August 7, 2009--SouthWest NanoTechnologies (SWeNT; Norman, OK), a manufacturer of single-wall carbon nanotubes and specialty multi-wall carbon nanotubes, in partnership with Chasm Technologies (Canton, MA), a consulting firm specializing in nanomaterials and thin-film coating and patterning, have established a carbon nanotube coatings application development center at Chasm's facility located in the Boston area.
In July it was announced that SweNT will receive up to a $3 million equity infusion from the Insight Technology Capital Partners, a growth capital Fund based in Troy, MI. SWeNT expanded its production capacity with a new manufacturing facility in Norman, OK late last year, increasing its single-wall carbon nanotube production capability 100-fold at one-tenth the unit cost.
Chasm and SWeNT say they will utilize the center to demonstrate feasibility of achieving customer specifications for carbon nanotube coating and printing applications using a variety of thin-film coating and patterning technologies, including rod coating, slot die coating, spray coating, ink jet printing, flexographic printing, screen printing, and imprint lithography. Coating trials can be done at bench scale (sheets) or pilot scale (continuous lengths up to 12" wide), accommodating a wide range of substrates.
The roll-to-roll equipment is easily configurable to achieve a variety of web paths for operations such as drying, curing, rinsing, laminating, etc. Customized coating formulations can be prepared on-site. The center also includes a wide range of test equipment to characterize coated product structures.
According to Bob Praino, co-founder of Chasm, "SWeNT is an ideal partner since they offer the highest quality single wall and small diameter multiwall carbon nanotubes. Consistent material properties are essential to developing robust processing methods. SWeNT has manufacturing methods that are easily scalable to support the many large volume opportunities for these materials. In addition, SWeNT's willingness and ability to customize carbon nanotubes for applications can significantly reduce development cycle time."
Single-wall and small diameter multi-wall carbon nanotubes exhibit extraordinary properties when incorporated into coating formulations, and show great promise for many applications including lower cost displays, more rugged touch screens, miniaturized sensor devices, energy efficient LED lighting and cost efficient solar photovoltaic (PV) modules (see "Current-driven nanotubes emit at IR wavelengths").
SWeNT also has an applications development center in the Route 128/Boston, MA area, where SWeNT can work with customers on integrating SWeNT nanotubes into their products.
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For more information on SouthWest NanoTechnologies, go to www.swnano.com.
--Posted by Gail Overton, [email protected]; www.laserfocusworld.com.