FAQ

2- What are the properties of carbon nanotubes?

3- How does Arkema manufacture its Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes?

4- What are the specific properties of Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes?

5- What are the current applications of Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes?

1- What are carbon nanotubes?

Carbon nanotubes were discovered officially by a team of Japanese scientists in the early 1990s. They have a tubular structure comprising one or more concentric graphite walls. Their length can reach several tens of microns, with their outer diameter ranging from 1 to 100 nm. There are several types of nanotubes based on the number of walls: single wall (SWNT), double-wall (DWNT), or multiwall (MWNT).
Arkema produces multiwall carbon nanotubes under the tradename Graphistrength®.

2- What are the properties of carbon nanotubes?

Carbon nanotubes feature outstanding physico-chemical properties. They combine high electrical conductivity with record thermal conductivity and astounding mechanical properties. Used as additives, they can impart their properties to the materials and coatings they are added to.
They have countless potential applications, some of which we cannot even begin to imagine today. As a matter of interest, some of their applications on the contrary would seem to take us back into the past, and indeed much further back than their official discovery some fifteen years ago might suggest. Indeed, recent tests have shown that the remarkable properties of the steel of the scimitars used by Muslim warriors during the Crusades come from the steel’s particular composition which includes multiwall carbon nanotubes.

3- How does Arkema manufacture its Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes?

Arkema uses a continuous synthesis process involving catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) in a fluidized bed type reactor. This process produces high purity multiwall carbon nanotubes in the form of a black powder whose characteristics are fully controlled and stable over time.
With production currently at the pilot stage, Arkema plans to significantly increase its production capacity from 2010 in order to meet rising market demand.

4- What are the specific properties of Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes?

Graphistrength® carbon nanotubes feature high purity (over 90 % for standard grades and over 97 % for very high purity grades) whose characteristics are perfectly controlled during production. They are available as powders with an optimized particle size to facilitate their use in the plants while minimizing as much as possible potential exposure by inhalation. They are also available perfectly predispersed in various liquids or polymer matrices. In the latter case, their use requires no specific precaution.
Furthermore, in line with its wide-ranging involvement in sustainable development, Arkema is fine-tuning a manufacturing process for its Graphistrength® carbon nanotubes from a renewable carbon source, namely agricultural ethanol. Arkema is a major groundbreaker in this field.

5- What are the current applications of Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes?

Thanks to their remarkable inherent characteristics, Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes have applications in many areas in which they contribute their outstanding properties in terms of superior mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity.
They are used in sports articles like tennis rackets, baseball bats, bicycle frames, skis and surfboards. They are added to composites to significantly enhance their mechanical performances, and hence help reduce the weight of structures.
In coatings and plastic materials, they impart electrostatic dissipation properties which are invaluable in industry, car manufacture, and electronics.
These few examples are testimony to the potential uses of Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotubes. They have countless potential applications, some of which we cannot even begin to imagine today.

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