Medical Device Link.

Originally Published EMDM September 2004

Industry News

Increased material strength and thermal conductivity are among the attributes of a new family of polyurethane additives. Developed by Zyvex Corp. (Richardson, TX, USA), NanoSolve products are based on single-wall (SWNT) or multiwall (MWNT) nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes are extended buckminsterfullerene molecules, or “buckyballs,” spherical molecules constructed solely from carbon 60 atoms. The molecular structure provides exceptional strength.

The additives are intended primarily for early adopters of new technology, says senior engineer Mark Banash. “These are manufacturers who need to make a rapid market-dictated increase in performance to remain competitive,” he says.

MWNTs are less costly to produce than SWNTs and are suited for applications in which mechanical strength is a core concern. SWNTs tend to perform better for thermally and electrically conductive applications. They also may require lower loading than MWNTs to achieve improvements in performance. In either case, proper surface treatment is a key process step, notes Banash.

“The surface chemistry of carbon causes raw tubes to aggregate,” explains Banash. A surface treatment is necessary to enable their proper dispersion and structural interaction with the matrix, he adds. Zyvex has developed a functionalization technology to ensure that this occurs.

The firm is currently developing additives for a range of polymer and metal host materials. It can also alter additives to interact in unique ways with a customer’s matrix.

To learn more about these materials, contact Zyvex Corp., 1321 N. Plano Rd., Richardson, TX 75081, USA; phone: +1 972 2357881; fax: +1 972 2357882; e-mail: info@zyvex.com; Internet: www.zyvex.com. 

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