Nanotechnology used to be the stuff of science fiction movies. Recent advances could turn it into a household word within just a few years. Cost has been the primary sticking point, but performance problems have also prevented industry from full scale adoption of nanotechnology. With the development of nano-graphene platelets (NGPs), nanotechnology has become both cost effective and relatively problem free, according to the March 19, 2009 article written by Dr. Bor Jang of Angstron Materials LLC for Manufacturing & Technology eJournal.
A better alternative to carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers, nano-graphene platelets don’t have the performance issues of their predecessors which exhibited frustrating clumping problems and were difficult to form into composites. And NGPs finally bring nanotechnology down into an affordable price range for high volume manufacturing. You can read the Manufacturing & Technology eJournal article for Dr. Jang’s technical explanation of how NGPs are formed, but the bottom line is that NGPs provide “a much higher thermal conductivity and twice the specific surface areas” of their predecessors.
The flexibility of new NGPs, which can be combined with a wide range of materials and configured in a variety of forms, provides manufacturers with their first viable and accessible nanotechnology option. Potential applications include reinforcement of polymer materials, improved injection molding and extrusion techniques and products, ground and air lightning strike protection, aerospace thermal management and radio frequency interference protection, and battery and fuel cell innovations that could help spur large-scale transition from gas- to electric-powered vehicles in the U.S.
Dr. Jang lists a number of provocative features and benefits derived from current testing of NGPs and NGP nanocomposites, including:
- Thermal conductivity five times greater than copper with faster dissipation.
- Electrical conductivity similar to copper with a density four times lower.
- Fifty times stronger than steel.
- Very low weight, low density and small volume.
- Chemical bonding to a range of resins.
- High resistance to gas permeability.
- Excellent corrosion resistance.
- Able to remove heavy metals and radionucleides from wastewater and ground water.
- High organic material absorption.
- Exceptionally high intrinsic strength.
- High specific surface area.
- Ability to produce mass quantities in high volumes.
An innovative leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomic powered carts, DJ Products is always interested in new innovations in manufacturing. Development of NGPs puts cutting edge nanotechnology within the practical reach of U.S. manufacturers for the first time.