Tiny as they are, carbon nanotubes (CNT) have the potential to generate completely new materials and products with characteristics not feasible with previous technologies. These tubular structures can contribute to improving a lot of properties of materials. CNT experts are very positive about the benefits of these materials for coatings as well.
Posted at: 1 December 2011 05:20:00 | Posted by: Prof. Rigoberto Advincula, University of Houston, USA Graphene materials in nanocoatings
The next popular nanofiller material that should find its way in nanocomposite applications for coatings should be graphene. This may yet replace the popular nanoclay and carbon nanotube nanofillers. Due to its well-known fast electron transport, excellent mechanical and thermal properties, and very high surface area, graphene has been the subject of intense scientific interest as evidenced by the rapid increase in the number of publications since 2004 - the 2010 Nobel prize winners in Physics.
It's nano again: it seems that you get bombarded with news on nanotechnology these days. Not all of them positive, of course. So why not picking up on this very controversial issue once in a while.
Opportunities knock at the door once….and may be gone. Companies with long-term strategies in nanotechnology should invest now on research and development activities to prepare them to release new proprietary products for specific applications when economic recovery arrives. Companies which come out with products first to the market will gain the competitive advantage in delivery and marketing. Nanotechnology research impacts the coatings market primarily through two directions: improvement of properties for current coatings and innovative new products that customers are willing to pay for the difference in performance.
Smart coatings can be achieved by fine tuning nanostructures in ultrathin films.The use of grafted polymers and particles on surfaces enable the modification and formation of robust coatings which can lead to very interesting stimuli-responsive properties. Polymer brush formation can involve surface initiated polymerization (SIP) or by grafting preformed polymers (but with low density). Another method can involve the application of colloidal particles to form uniform layers on surfaces or the application of lithographic and non-lithographic methods (can be expensive).
Today nearly no coating exists on the market the word smart is not used for. No matter what kind of nanomaterial has found its way into the product, you always have one more feature than the "old school” requirements. For example corrosion protection, aesthetics and bending skills are usual demands, nothing special. These minimum requirements have to fit and are just compared to elderly products. It seems to me that the industry is tired of speaking about these skills.
Nanotechnology and novel materials are innovation drivers when it comes to the development of clean and efficient technologies. An industry dialogue recently held by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research gathered material and nanotechnology R&D experts and environmental professionals who focused on opportunities and challenges of nanomaterials for environmental technologies.
