Why use nanomaterials?
The answer is simple: nanomaterials open doors to new, exciting possibilities that macroscale materials can't touch.
Increase in surface area
In the same way that small marshmellows dissolve rapidly in hot chocolate while the larger ones float around, rearranging matter into smaller pieces at the nanoscale level significantly increases surface area, which in turn has dramatic effects on solubility, catalytic properties and other areas.
For example, platinum and palladium are very popular chemical catalysts; using their respective nanomaterials allows significantly less material to achieve the same catalytic efficiency. Our own catalyst technology reduces platinum loading by approximately 99% without sacrificing performance. Given the cost of these precious metals, this can result in significant cost savings.
Electrical conductivity
Not only can nature's most conductive elements (silver, copper and other metals) be easily transformed into nanowires and nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes exhibit unqiue conductive properties. Nanomaterials allow virtually any conductive or semiconductive application to be miniaturized beyond conventional micro-scale capabilities.
For example, there is already a significant amount of research about carbon nanomaterial transistors which would re-ignite the slowing miniaturization of computer technology. Additionally, Blue Nano's SLR-160 solar cell conductive film uses a network of silver nanowires to funnel free electrons from the silicon to current collectors, reducing effective electrode spacing and providing an approximately 50% increase over transparent conductive oxides such as indium tin oxide (ITO).
Optical properties
Light energy interacts differently with nanomaterials than with macro materials, both within visual range and outside visual range. These unique properties result in a variety of different applications. In our SLR-160 solar cell conductive film, Raman scattering and the surface plasmon effect magnify the effective optical surface area of the solar cell, reducing reflectivity loss. In medical imaging and drug delivery applications, nanoparticles activated by ultraviolet light glow brightly, allowing doctors to detect and track tumor growth.
Structural properties
Already there are over 700 consumer products which feature nanomaterials including many types of stain-resistant, water-resistant and wrinkle-free clothing, carbon fiber structural components for high performance bicycles, longer lasting tennis balls and more powerful tennis rackets, and scratch resistant finishes for automobiles. Our own carbon-based BTY-175 lithium ion battery conductive additive takes advantage of both conductive and structural properties to reduce electrode cracking and increase battery durability significantly.
Many, many more
Our web server isn't large enough to hold all of the potential uses of nanotechnology (at least until nano-transistors come around!) but we invite you to take a look at some of our featured nanomaterial applications as well as our own clean energy products for more ideas. Please also contact us if you have further questions; we might be able to point you in the right direction.
You need nanomaterials; we can help!
Once you've identified how nanomaterials can benefit your product, you'll face the difficult process of selecting a reliable, high quality nanomaterials manufacturer.
