INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT
This report focuses on polymer nanocomposites and their uses. There has been
enormous interest in the commercialization of nanocomposites for a variety of
applications, and several of these applications will be successful in the near
future.
Mineral fillers, metals, and fibers have been added to thermoplastics and
thermosets for decades to form composites. Compared to neat resins, these
composites have a number of improved properties including tensile strength, heat
distortion temperature, and modulus. Thus, for structural applications,
composites have become very popular and are sold in billion pound quantities.
These filled thermoplastics are sold in even larger volumes than neat
thermoplastics. Furthermore, the volume of fillers sold is roughly equal to the
volume of thermoplastic resin sold. Clearly, the idea of adding fillers to
thermoplastics and thermosets to improve properties, and in some cases decrease
costs, has been very successful for many years.
More recently, with advances in synthetic techniques and the ability to
readily characterize materials on an atomic scale has lead to interest in
nanometer-size materials. Since nanometer-size grains, fibers and plates have
dramatically increased surface area compared to their conventional-size
materials, the chemistry of these nanosized materials is altered compared to
conventional materials.
Polymer nanocomposites combine these two concepts, i.e., composites and
nanometer-size materials. Thermoplastics filled with nanometer-size materials
have different properties than thermoplastics filled with conventional
materials. Some of the properties of nanocomposites, such as increased tensile
strength, may be achieved by using higher conventional filler loading at the
expense of increased weight and decreased gloss. Other properties of
nanocomposites such as clarity or improved barrier properties cannot be
duplicated by filled resins at any loading.
Polymer nanocomposites were developed in the late 1980s in both commercial
research organizations and academic laboratories. The first company to
commercialize these nanocomposites was Toyota, which used nanocomposite parts in
one of its popular car models for several years. Following Toyota's lead, a
number of other companies also began investigating nanocomposites.
Most commercial interest in nanocomposites has focused on thermoplastics.
Thermoplastics can be broken into two groups: less expensive commodity resins
and more expensive (and higher performance) engineering resins. One of the goals
of nanocomposites was to allow substitution of more expensive engineering resins
with a less expensive commodity resin nanocomposite. Substituting a
nanocomposite commodity resin with equivalent performance as a more expensive
engineering resin should yield overall cost savings.
By a strict definition of nanocomposites, i.e., any filler submicron in size,
there already are significant volumes of nanocomposites being produced. These
amount to more than 20 million pounds. However, since these fillers are on the
upper end of the nanocomposite size range, most sources have excluded them from
consideration. This report covers these products but does not add their volumes
into aggregate numbers of nanocomposite markets or production volumes to comply
with the established convention.
At this point in time, there has been much less commercial interest in
thermoset nanocomposites compared to thermoplastics. This neglect may not
continue much longer since thermoset nanocomposites have some distinct
advantages over neat thermoset resins. This report covers some possible markets
for thermoset nanocomposites.
This report summarizes the nanocomposite products that have been developed,
and covers those thermoplastics that probably will be developed into a
nanocomposite. This report also covers applications for these nanocomposites,
and estimates possible future markets for these materials. Armed with this
information, readers with business interests then can make sound judgments
regarding marketing strategies, investment decisions, or strategic plans
concerning the market for polymer nanocomposites. This report has been written
to be readily accessible to those readers with business backgrounds, but
accuracy concerning the technical aspects of polymer nanocomposite manufacture
has not been sacrificed.
REASONS FOR THIS STUDY
While there has been much ballyhoo in the popular press concerning the wonders
of polymer nanocomposites, it is difficult to get solid information on how many
of these nanocomposites are being produced and sold. Furthermore, many articles
have presented wildly misleading information concerning the manufacture of these
materials, their markets and applications. This report offers a timely picture
of trends in polymer nanocomposites that cannot be obtained from other sources.
CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY
This report shows the current size (negligible) and the future size of the
polymer nanocomposites market in the U.S. Since the U.S. probably will become
the dominant producer, and is one of the largest markets for polymer
nanocomposites worldwide, this report focuses heavily on trends in the U.S.
Readers of this report will be able to distinguish between the hype concerning
uses of polymer nanocomposites and the reality of the market. A number of
potentially significant polymer nanocomposites markets have received relatively
little press, and many of the published articles concerning the uses of these
materials do not provide an accurate picture.
SCOPE AND FORMAT
To generate the information necessary to construct a reasonable future market
for polymer nanocomposites, it is necessary to take a hard-headed look at the
potential advantages and pitfalls of the current crop of these materials as
compared with conventionally-filled polymers. This report does not delve into
the likelihood of exotic new forms of transportation. instead, it is restricted
to possible replacements of existing conventional materials by polymer
nanocomposites. Applications of nanocomposite materials that are possible within
five to 10 years also are discussed.
This report categorizes two types of polymer nanocomposites:
- thermoplastic nanocomposites: these materials are broken into two major
categories, i.e., commodity resins and engineering resins. The potential of
polymer nanocomposite commodity resin is covered for each resin. Engineering
resin nanocomposites are restricted to resins that have been under development.
- thermoset nanocomposites: thermoset nanocomposites have received less
commercial interest in their development than thermoplastic nanocomposites, but
these materials may be relatively straightforward to bring into production.
Furthermore, thermoset nanocomposites can offer some significant advantages over
conventional thermosets.
The report is broken into six sections.
First there is an overview that gives the broad details of polymer
nanocomposites, along with some of their physical properties and manufacturing
methods. Next, there is an extensive description of the industry that is
developing polymer nanocomposites. This includes clay manufacturers, mineral
filler manufacturers, thermoplastic resin producers and compounders, along with
company profiles. Following this industry structure, there is a brief
description of the government and academic laboratories that have been doing
extensive research in polymer nanocomposites. Then there is a description of
polymer nanocomposites by filler and resin type. After a products section, there
is a description of the markets for polymer nanocomposites including future
trends. The report concludes with a section on patents that have been filed
pertaining to polymer nanocomposites.
METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION
This report is the end result of four months of concerted effort by the author.
The primary information sources for this report came from interviews with
several dozen people in industry, academe and the government. The author also
attended meetings and conferences, and much precious insight was gained from
these sources as well. Many of the people interviewed are recognized authorities
in the field, and provided invaluable assistance. I would like to thank all who
took the time to speak with me for their help with this project.
Since this study was not commissioned by any corporation or individual, the
author's brief in writing it was to be as objective as possible.
Secondary sources used for this report include a number of publications
issued by the federal government, including items on the Internet, corporate
literature, and publications in peer-reviewed literature.
Any time an estimate for a number has been made, the underlying assumptions
are discussed. Thus, if a reader chooses to interpret the raw data in a
differing manner, it is possible to do so. Dollar amounts are in constant 1999
dollars, and average annual growth rates (AAGRs) are calculated using standard
tables.
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