Hybtonite

Hybtonite is trademark of Amroy Europe Oy for carbon nanoepoxy resins. It is a family of composite resins reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

The material and the manufacturing method were originally developed in the Nanoscience Center of University of Jyväskylä during the years 2002 to 2004.[1] Ultrasound is used to disperse the nanotubes and to create radicals at the ends of CNT molecules.[2] CNTs can then chemically react with epoxy resin or other material forming strong covalent bonds. This results in a more durable hybrid composite structure that is between 20-30% stronger (with only 0.5% CNT contents) than a conventional reinforced plastic.[3]

The manufacturing process allows controlling the material properties such as electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and viscosity. Different forms of hybtonite are available for different purposes such as laminating (glass fiber, carbon fiber), epoxy paints and glues.

Applications

The first application areas for hybtonite have been in field of wind turbines, marine applications and sports gear.

Awards

On January 2006, Montreal Hybtonite® hockey stick ”Nitro” was voted number one Nano product in the world at Nanotech 2006 trade show in Tokyo, Japan.

On December 2009, Amroy received Frost & Sullivan European Technology Innovation Award for its work on hybtonite.[8]

References