CLEVELAND — October 8, 2019 — OCSiAl, the world’s largest producer of graphene nanotubes, today introduced four new TUBALL MATRIX products designed specifically for the elastomers industry. The announcement from the International Elastomer Conference in Cleveland represents another expansion of the OCSiAl portfolio and Tuball line of graphene nanotube additives. The new products enhance the compatibility of Tuball for use in elastomer compounding with matrices refined to support fluoroelastomers, EPDM and tire compounds.
Tuball Matrix is a naturally conductive single-wall carbon nanotube additive that improves the physical properties of elastomers as well as conductivity without compromising other attributes. With loading rates below 0.5 percent, Tuball Matrix dispersions for elastomers also enable lightweighting, provide greater control over color, and eliminate marking. The new products, when added during the compounding process, form a reinforcing and conductive nanotube network within the compound.
“Ongoing innovation in elastomers is necessary to meet the needs that current material formulations can’t support,” said Michael Jacobsson, sales director, OCSiAl USA. “Our new Tuball Matrix dispersions integrate easily during the compounding process and, at very low loading rates, while enhancing physical properties and conductivity.”
The four new Tuball Matrix products have completed production testing and are qualified for customer use. The new products are:
- Tuball Matrix 608 for fluoroelastomers is designed for gaskets, seals and other components used in the oil and gas, semiconductor and aerospace industries. Adding Tuball Matrix 608 during compounding has shown to improve tensile strength up to 36 percent, tear strength up to 90 percent and abrasion resistance up to 27 percent while also enhancing conductive properties and color capabilities.
- Tuball Matrix 610 for EPDMs improves EPDM tensile strength up to 25 percent and tear strength up to 103 percent, delivering longer life for belts used in vehicles and conveyor systems. The added conductivity can enable higher speeds by eliminating static buildup. In EPDM roofing applications, Tuball 610 improves elongation of roofing materials by up to 61 percent and enables greater control over color.
- Tuball 614 and 615 for tire compounds integrate easily into the compounding process, enabling a 6.1-percent improvement in durability, a 9.6-percent improvement in efficiency, and improved traction. The low loading rates enable potential weight reduction that improves fuel efficiency and electric vehicle range.
OCSiAl uses a unique production process to produce nano additives at a significantly lower cost and larger scale than has previously been possible. Those additives are Tuball, a universal graphene nanotube additive that augments material performance, and Tuball Matrix, a pre-dispersed form of Tuball. Tuball and Tuball Matrix transform existing materials to reduce weight, improve strength, increase adhesion or add conductivity.
Posted October 9, 2019
Source: OCSiAl
