of the Nex series to minimize overheating in high-intensity applications. In addition, the graphene sensor improves the sensitivity and speed of fingerprint recognition.

How Do They Handle Heat?

When it comes to handling heat, both graphite and graphene do a great job, but they work in different ways.

01 Graphite:

Graphite sheets are excellent for spreading heat. Once heat reaches a graphite sheet, it travels along those layers, dispersing quickly over a large area. This is why we often find graphite sheets inside electronics—they help spread out the heat produced by processors and batteries, preventing “hot spots” that could slow down performance or damage the device.

02 Graphene:

Now, graphene doesn’t just spread heat; it conducts it extremely fast! Since graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms, heat zooms through it like a high-speed highway. It’s not only good at spreading heat but also at quickly moving it away from heat-sensitive areas. This makes graphene a great candidate for devices that generate a lot of heat, like high-performance computers and even electric vehicle batteries.

Which One Is Better?

Let’s break down the pros and cons of each material in simple terms.

Graphite Sheets

Pros:

- Affordable and easy to produce: Graphite sheets are relatively cheap and easy to make, so they’re already widely used in electronics.
- Good at spreading heat: Once heat hits a graphite sheet, it spreads out smoothly across the surface.
- Flexible: Graphite sheets can bend without breaking, which is a bonus for compact gadgets.

Cons:

- Not as fast as graphene: While graphite is good at spreading heat, it’s not as quick at moving heat away from hot areas.
- Layered structure can limit performance: Since graphite is made of layers, there’s a little bit of resistance in moving heat from one layer to another.

Graphene Sheets

Pros:

- Top-notch heat conductor: Graphene’s super-thin structure lets it conduct heat faster than almost any other material.
- Super strong and lightweight: Graphene is incredibly tough, even though it’s so thin you can’t see it without special equipment.
- Potential for ultra-thin designs: Because graphene is just one atom thick, it’s great for devices where space is limited.

Cons:

- Expensive than graphite sheet: it’s pricier than graphite sheet. But with mass production from 2014, the cost is not very high.
- Fewer formal manufacturers: There are fewer formal graphene sheet manufacturers: with the rising popularity of graphene, many merchants who want to rub the flow of graphite as graphene to deceive buyers, once giving graphene a bad name. Therefore, find a regular manufacturer (such as us), you can buy regular and cheap graphene sheet

Where Do We See Them in Action?

Graphite Sheets in Real Life:

You’ll find graphite sheets in almost all smartphones and laptops. They’re typically placed over processors and batteries to spread out the heat and prevent those parts from overheating. Graphite sheets are also used in LED lighting and even some wearable tech.

Graphene Sheets in Emerging Tech:

Graphene is still being perfected, but it’s slowly finding its way into high-performance gadgets. Some companies are testing graphene sheets in powerful computers and electric vehicles, where the rapid heat transfer could make a big difference. As production becomes more affordable, we might see graphene in future smartphones and other devices that need heavy-duty cooling.

In a Nutshell: Graphene vs. Graphite

Feature	Graphite Sheet	Graphene Sheet
Thickness	Many layers	Single layer
Heat Spreading	Good	Excellent
Heat Conductivity	High, but slower than graphene	Ultra-high
Cost	Affordable	Affordable
Current Use	Widely used in electronics	high-performance uses
Production	Established and scalable	A few manufacturers can mass produce

So, Which One Wins?

Graphene sheet as a better performance of the heat dissipation material, in the future electronic equipment performance is more and more prominent, the trend of increasingly high demand for heat dissipation, graphene sheet will gradually replace the elimination of graphite sheet.

How to distinguish graphene sheet from graphite sheet by appearance

Distinguishing a graphene sheet from a graphite sheet by appearance alone can be challenging because both materials are forms of carbon and can look similar, especially when thin. However, there are a few visual and structural clues that can help you tell them apart:

Thickness:

Graphite Sheet: Typically appears thicker, even in thin sheets, because it consists of multiple layers of carbon stacked together (often thousands of layers).

Graphene Sheet: A single-layer graphene sheet is just one atom thick, so it’s almost invisible to the naked eye. If you’re looking at a thicker graphene film, it will still be remarkably thin compared to graphite sheets.

Reflectivity:

Graphite: Because of the layered structure, graphite sheets are often less reflective and have a more matte finish.

Graphene: Tends to have a slight sheen or glossy appearance, especially in thicker films, due to its uniform structure.

Microscopic Analysis:

To truly distinguish between them with certainty, you would need a microscope, as the difference in thickness is hard to detect with the naked eye. Under a microscope or using specialized equipment like Raman spectroscopy, graphene shows distinct characteristics that differ from the multi-layered structure of graphite.

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