Press Release
Coimbra, Portugal, 01-Sept-2015
Nanostructured Powders for Enhanced Material Properties in Demanding Ceramic Applications
(hall B1/ stand area 219/320; 325/426; 217/318)
Innovnano (www.innovnano-materials.com) is a specialist manufacturer of high quality nanostructured zirconia-based powders and aluminium zinc oxide (AZO) sputter coating targets. As a subsidiary of CUF, one of the largest chemical companies in Europe, Innovnano manufactures and supplies industrial scale quantities of their powders from a purpose-built production centre in Coimbra, Portugal.
The ability to produce ceramics with an intrinsic nanostructure can transform their physical and chemical behaviour. Nanostructured ceramics with smaller grain sizes show improved structural properties, such as hardness, flexural strength and resistance to thermal shock. Through a unique, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology – Emulsion Detonation Synthesis (EDS) – Innovnano are able to produce homogeneous nanostructured powders with an even chemical distribution for guaranteed high powder performance and consistency.
Innovnano will be exhibiting its AZO sputter coating targets, which are currently available in 2 and 3 inch diameters. The raw AZO powder has very small grain sizes and high reactivity, enabling the production of full density targets at lower sintering temperatures to minimise grain growth. The sputtering targets therefore offer improved thermal and mechanical properties for creating high performance coatings or films such as Transparent Conducting Oxides (TCOs), which can be used to produce highly efficient photovoltaic cells. As such, AZO offers an effective and lower cost alternative to indium tin oxide, the current gold standard material for TCOs.
Innovnano will also be exhibiting high quality, nanostructured Monoclinic Zirconia and other nanostructured powders. Innnovnano’s Monoclinic Zirconia is of a very high purity and ideal for application as a dopant in the production of zirconia filters, for example, in steel foundries. The presence of nanostructured zirconia acts as a binder, allowing filters to better resist physical wear and disintegration from heat, and therefore improve component lifetime. Innovnano’s other nanostructured powders, for example 3mol.% Yttria Stabilised Zirconia (3YSZ), are ideal for Hot Pressing (HP) and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) applications.
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Figure captions
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SEM image of Innovnano’s high quality nanostructured ceramic powder
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Schematic representation of Innovnano’s proprietary manufacturing technology - emulsion detonation synthesis (EDS)
Press contact
Innovnano Advanced Materials S.A., Paul Newbatt,
CERAMIC APPLICATIONS, Karin Scharrer,
ceramitec 2015, hall B1, stand area 219/320; 325/426; 217/318