Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) an innovative
nano-additive is making waves in the global materials processing industry.
OCSiAl, the Russian company which has come out with a pioneering technology in
this field is on a fast track of expanding its footprints across the globe with
its TUBALL brand of innovative SWCNTs. The key advantage of the SWCNTs is that
the desired properties of materials in the processing stage can be achieved
with ultra-low loadings of the additive – hundreds or thousands of times lower
than other widely used conductive additives, and starting from concentrations
of just 0.01%.
OCSiAl’s huge share of this market is a direct result of the unique
technology it has developed that allows it to produce high-quality single wall
carbon nanotubes, under the TUBALL brand, on an industrial scale, and at a
price 75 times lower than that of the nearest analogues. The company has also
developed super-concentrates that simplify the introduction of nanotubes into
materials and do not require changes in production processes. OCSiAl
synthesises almost 90% of the world’s capacity of this unique conductive
additive for thousands of materials.
OCSiAl Nano-Augmented Materials summit
The
Nano-Augmented Materials recently held in Novosibirsk in Siberian region of
Russia provided the delegates to get updated on the latest challenges and
prospects of this technology. The plenary session, scientific conference and
round table discussions on five pioneering industries that most actively adopt
nano-augmented materials- batteries, elastomers, thermosets, thermoplastics and
coatings contributed to the sharing of knowledge and of results achieved so
far, and widened the prospects for rapid development of the nano-augmented
materials industry.
One of the most noted presentations was that of
Jean-Nicholas Helt, Development and Support leader for Elastomers, OCSiAl on “SWCNT-new
freedom in material design and performance in tyres”. The Summit brought
together leading pioneers in their respective including Rhein Chemie Additives,
PolyStick, BÜFA, TrustChem, BAK Battery, Mahindra, Jungwoo. In order to share
the company’s in-depth knowledge of single wall carbon nanotubes, their synthesis
method and their safe use, OCSiAl took the Summit participants into its
facilities, including the Graphetron 1.0 nanotube synthesis unit and the
unrivalled TUBALL Centre for research and production.
The Summit gathered
together almost 180 participants, from 27 countries, from companies that
already actively adopt nanoaugmented materials in their production processes.
As the Global Marketing Manager of LANXESS Rhein Chemie Additives, Dr Benjamin
Bechem, said, “We have presented to the market a line of TUBALL-based
suspensions branded Rhenofit CNT. And the market has already demonstrated an
interest for it.”
Amazing possibilities
SWCNTs, in particular, have strong potential
in advanced technologies, including high performance composites, molecular electronics,
and ultra-sensitive sensor devices. However, until now the uptake of SWNTs was
slow due to high costs and greater processing difficulty when compared with
multi-walled carbon nanotube production.
Laboratory tests have demonstrated the
efficacy of SWCNTs, with ultra-low loadings of 0.05% or less required to
achieve the necessary level of conductivity. Embedded into latex, SWCNTs with
high aspect ratio are capable of forming interconnected networks between rubber
matrix and carbon nanotubes. Therefore, a lower loading of such materials can
provide the required electrical conductivity and simultaneously retain the
mechanical properties of the elastomeric matrix, which makes them ideal for
such applications, said Ms Ekaterina Gorbunova, Managing Director (Elastomers)
OCSiAl.
Production and R&D facility
To
facilitate the application of TUBALL SWCNTs in different materials and
applications OCSiAl established its own scientific and prototyping center.
Started in October 2013 with the equipment installation for electrochemical
power sources, OCSiAl has expanded its facilities and in 2015 established the
new TUBALL Center for developing technologies for rubbers, plastics,
composites, transparent conductive films, paints and coatings.
The TUBALL
Center takes more than 4000 square meters of space and has more than 150
equipment units to
introduce nanotubes into various matrices. TUBALL Center key technologies
include carbon nanotubes research and processing, Electro-chemical power
sources, Elastomers, Thermoplastics, Thermosets, Paints and coatings. For large
quantities of nanotubes OCSiAl has launched a partnership program to create a
network of OCSiAl dealers worldwide. This program will also stimulate the
production of TUBALL-enhanced versions of current products as well as the
production of TUBALL-based industrial modifiers for various materials.