BYK Carries Out Basic Research on Carbon Nanotubes
As one of the members of the CNT Alliance for Innovation, BYK is consistently pushing ahead with basic research on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The aim of the initiative, which is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is to make Germany the world‘s leading market for CNTs.
“BYK‘s know-how in the sector of high-performance wetting and dispersing agents is at the cutting edge globally and one of the main pillars of the Alliance for Innovation,” states Dr. Thomas Sawitowski, who leads the CNT project at BYK. “The company wants to profit economically from this expertise by marketing special wetting and dispersing agents, carrying out contract manufacturing of CNT-based dispersions, and marketing CNT dispersions as additives for coatings and plastics.”
- Magnified picture of a single nanotube
Carbon nanotubes conquer field of material technology
When Project Manager Sawitowski speaks about carbon nanotubes (CNTs), his enthusiasm is infectious. This is hardly surprising since the tiny carbon nanotubes — which possess spectacular mechanical and electronic properties — are currently one of the most promising trends in nanotechnology. “The calculated specififi c strength of CNTs is 400 times that of steel or aluminum, and they are 20 times stronger than carbon fibers,” says Dr. Sawitowski. “Depending on their structure, they can also serve as electrical conductors or semi-conductors,” he adds, emphasizing the enormous potential offered by this new generation of materials. Before CNTs can actually show off their superior properties in practical applications, however, the research team led by Thomas Sawitowski has a lot of work ahead of it. Carbon nanotubes were discovered accidentally in the early 1990s. As a result, even basic research on CNTs is still in its infancy.
High demand for know-how on wetting and dispersing additives
Two business units at BYK participate in the CNT Alliance for Innovation. The BYK research team for the “synthesis of wetting and dispersing additives” in the R&D Section will be engaged in the chemical development of suitable wetting and dispersing additives. The second unit involved in the project at BYK is the “Nanotechnology Additives Product Group.” This group is concerned with developing methods for dispersing nanomaterials and finding applications for the wetting and dispersing additives produced by the company. It is also responsible for converting the methods developed in the laboratory into practicable production processes. All of these activities have a common thrust, namely to develop methods for working CNTs into different polymer matrices. These activities are expected to culminate in the establishment of a broad work and knowledge platform describing the specific product properties of all the basic polymer types — thermoplastics, duroplastics and elastomers — as a function of all the important variables.
CNT Alliance for Innovation links cross-sectional technologies to practical applications
To selectively utilize the potential of CNTs, a “CNT Alliance for Innovation” was set up. This initiative consists of various projects and has received a pledge from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to provide financing for a four-year period. One of the main tasks facing the Alliance is the development of cross-sectional technologies which will address the specific problems industry is grappling with. Numerous participants from science and industry hope to open up huge markets with CNTs — especially in the areas of “energy & environment” and “mobility and lightweight construction.” “We are presently concentrating on the chemical development of suitable wetting and dispersing additives and on methods for manufacturing additives containing CNTs. These activities are grouped together in the cross-sectional project ‘CarboDis,‘” says Dr. Sawitowski. Underscoring the strategic approach being taken by the Initiative, he adds: “The subject is so complex, however, that we have to bundle the different competencies of the project participants in an interdisciplinary manner if we want to achieve usable results anytime in the near future.”
BYK masters a technologically sophisticated process
The primary challenge posed by the ‘CarboDis’ project is that the present methods — which are available on a technical scale — are not equal to the task of unlocking the potential of CNT materials for specific applications. In particular, the uniform dispersion of CNTs and their frequently inadequate integration into the polymer matrix are major technological obstacles to the realization of specific applications. BYK wants to make a major contribution to solving this problem — and the conditions couldn‘t be better! “BYK is a global leader in the dispersing additives segment,” says Dr. Sawitowski, a role the company has expanded appreciably in recent years. “In the nanotechnology sector, we have acquired extensive experience in dispersing and stabilizing nanoparticles and in techniques for modifying the surface of nanoparticles. Plus, we have been able to refine these techniques with a view to dispersing CNTs,” he reports. To stabilize the dispersions produced, the BYK research team is making use of the principle of steiric and/or electrostatic stabilization. The effect of the CNT dispersing additive is subsequently tested on the laboratory scale using innovative methods which are not yet applied on a broad scale, such as jet dispersing. Following a preliminary selection, samples containing the additives or even finished dispersions are made available to the project partners for their own investigations.
- Magnified picture of a single nanotube
Big market opportunities for CNT additives
Past the model experiments, additives which have survived the testing phase are to be produced at larger production facilities and developed rapidly to market maturity. Thomas Sawitowski is optimistic that “In the future additives based on CNTs will provide a strong forward momentum to our business in high-performance wetting and dispersing additives.” The carbon nanotubes have outstanding sales prospects — especially on the market for high performance carbon black materials. At present, production of these materials amount to nine million tons per year. “If we succeed in replacing even a small fraction of these additives with CNTs, which are in many ways superior, we will have opened up a market worth several hundred thousand tons annually,” says Dr. Sawitowski. To realize this potential, however, we need highquality dispersions. And these can be produced, in turn, only with superior additives and methods. For starters, BYK has the technological resources needed to effectively carry out this task. But that‘s not all: owing to the company‘s strong presence in markets such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Europe — but also in North America and of course China and India — it possesses outstanding marketing expertise at the same time. This expertise is a valuable asset which the company should now use consistently to market its innovative CNT additives and dispersions.
