SABIC Collaborates with CIMA Nanotech on Breakthrough Technology: Industry-First Transparent Conductive Polycarbonate Film
With smart materials being one of the fastest growing areas of materials technology, SABIC and Cima NanoTech have announced the joint development of a plastics industry first: a transparent conductive polycarbonate film that has the potential to revolutionize the materials used in consumer electronics, household goods, automotive, architecture and healthcare.
The new material, designed to provide "next generation" functionality, has the potential to further enhance performance, enable new innovative applications and open doors for new product designs. This could translate into faster response touch screens for consumer electronics, transparent "no-line" anti-fogging capabilities for automotive windows, better EMI shielding effectiveness for electronics, and transparent WiFi/Bluetooth antennas for mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and all-in-one computers.
Aligned with SABIC's focus to provide solutions that will solve industry challenges, SABIC engaged in a joint collaboration with Cima NanoTech in the latter half of 2013 to develop the promising new material, which is currently available for customer trials.
"Transparent conductive polycarbonate is a breakthrough material that customers in consumer electronics and other important industries have been seeking," Matt Gray, Director of Marketing, Consumer Electronics for SABIC's Innovative Plastics business, said. "Our work with Cima NanoTech is strategically aligned with our commitment to continuous innovation in areas of importance to our customers," Gray noted.
The collaboration, leveraging both Cima NanoTech's proprietary SANTE® nanoparticle technology with SABIC's world-renowned LEXAN™ film, a polycarbonate material, has resulted in the development of a new series of transparent conductive materials that are lightweight with excellent transparency, outstanding conductivity and high flexibility. Cima NanoTech worked with SABIC's world-class team of scientists to jointly develop materials that not only meet the requirements of existing industries, but also stretches the possibilities for exciting opportunities by breaking boundaries faced with current materials.
"We are very pleased to be working with SABIC to bring the key advantages of SANTE® nanoparticle technology forward into a number of diverse consumer and industrial markets," Jon Brodd, Chief Executive Officer, Cima NanoTech, stated. SANTE technology, a patented self-assembling nanoparticle technology platform, stands alone in providing high transparency with ultra-low electrical resistance, which is ten times better than the incumbent indium tin oxide (ITO). "In addition to its ability to meet optical grade specifications for display and touch applications, SANTE® nanoparticle technology is also more cost effective as coating is performed via a wet coating, roll-to-roll process versus sheet-to-sheet," Brodd said. The conductive SANTE network is also mechanically robust, thus allowing it to withstand flexing, stretching, torsion and tension for flexible applications. The substrate can also be thermoformed into various curved and 3D form factors.
Customers who are interested in sampling the new material are invited to e-mail SABIC at productinquiries@sabic-ip.com.
About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 25.3 billion (US$ 6.7 billion) in 2013. Sales revenues for 2013 totaled SR 189 billion (US$ 50.4 billion). Total assets stood at SR 339.1 billion (US$ 90.4 billion) at the end of 2013.
SABIC's businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 19 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India, China and South Korea. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with around 40,000 employees worldwide.
SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
•Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â SABIC and brands marked with ™ are trademarks of SABIC or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
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About Innovative Plastics
SABIC's Innovative Plastics business is a leading, global supplier of engineering thermoplastics with an 80-year history of breakthrough solutions that solve its customers' most pressing challenges. Today, Innovative Plastics is a multi-billion-dollar company with operations in more than 35 countries and approximately 9,000 employees worldwide. The company continues to lead the plastics industry with customer collaboration and continued investments in new polymer technologies, global application development, process technologies, and environmentally responsible solutions that serve diverse markets such as Healthcare, Transportation, Automotive, Electrical, Lighting and Consumer Electronics. The company's extensive product portfolio includes thermoplastic resins, coatings, specialty compounds, film, and sheet. Innovative Plastics (www.sabic-ip.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).
Innovative Plastics Media Contacts
Susan LeBourdais
E: media.inquiries@sabic-ip.com
T: +1 413-448-6876
About Cima NanoTech
Cima NanoTech is a smart materials company specializing in the development of next-generation transparent conductors. The company developed its proprietary SANTE® self-assembling silver nanoparticle conductive coating, which enables high performance transparent conductors in a multitude of markets from large-format multi-touch displays to capacitive sensors, transparent and moldable EMI shielding, transparent heaters, transparent antennas, OLED lighting, photovoltaic and others. Cima NanoTech has business development centers in the U.S., Singapore, Israel, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. For more information, visit www.cimananotech.com.
"Cima NanoTech" and "SANTE" are registered trademarks of Cima NanoTech, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Cima NanoTech Media Contact
Felicia Chia
Marketing Manager, Cima NanoTech
1 Cleantech Loop, CleanTech One, #02-13
Singapore 637141
Tel: +65 6570 2018
Fax: +65 6570 2038
E-mail: fchia@cimananotech.com
