Background
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have physical properties that exceed those of commonly used materials. With a tensile strength eight times that of stainless steel and with a thermal conductivity five times that of copper, CNTs are obvious choices for creating a new class of composite materials. Their inclusion in a polymer, ceramic, or metal matrix holds the potential to boost the host material’s electrical, mechanical, or thermal values by orders of magnitude, well above the performance possible with traditional fillers such as carbon black or ultra fine metal powders.

Although CNTs have exceptional physical properties, incorporating them into other materials has been inhibited by the surface chemistry of carbon. Problems such as phase separation, aggregation, poor dispersion within a matrix, and poor adhesion to the host matrix must be overcome. Zyvex has overcome these problems by developing a new surface treatment technology called Kentera™ that optimizes the interaction between CNTs and the host matrix. Kentera creates a multi-functional bridge between the CNT sidewalls and the host material or solvent. Kentera works on single-wall nanotubes (SWNTs), multi-wall nanotubes (MWNTs), and carbon nanotube fibers (CNFs).

What are Zyvex’s NanoSolve® products?
Zyvex’s NanoSolve® Materials business line delivers nano-additives, enhanced materials, process consulting, and finished goods to a growing list of customers, and an expanding list of real-world applications. Zyvex additives can deliver enhanced thermal, electrical, or mechanical properties by selectively transferring the superior intrinsic properties of carbon nanotubes into composite materials. Current offerings include:

NanoSolve® Additives:
• Functionalized MWNT or SWNT in halogenated organic solvents
--- Chloroform, Chlorobenzene, Dichloromethane, 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane
• Functionalized MWNT or SWNT in organic solvents
--- Acetone, Dioxane, Ethyl Acetate, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Isopropanol, Anisole, NMP, DMF, Ethanol, THF, Toluene, Xylene
• Functionalized MWNT or SWNT in water
• Functionalized MWNT or SWNT in Epoxy
• Functionalized MWNT or SWNT in Polyurethane or Polyurea

NanoSolve® Enhanced Materials:
• NanoSolve® enhanced epoxy resins
• NanoSolve® enhanced polyurea pre-polymers
• NanoSolve® enhanced polyurethane pre-polymers

For a further list of enhanced resins, please contact Marni Rutkofsky (Chemist, Technical Sales) at 972.792.1634.

What is Zyvex’s Kentera™ technology?
Kentera™ technology is a non-damaging surface treatment technology allowing excellent dispersion of CNTs in various solvents (including water) and enhancing the interaction between the CNTs and the host matrix.

How does Kentera work?
Kentera™ is the functionalization “bridge” which contains two major components. One component non-covalently adheres to the nanomaterials; the other easily customizes to anyapplication. This technology allows Zyvex to quickly meet our customer’s needs, providing early adopters with rapid time to market — and a very compelling product. We have designed our additive for numerous solvents and host materials.

Depiction of Zyvex’s non-covalent functionalization of a carbon nanotube

How can Zyvex help us?
Zyvex can meet your needs by serving as a solution provider: from certifying and managing the carbon nanotube supply chain, to delivering additives and enhanced materials with specific processing recipes for finished goods manufacturing.

NanoSolve® Value Chain (click image to see larger view) NanoSolve Value Chain Image © Copyright 2004. Zyvex Corporation. All rights reserved.

Can we partner with Zyvex?
Zyvex works closely with various partners to structure a business relationship based on the needs of our customers. Utilizing the Zyvex Partner Program, we develop products, processes and technologies. We view our customers as partners, bringing nanotechnology to market worldwide commercialization.

What are Zyvex’s advantages in CNT nanocomposites?
Zyvex’s NanoSolve product line offers cost-effective CNT technology, large scale delivery for rapid time to market, resolution of CNT processing bottlenecks, and a unique technology retaining the intrinsic properties of the CNTs.

What solubility advantages can Zyvex offer?
Zyvex’s Kentera technology allows excellent dispersion in various solvents and matrix materials. We can solubilize carbon nanotubes in halogenated organic solvents, organic solvents, water, various additives such as polyols, hardeners, resins, etc. allowing process ease and incorporation into existing product formulations.

. Images showing Zyvex’s excellent CNT dispersion. Roll over images to see poor dispersion of competing approaches.   Zyvex processed carbon nanotubes in liquid

Magnified image of Zyvex dispersion .

What are the properties of Carbon Nanotubes?
Carbon nanotubes significantly improve the electrical and thermal conductivities of commercial polymers. The conductivities of Zyvex’s CNT composites are typically several orders of magnitude higher than those of insoluble CNT composites, particularly at low nanotube loading levels. Our dispersion leads to the lowest percolation threshold at about .045wt% of CNT loading, representing the lowest reported figure for nanotube polymer composites. In addition, carbon nanotubes offer enhanced mechanical and structural properties. See our application notes for details.

Do you make nanotubes? Whose do you use?
Zyvex does not make its own nanotubes. We have identified a significant number of vendors worldwide for both SWNTs and MWNTs, and have supplier relationships with many of them.

Our business is to make nanotubes easier to process and use in products, and to help our customers pick the right nanotubes and the right processes for their application. Since we are not obligated to use a particular type of nanotube or manufacturing technology, we objectively pick the optimal manufacturer for a particular application.

What is the Zyvex CNT Supply Chain?
Zyvex takes an active role in defining and qualifying nanomaterial supply chains for its customers. Through its Supply Chain Certification program, Zyvex ensures that you receive the quality materials you need, on a reliable delivery schedule that synchronizes with your own processes. Zyvex’s comprehensive program verifies quality and batch-to-batch consistency using SEM, TPO, TGA, and a number of standard analytical tests.

Are large scale manufacturing and mass production scalability a problem for Zyvex?
Zyvex’s processing technology supports global industrial production. We offer the complete solution, with quality control, scalability to large volumes, process consulting, and finished goods.

What applications are ideal for NanoSolve?
Zyvex technology can be incorporated into most polymer matrices, including epoxies, adhesives, polyurethanes, and thermoplastics. We also offer co-development contracts to develop customized formulations for specific matrices. Some markets that find this technology advantageous include:
• Epoxy and engineering plastic composites
• Thermal management (interface materials, spacecraft radiators, avionic enclosures and printed circuit board thermal planes, etc.)
• Aircraft, ship, infrastructure and automotive structures
• Improved dimensionally stable structures for spacecraft and sensors
• Reusable launch vehicle cryogenic fuel tanks and unlined pressure vessels
• Packaging of electronic, optoelectronic and microelectromechanical (MEMS) components and subsystems
• Medical materials
• Sporting goods
• Composite fibers

A field-emission SEM image of the fracture surface at the broken end of a poloycarbonate composite loaded at 1wt% with Zyvex processed SWNTs. The SWNTs appear here as white fibers retained in the matrix. Click here for the application note. .

How do we determine if the technology/capabilities will meet our needs?
Our technical sales personnel will be happy to discuss your needs and establish Zyvex capabilities which are right for your application. Please contact Lance Criscuolo at 972.792.1624 or by email at lcriscuo@zyvex.com.

Is NanoSolve® stable?
Zyvex NanoSolve® products are stable for many weeks.

Can I have a free sample?
Zyvex offers competitive sample pricing, and occasionally we offer free samples to commercial customers with imminent volume applications.

Do you have any restrictive materials agreements?
We want you to freely use NanoSolve® in your own applications and buy more from us. Therefore, we do not restrict your uses of this material.

I heard carbon nanotubes are too expensive for commercial use… is that true?
Our customers have discovered that Zyvex’s NanoSolve® is cost effective for a number of immediate applications. Excellent dispersion requires significantly fewer nanotubes, compared to other commercially available products, to realize increased material performance. Fewer additives mean lower costs to produce the finished goods.

How much does NanoSolve cost?
Pricing is directly correlated to volume purchases; we would be happy to discuss this information directly under a non-disclosure agreement.

I thought Zyvex was working on atomically precise manufacturing and NanoWorks™ tools – how is this related?
We are committed to commercializing all nanotechnology breakthroughs.

When preliminary tests of our nanotube solutions showed material properties 10x to 100x better than alternative dispersion approaches, we began to move this technology out of the lab and into customer’s hands.

The technology underlying NanoSolve® allows us to molecularly engineer the properties of the solubilizing agent to suspend tubes in a variety of solvents. Additionally, the interaction of the tubes with the host material can be designed to achieve a range of properties in the resulting composite material system once the solvent is removed.

This “platform technology” enables us to tailor nanomaterials at the molecular scale to solve real-world materials problems. Solving real-world problems with nanotechnology is exactly why Zyvex was started, and we are pleased to offer this innovative nanomaterials product line.

Four-probe configuration for electrical characterization of a multiwalled carbon nanotube. .

Who do I contact for more information?
For more information, please contact one of our Sales Assocaites at 972.997.9996 or by email at sales@zyvex.com.