Graphene Nanotubes

The only additive that can change all the materials around us, right now

What Are Graphene Nanotubes?

Graphene nanotubes, or single wall carbon nanotubes, are graphene sheets rolled into a tube. Their unique physical properties make them a universal additive that can be used in 70% of all base materials to improve their specific properties.

Despite the similarity in their names, single wall and multi wall carbon nanotubes differ in their properties and in the effects they have on materials, just like graphene (a single layer of carbon atoms) differs from graphite (multiple layers of carbon atoms).

MWCNT Multi Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Rigid and short
Effective concentration of 0.5–5%
Can only be used to produce black conductive materials
Cannot be used to produce transparent conductive materials
The high concentrations required can degrade mechanical properties

SWCNT Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Flexible and long
Effective concentration from 0.01%
Allow the production of conductive materials of any color
Allow the production of transparent conductive materials
Preserve or improve the mechanical properties of materials

Unique Properties of Graphene Nanotubes

Сompatible with almost all materials
More than 3000:1
length-to-diameter ratio
Up to 1600°C
thermal stability in vacuum
High conductivity
100 times stronger than steel

Why Has Humankind Not Used Graphene Nanotubes Before?

Surprisingly, nanotubes – the “material of the future” and a potential driver of the new technological revolution – are not a human invention. Nanotubes are a natural phenomenon. It is not an exaggeration to say that people have always been surrounded by nanotubes.

In nature, nanotubes are formed as a result of incomplete carbon combustion. This is why the ashes of trees after forest fires might contain thousands of tonnes of nanotubes

Scientists have found traces of graphene nanotubes in Damascus steel

as well as in the ancient Chinese ink

In 1976, the Japanese scientist Morinobu Endo discovered nanotubes while doing research at the University of Orleans

Decades of Research

scientific publications

800 000 600 000 400 000 200 000

1995

2001

2007

2013

2019

2025

~50 000

patents

1995

2001

2007

2013

2019

2025

Decades of research have confirmed that graphene nanotubes can be a universal additive for most of materials existing on Earth.

Nevertheless, graphene nanotubes have not been used in industry until recently because of the absence of technology for their mass production and, consequently, their high price.

In 2014 OCSiAl created the first industrial technology for synthesizing graphene nanotubes

TUBALL™ is the brand under which the first graphene nanotubes available for mass application in industry were launched on the world market.

0.01%

effective even at ultra-low concentrations

< 1%

low impurity content

G/D > 90

high quality of nanotubes

Industrial Scale

The industrial-scale production of graphene nanotubes has significantly reduced their price and has made their application economically feasible for many industries.

Price per kg

$150,000

World production per year

100 kg

80,000 kg

<$2,000

TUBALL™

2014

How Exactly Does TUBALL™ Work?

TUBALL™ is the only additive where as little as 0.01% can radically change a material’s properties. But how is this possible?

When distributed in the matrix of a material, graphene nanotubes form a three-dimensional reinforcing and conductive network. This is the mechanism that enables new properties to be achieved.

It is the record length-to-diameter ratio that allows graphene nanotubes to build a 3D network at very low concentrations.

This is why TUBALL™ has a minimal effect on original color and other key properties of materials, unlike any other conductive and reinforcing additives.