DuPont Develops Advanced Nanocomposites For Enhanced Polymer Properties

Geneva, Switzerland — DuPont expects to introduce in 2007 a family of thermoplastic nanocomposites that promise to open new opportunities for design and production of plastic parts delivering higher performance, lighter weight and increased molding productivity.

The new offerings will be targeted to automotive, electrical, electronic and industrial applications. According to Nandan Rao, technology director, DuPont Performance Materials, the new nanocomposites will be based on fundamental DuPont research on the behavior of nanomaterials in polymers. He said DuPont is conducting research into nanomaterials that can offer unique properties, and is also developing better ways to disperse such nanomaterials in polymers.

"These nanocomposites are novel, yielding substantial improvements in key desirable properties. While the polymers and additive we are using are existing materials, the innovation lies in the proprietary process technology developed by DuPont scientists," Nandan said. "With proper dispersion in a polymer, we have found that small amounts of a naturally occurring material form nanoscale reinforcement structures that can produce substantial improvements in mechanical properties, high-temperature properties, barrier properties and processing characteristics."

An example of such performance benefits is in lighter weight plastic parts that do not sacrifice other critical properties. The DuPont process can be used to make an advanced glass-reinforced nanocomposite that demonstrates similar properties to conventional glass-reinforced PET, but with significantly less glass content, so the weight of plastic parts can be reduced with no loss of performance. This would offer significant advantages over conventional materials for automotive weight reduction, Nandan said.

SOURCE: DuPont