Plasma Enhancement and Functionalisation
Haydale is a world leader in plasma treatment and functionalisation, specialising in providing a bespoke solution. We have built on strong foundations and operational experience to enable us to offer the best in plasma functionalisation of advanced materials and other surfaces.
Bespoke solutions are currently available with varying levels of plasma treatment and functionalisation. Hydrophilic, hydrophobic, carboxylic, amine and oxidative modifications are frequently requested, and our consultancy services and tailored treatments have delivered success in a range of materials.
Haydale has plasma treated over 250 different types of material that it has characterised and fingerprinted, enabling specific properties to be targeted in future projects.
- HDPlas® treated nanomaterials (such as carbon nanomaterials or nanoceramics) show greater uplifts compared with their untreated counterparts. Improvements on thermal, mechanical and electrical applications are shown in elastomers, composites, inks and coatings due to the greater filler to matrix interaction
- Powders (with more traditional dimensions) are susceptible to the plasma surface treatments, reducing (re-)agglomeration, improving wettability and reducing downstream processing time, as well as improved uplifts in the final product due to better chemical interaction with the matrix
- Larger substrates such as metallic and non-metallic components, wafers and films are all susceptible to plasma surface modification and we offer tunable levels of surface treatment to control wettability by various fluids
HDPlas® Process
Graphene and many other nano particles do not mix naturally with other materials. To ensure that its superior properties can be blended into our customers’ products, nanomaterials may need to be ‘functionalised’ – this is where compatible chemical groups are added to the material surface to enable effective dispersion of the nanomaterial.
Plasma Benefits
- Sophisticated plasma reactors deliver tunable levels of functional groups, chemically bonded to substrate surfaces
- 3-dimensional treatment directed only at exposed surfaces, thus maintaining structural integrity
- Various types of plasma available that confer different surface chemistries including cleaning plasmas for targeted removal of chemical contaminants
- No solvents or harsh chemicals are used in this dry and environmentally friendly process
- A scalable proven process already used in industry
Additional Features and Options
- Nanomaterials can be supplied in a range of fluids, selected for specific composite industries, including but not limited to thermoplastic (Polypropylene, Nylon, HDPE, PLA etc.) and thermoset resins (Epoxy, Phenolics, Polyester, Polystyrene, Polyurethane etc.), aqueous and non-aqueous mediums etc.
- Plasma reactors are designed to process a broad range of powders, nanomaterials and components with a superior range of process control and precision
- National Physics Laboratory verified process yields modification of surface chemical species
- Batchwise process with fast turnaround and no downstream processing required
- Transposable process and established Research and Development team ensuring targeted, professional approach to technical challenges
Advantages of this Process
Our technology provides a rapid and highly cost efficient method of supplying tailored solutions to both raw material suppliers and product manufacturers. Key advantages include:
- Enhanced surface engineering: the functionalisation process allows us to add specific chemical groups which provides greater dispersion and compatibility between different matrices and nanomaterials. It can also remove non crystalline structures (impurities) from the host material
- No acid treatment: The process does not utilise chemical acid treatments which often causes damage, can degrade functional performance, structural integrity and mechanical strength of the final product
Relevant and Adaptable for All Markets
The process can be adopted across a multitude of target markets, such as inks and coatings, polymers and composites, elastomers, energy, electronics, transport and an endless list of consumer product markets. Each of these require different material specifications, performance and cost targets for specific applications.
Advantaged Feedstocks
We are able to use many types of ‘graphene’, each defined by a different set of properties depending on its form; average flake size, number of layers and the chemical groups existing on the flake surface.