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UK firm certified to produce carbon nanotubes
MATERIALS
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UK firm certified to produce carbon nanotubes Thomas Swan & Company, based in Consett, County Durham, UK, has been certified as an approved supplier of highquality single-wall carbon nanotubes, the company reports. It has passed a certification designed and managed by USbased Zyvex Corporation, which verifies quality and consistency of commercially available carbon nanotubes using market accepted analytical techniques. This certification is in lieu of an official quality standard, which has not yet been set up, Swan & Co reports. “We have put considerable effort into our quality control in order to achieve a consistent, highpurity product,” says Harry
Swan, Nanomaterials Business Manager at Thomas Swan. The company began commercial production of its single-wall carbon nanotubes in April 2004 after spending five years developing the carbon nanomaterials with the UK’s Cambridge University. It can now manufacture over 2 kg of purified single-wall carbon nanotubes per month sold under the trade name of Elicarb® SW. The carbon nanotubes can be used in a wide range of industrial and academic applications, from advanced composites for the aerospace industry to improved catalyst supports for fuel cells. They are especially useful as
conductive additives for electrocoating plastic components (especially automotive) as well as electrical and electronic
applications. Contact: Thomas Swan & Company Website: www.thomas-swan.co.uk
An electron micrograph image of Swan¹s Elicarb single-wall nanotubes – each fibre is 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.
Machine makers agree to develop natural fibres The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials, based in Freiburg, Germany has signed an agreement with machine manufacturers Berstorff and Krauss-Maffei to develop new natural fibre composite materials. The three organisations plan to consolidate their respective knowledge of natural fibre
processing and create a database on the processing of natural fibres when compounded with Berstorff ZE twinscrew extruders and processed using Krauss-Maffei IMC-injection moulding technology. The companies will be primarily testing the processing of long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) composites, with glass and
cellulose fibres fed as rovings. They will also look into making natural fibre composites using staple fibres and feedable fibre forms, such as agglomerates, Berstorff reports. According to Berstorff, there is a growing demand in the plastics industry for reliable data and and technological know-how in this field. The
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company says that the testing will help demonstrate the opportunities for new products and technologies in the market place and is particularly useful for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Contact: Berstorff GmbH Email: [email protected] Website: www.berstorff.de
Plastics Additives & Compounding January/February 2005
News
UK firm certified to produce carbon nanotubes Thomas Swan & Company, based in Consett, County Durham, UK, has been certified as an approved supplier of highquality single-wall carbon nanotubes, the company reports. It has passed a certification designed and managed by USbased Zyvex Corporation, which verifies quality and consistency of commercially available carbon nanotubes using market accepted analytical techniques. This certification is in lieu of an official quality standard, which has not yet been set up, Swan & Co reports. “We have put considerable effort into our quality control in order to achieve a consistent, highpurity product,” says Harry
Swan, Nanomaterials Business Manager at Thomas Swan. The company began commercial production of its single-wall carbon nanotubes in April 2004 after spending five years developing the carbon nanomaterials with the UK’s Cambridge University. It can now manufacture over 2 kg of purified single-wall carbon nanotubes per month sold under the trade name of Elicarb® SW. The carbon nanotubes can be used in a wide range of industrial and academic applications, from advanced composites for the aerospace industry to improved catalyst supports for fuel cells. They are especially useful as
conductive additives for electrocoating plastic components (especially automotive) as well as electrical and electronic
applications. Contact: Thomas Swan & Company Website: www.thomas-swan.co.uk
An electron micrograph image of Swan¹s Elicarb single-wall nanotubes – each fibre is 100,000 times thinner than a human hair.
Machine makers agree to develop natural fibres The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials, based in Freiburg, Germany has signed an agreement with machine manufacturers Berstorff and Krauss-Maffei to develop new natural fibre composite materials. The three organisations plan to consolidate their respective knowledge of natural fibre
processing and create a database on the processing of natural fibres when compounded with Berstorff ZE twinscrew extruders and processed using Krauss-Maffei IMC-injection moulding technology. The companies will be primarily testing the processing of long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) composites, with glass and
cellulose fibres fed as rovings. They will also look into making natural fibre composites using staple fibres and feedable fibre forms, such as agglomerates, Berstorff reports. According to Berstorff, there is a growing demand in the plastics industry for reliable data and and technological know-how in this field. The
11
company says that the testing will help demonstrate the opportunities for new products and technologies in the market place and is particularly useful for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Contact: Berstorff GmbH Email: [email protected] Website: www.berstorff.de
Plastics Additives & Compounding January/February 2005