Nanotech In Plastics: Standing On The Shoulders Of Dwarfs.

Nanotech in plastics Type "nano" in Google, and your computer explodes. Use the word "nano" in a blog or marketing campaign and you're bound to get attention. For some nano is a symbol of the evil dangers of new technologies, for others it's the key Standing on the shoulders of dwarfs to the future, But what is nanotechnology? And what is its use for the plastic & rubber industry? What is nanotechnology? Nanotechnology is an umbrella term for all materials, devices and technologies with at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometer. 1 nanometer equals 10-ºm. This distance is approximately the radius of a DNA helix and about twenty times the size of a water molecule. Yes, that means small. Very, very small. a molecule a DNA helix bacteria a red blood cell a human hair an ant 0,1-0,5 nm < 2,5 nm < 1000nm 10.000 nm 100.000 nm 5.000.000 nm Size matters On the nanoscale functionalities suddenly can be reached. To understand this think about what happens when you replace Duplo© with Lego©. When your bricks are smaller, there are much more interesting things you can start building. Actually, in case of nanotech, the bricks are the size of molecules, which are the bricks of life itself, meaning that manufacturing at the nanolevel corresponds to manufacturing at the natural scale. new doors open and otherwise impossible Nano in figures 3% percentage of industry total 2.5% 2% 1.5% 1% 0.5% % of nanotech in cosmetics % of nanotech in semiconductors % of nanotech patents in plastics 0% 100 15000 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Nanotech gets worldwide attention. The US, Japan, China, Germany, France, South-Korea and the UK are the major players in nano R&D, based on their patent activity. Historically, nanotech found its first applications in electronics, optics, medicine & cosmetics. Although the nanotech developments in the plastic industry lagged behind initially, the amount of nanotech patenting in the plastic industry has rapidly increased since the beginning of the new millennium. Where is nano used? This might all sound bizarre and irrelevant for your day-to-day life. But nanotech is already a part of your life, even though we are often unaware of it. It's in the sunscreen you use on the beach. It's in the medication you take. It makes batteries more efficient. It makes Tour alé, alé sunscreen pharmaceuticals de France bicycles lighter. It gives a more natural look to LED lights. So nanotech is not quite as exotic as it might seem at first sight. batteries bicycles LED Why? The most important question related to the use of nanotech in plastics is "Why?" Generally speaking there are 5 major functionalities that nanotech can offer plastic materials. smort electric optical mechanic chemical Nanotech can be used to manipulate electrical properties such as electrical conductivity or anti-static Nanotech can reinforce materials, improve tensile strength & dimensional stability, avoid scratches, and make super-light Nanotech is used for Nanotech is used to absorb UV and IR radiation, for light scattering, improved thermal resistance or conductivity, to improve colors & to create crystal clear materials. Nanotech can change the chemical reactivity of a material or, the other way around, improve its chemical resistance. This includes automation of functionalities or enhanced intelligence in materials. It can be used to manufacture smart materials characteristics. that are self-cleaning, self-healing or self-sealing. anti-microbial, barrier and fire resistance properties. materials. Which nano? The family of nano-sized fillers that are mixed in plastics to improve their functionalities (so called 'nano-fillers'), is ever growing and expanding. The current list of nanofillers starts off with "old' nanofillers like carbon black & titanium dioxide, over those that have more recently found their place in the plastic industry like nanoclays & carbon nanotubes, to those that still have a high science fiction factor like nanocellulose & quantum dots. Nanofillers can be roughly grouped in fillers shaped like plates (e.g. nanoclays), tubes (e.g. carbon nanotubes) and 3 dimensional nanofillers (e.g. nano silica). There are also some peculiar nanofillers like POSS, an unusual cage structure, and tree-shaped dendrimers. The future of nano? Where will the future opportunities for application of nanotech in plastics lie? We would put our money on one of the following four: Transfer the knowledge from nanotechnology developments in high tech areas like BIO Use nanotech in semiconductors & bioplastics to make them as performanent as oil-based plastics electronics to plastics. plastics Wait for graphene to make its breakthrough in the coming Use sm®rt nanotechnology to make smart plastics materials decade. Graphene Want to know more? Flanders PlasticVision Visit www.creax.com or www.plasticvision.be CREAX Innovative cluster