FRIDAY FEATURE: Nanomaterials

FRIDAY FEATURE
 
1. What is the benefit of using nanomaterials?

The nanomaterials have to be used in areas where one can benefit from them more than from conventional particles (e.g. micron and bigger that are produced by top to bottom way). These applications include composition materials (can be used in many branches), polishing materials (roughly speaking, smaller is the particle - smaller is roughness), biological applications (particles smaller than ca. 100 nm can easily permeate through the skin, also penetrate through the cell membranes, so novel formulations can be done). Of course there's plenty of applications in R&D, e.g. using q-dots instead of organic dyes.
 
2. What are generally seen as the most promising nanomaterials?

Everything. Nanoceramics and nanodiamonds - for composite materials and polishing, also biological applications. Nanometals - for powder metalurgy and microtechnique. Q-dots - for R&D. One shouldn't exclude also use of nano-Al and other metals for rocket-fuel and other applications.
 
3. What factors do you envisage that will allow for the transition from concept to product?  

The prices are o.k. also now, they can be reduced much more if there's an application seen. Scaling up for most of nanomaterials is not a bigger issue than for any other compound.

The main problem here is the high innertia of industries, but some time is always needed to convince people to change the existing methods and production facilities. So, in several years we'll see the rapid increase of the ammount of applications using nanomaterials.
 
4. What applications do you envisage?

There are already applications in some fields (nanomaterials are used for instance as galvanic additives for metal deposition), engine oil additives and others. Next 3-5 years are needed for spreading the existing applications around the globe and for lounching the new ones. Of course there are some developments that will need much more time to get to the market, but in this sence nano-research has no difference from any other.
 

Dr. Alexei Antipov

PlasmaChem GmbH

Interview by nanoposts.com.