Conductive Coating Composition With Low Tint and High Transparency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Polymeric materials used in vehicles and electronic components lack electrical conductivity, making it difficult to apply coatings using electrostatic methods, and existing conductive fillers often affect color and transparency.
Innovation Solution
A curable coating composition containing up to 10 wt% carbon nanostructures (CNS) or CNS-derived materials, which are crosslinked and entangled, providing electrical conductivity while maintaining low tint and transparency, allowing for the use of electrostatic spraying and transparent coatings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional conductive fillers (carbon black or metallic powders) are used to impart electrical conductivity to polymer materials, then electrical conductivity is improved, but color and light transmission are worsened due to dark color and opacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the conductive filler by using carbon nanotubes with specific dimensions (diameter 1-100 nm, length 1-100 μm) and aspect ratios greater than 1000. These nanoscale dimensions allow the filler to provide electrical conductivity while having minimal impact on light transmission and color, resolving the contradiction between conductivity and optical properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material system combining polymer matrix with carbon nanotube filler. The unique properties of carbon nanotubes (high aspect ratio, nanoscale dimensions) enable the composite to achieve both electrical conductivity and good optical properties, overcoming the limitations of conventional filler materials
2Reliability
If conventional conductive fillers are used to make polymer materials conductive, then electrical conductivity is improved, but aesthetic benefits (transparency and ease of coverage) are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the filler dimensions to nanoscale with high aspect ratio, the patent achieves conductivity at very low loading levels (0.01-10 wt%), which minimizes impact on the polymer's aesthetic properties and makes the material suitable for transparent coatings and applications requiring light colors
3Weight of moving object
If polymer materials are used for vehicle exterior parts to reduce weight, then weight is improved, but electrical conductivity is worsened making electrostatic coating application difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a conductive polymer composite by incorporating carbon nanotubes into the polymer matrix. This maintains the lightweight advantage of polymers while imparting electrical conductivity through the nanotube network, enabling electrostatic coating application on polymer vehicle parts
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition achieves surface resistivity below 107 ohm/square with high transparency and low tint, enabling the application of conductive coatings on non-conductive materials without obscuring visibility or affecting color, facilitating electrostatic painting and electroplating.
Implementation Method 1
The carbon nanostructures or fragments of carbon nanostructures include a plurality of multiwall carbon nanotubes that are crosslinked in a polymeric structure... the resulting cured coating has a surface resistivity of at most 107 ohm/square
Data Source
AI summary
A CNS millbase dispersion, comprises a solvent and up to 0.5 wt % of at least one CNS-derived material dispersed in the millbase dispersion and selected from the group consisting of: carbon nanostructures, fragments of carbon nanostructures, fractured carbon nanotubes, and any combination thereof. The carbon nanostructures or fragments of carbon nanostructures include a plurality of multiwall carbon nanotubes that are crosslinked in a polymeric structure by being branched, interdigitated, entangled and/or sharing common walls, and the fractured carbon nanotubes are derived from the carbon nanostructures and are branched and share common walls with one another. A Brookfield viscosity of the dispersion measured at room temperature at 10 rpm is less than 3000 cP.