Conductive Polymers

Polymers are light weight, corrosion-resistant

materials with a wide variety of industrial and military
uses.
Three classes of polymer resins:
Thermoplastic (rigid, meltable, e.g. polyethylene)
Elastomer (stretchable, e.g. rubber)
Thermoset (rigid, not-meltable, e.g epoxy)

Polymers are generally NOT good conductors of

electricity
However, electrical conductivity is desired in various
polymer applications:
Electrostatic dischage, electostatic painting, EMI
shielding,lightning strike protection, etc.

Prior Art
Making Plastics Conductive
Melt Blending or High Shear Melt Compounding
10 m

Conductive powders:

micro-sized metal filings,

carbon black, etc.
Mixes well, but high
loading is required

Heated, high
shear mixer

Aluminum
powder

Carbon nanofibers:
Highly conductive, but
nonuniform
dispersion and/or
degraded aspect
ratio

Carbon
nanofibers
10 m

UDRI Technology Description

Method of Forming Conductive
Polymeric Nanocomposite Materials
and Materials Produced Thereby
(U.S. Patent Application
2003/0039816 A1)

Polymer resin
Affordable carbon nanofibers
Solvent

Ambient Temperature
Dispersion process

carbon nanofibers

Solvent
removal

Filaments
Coatings
Thin or thick films
Tubes
Panels
Composites

Advantages
2-3 orders of magnitude more conductive than that
produced by melt blending
Electronic percolation threshold < 1%
Use of affordable carbon nanofibers

Large aspect ratio

retained
Uniform dispersion
achieved

Example
Conductivity of thermoplastic polyurethane film

Applications & Markets

Conductive Paints, Coatings, Caulks, Sealants,
Adhesives, Sheets, Tubes, and Structural Components

Electromagnetic inerference (EMI) shielding

Electromagnetic pulse applications
Electrical signal transfer
Electrostatic painting of panels
Electrostatic discharge
Lightning Strike Protection
Electro-optical devices (photovoltaic cells)

Industries: Space, Aerospace, Electronic, Automotive, Chemical

Development Stage
Practiced regularly on laboratory scale at UDRI,
~ 1 lb. batches (polymer + nanofiber)
Data collected on wide variety of thermoplastic,
elastomer, and thermoset polymers
2000 ft2 pilot plant and new equipment being
installed; scale-up studies underway at UDRI;
expect 10-50 lb. batch capacity by spring 2004

Dry nanomaterial powder handling and storage

Nanoparticle dispersion and solvent removal
Preform fabrication: film extrusion and prepregging
Composite lay-up and filament winding
Composite molding processes, including VARTM,
press, and autoclave
Post cure ovens
Extrusion and fiber spinning.

Go To Market Strategy
Exclusive patent license to
Nanosperse is working with early adopter
companies, resin suppliers, and nano materials
manufacturers to develop applications
Pilot scale product, samples, and R&D support will
be provided initially by UDRI and Materials
Research Institute (Dayton, OH) through
Nanosperse, LLC
Future production by Nanosperse according to
customer requirements

Support Capability
UDRI has a 40+ year history of polymer and composite R&D.
We have a staff of full-time engineers and technicians; we
are customer oriented and respect client confidentiality.
The following capabilities will be available to industrial
clients through Nanosperse:
Pilot plant production and R&D
Custom compounding
Standard Master Batch material
Production of films, fibers, plaques,
prepregs
Curing
Testing
Contact Art Fritts at Nanosperse, 330-670-6849
afritts@nanosperse.com, www.nanosperse.com

Currently Available Product Forms

By The Pound, December 2003

Liquid and Paste Master

Batch Material

Master Batch
concentrate
material

Epoxy
Elastomers

Custom compounded
resin/nanofiber batches

Letting-down master
batch material

Molded nanocomposite
plaques
Thin Film Composites

See us at the UDRI booth (#24) !!

Molded nanocomposite plaque

Also Under Development

Thermally conductive nanocomposites
Structural reinforcement
Tailored functionalization of carbon nanofibers
Continuous fiber composites containing carbon
nanofibers