Carbodeon Thermally-Conductive Polymer Gives 25 Percent Performance Increase

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Oct 31, 2013, 06:00 ET

VANTAA, Finland, October 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Nanodiamonds in minute quantities exploit diamond properties while keeping costs low for electronics and LED applications

Measured thermal conductivity values [W/Km] for PA-66 polymer reference material (two left bars). The middle bars show thermal conductivity values for the same PA-66 polymer enhanced with 45 wt. % Boron Nitride thermal filler material. The right side bars show how thermal conductivity is further enhanced by replacing only 0.1 wt. % Boron Nitride with the same amount of uDiamondÂ® nanodiamond powder. The resulting nano-composite material provides significant performance increases in electronics and LED manufacturing. (PRNewsFoto/Carbodeon)

Carbodeon has developed a thermal filler using nanodiamonds that increases the conductivity of thermally conductive polymers by 25 percent, providing significant performance increases for polymers used in electronics and LED manufacture.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131031/648818 )

Starting with a polyamide 66 (PA66) reference material containing 45 percent by weight of boron nitride as the thermal filler, Carbodeon created a new material using 44.9 percent boron nitride and 0.1% of its uDiamond^® nanodiamond powder. The thermal conductivity of the PA66 increased by 25 percent, averaged across all planes.

The increase in thermal conductivity is achieved without affecting the electrical insulation or other mechanical properties of the material, making it an ideal choice for a wide range of electronics and LED applications.

Carbodeon CTO Vesa Myllymäki said: "The performance improvements achieved by this filler are derived from the extremely high thermal conductivity of diamond, at around 2000 W/mK. The key development made by Carbodeon is to tune the surface chemistry of the diamond particles and mixing process to develop a nano-composite in which the diamond is very well interfaced to the polymer molecules."

The active surface chemistry inherent in detonation-synthesised nanodiamonds has historically presented difficulties in application of these promising 4-6 nm particles, making them prone to agglomeration. Carbodeon tunes that surface chemistry so that the particles are driven to disperse and to become consistently integrated throughout parent materials, especially polymers. The much-promised properties of diamond can thus be imparted to other materials with very low, and hence economic, concentrations.

Myllymäki added: "Through Carbodeon technology, really effective improvements to several physical properties can be made with the addition of small quantities of nanodiamond. We are developing a range of customer applications and are always interested to show manufacturers what benefits can be achieved. We know we have not yet uncovered all the benefits that Carbodeon nanodiamonds can deliver, and are always excited by engaging with customers to investigate new challenges."

Editor's note: Further information on this technology is available on request.

About Carbodeon Ltd

Carbodeon supplies super hard materials for applications where toughness is at a premium. Its patented technologies offer superior opportunities to several fields of business. Its grades of Ultra-Dispersed Diamonds -- also known as NanoDiamonds - possess the desired properties fine-tuned for a growing number of dedicated applications. These grades are sold under the name uDiamond^®. Similarly, the company's Nicanite^® graphitic carbon nitride can be converted to carbon nitride thin-film coatings with unique properties. http://www.carbodeon.com

Contacts:

Asko Vehanen - [email protected]
Munehiro Mori - [email protected], mobile phone +81-90-2157-2924

SOURCE Carbodeon