Nanotechnology at Zyvex

Richardson, Texas (October 6, 2006)

Zyvex Corporation today announced the world’s first sailboat mast using carbon nanotubes. The mast, unveiled last week at the nanoTX '06 tradeshow in Dallas, incorporates Zyvex’s NanoSolve® materials to improve yacht performance by significantly increasing the strength and stiffness of the mast without adding weight. The mast was built for the new Synergy 350 RL.

Previous state-of-the-art masts were made of layers of carbon fiber fabric, bonded together with epoxy. The new mast upgrades that basic epoxy with Zyvex’s NanoSolve Enhanced Epoxy to deliver a new level of performance.

Based on Zyvex’s work for NASA in developing composite-in-composite materials, NanoSolve disperses carbon nanotubes into the epoxy matrix to provide stiffer and tougher composite structures. With a tensile strength 5-10 times higher than carbon fibers, nanotubes reinforce the epoxy and make the entire structure significantly stronger.

“NanoSolve is a great product for us,” said Casey Paus, Sales Director of Synergy Yachts. “It’s capabilities allow us to have a mast that is about 30 percent stiffer without adding any extra weight.” www.synergyachts.com

“Zyvex NanoSolve materials have proven themselves effective in many carbon fiber applications — from golf clubs to aerospace,” said Lance Criscuolo, Business Manager, NanoSolve Materials. “We’re excited to bring our technology to the marine market.”

Zyvex’s unique nanotube processing capabilities are currently improving a variety of sporting goods including bicycles, hockey sticks, baseball bats, and golf club shafts.

The editors of Micro/Nano Newsletter and R&D Magazine chose Zyvex’s NanoSolve materials as one of the best 25 micro- and nanotechnologies of 2006. NanoSolve also won an “R&D 100” award in 2005. The R&D 100 Award provides a mark of excellence known to industry, government, and academia as validation that the product is one of the most innovative of the year.

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