Applications
Copper Nanoparticles are increasingly in demand for a host of industrial procedures and applications. While being a great alternative to more expensive metals, Copper Nanoparticles are ideal for reducing production costs and finds wide usage in microelectronic processes, conductive pastes, and as nanometal lubricant additives to name a few.
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The variation of physical and chemical characteristics make their incorporation possible in many technological developments and applications in production processes.
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As an additive Copper Nanoparticles have the potential to revamp your assembly line with affordable raw materials.
Antibacterial disinfectant
Antibacterial materials are an area of prime interest today in view of the need to control methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in hospitals and other health care facilities as well as campylobacteria in food preparation and Aspergillus niger in HVAC systems, among others.
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Copper’s effectiveness as a clinical disinfectant has been known for some time. In labs, copper kills 99.9 percent of bacteria within two hours, including bad bugs such as aureus, Pseudomonas aeurginosa, E. coli and its cousin Enterobacter aerogenes.
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Copper-impregnated products possess broad-spectrum anti-microbial properties.
This technology, for example, enables production of anti-viral gloves and filters, anti-bacterial self-sterilizing fabrics (which kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MRSA and VRE), anti-fungal socks (which alleviate symptoms of athlete’s foot), and anti-dust mite mattress-covers (which reduce mite-related allergies).
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Copper kills microorganisms by multiple pathways rather than by acting in a specific way on one receptor like most antibiotics.
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Microorganisms are killed before they can replicate, thus they cannot pass on genetic material which could ultimately lead to the development of resistance.
Paints / Coating Applications
The fouling of marine vessels by microbial organisms can be highly detrimental to the hulls of ships and boats because they increase drag, and thus reduce the fuel economy, speed, and maneuverability of vessels that are left untreated and can ultimately shorten the lifespan of boats.
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Used as a coating
The anti-microbial action of nano copper can be employed in the form of paint additives on the underside of vessels to work against the process of marine fouling. On the whole, surfaces that have been treated with a nano coating benefit from higher resistance to microbes, a longer service life, as well a significant decrease in the effort required to keep them clean and hence a reduced demand for energy, water and other cleaning agents.
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As an antibiofouling agent
The storage of water in ponds generates the proliferation of algae and microorganisms that affect water quality.
The addition of small concentrations of copper nanoparticles to acrylic resin-based paints helps control algae growth and reduces the need for chlorine and algaecide agents, minimizing the use of chemicals in ponds and pools.
Bactericidal properties
The bactericidal properties of copper nanoparticles provide antimicrobial qualities to paints, extending their application to cover drinking water storage ponds, swimming pools, fish farming ponds, among others.
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Anti-fouling marine coatings
Water storage in ponds, pools and containers generates the algae and microorganism proliferation that affect water quality.
Therefore, the addition of small concentrations of copper nano-particles to paints based on Acrylic resins help control algae growth, reducing the need of chlorine and algaecidal agents, minimizing the use of chemicals and decreasing significantly the proliferation of Biofouling.
The bactericidal properties of copper nano-particles allow for antimicrobial qualities, resulting in a highly improve paint.
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The anti-fouling action of nanocopper can be used in the form of paint additives, which are used to cover surfaces below the waterline of ships, thus maintaining the fuel efficiency of the ship by avoiding the process of marine fouling.
Anti-fungal and bacteria in treated wood
Copper hydroxide is one of the most widely used components in the world for protection of wood, but in recent environmental regulations, they are questioning its continuity.
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Leaching tests have shown that wood treated with copper hydroxide, tend to release excess copper into the environment, unlike the woods treated under the same process, with nano copper particles, which have shown that virtually not release copper to the environment.
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The advantage is that the particular nano copper is 100% metallic, so it gradually doses the copper release. Another advantage is that its size easily penetrates the wood to its center.
Nano particles in microelectronics
Nanoparticle copper suspensions have been developed as a safer, cheaper, and more reliable alternative to lead-based solder and other hazardous materials commonly used to fuse electronics in the assembly process.
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In recent years, copper nanoparticles have been increasingly used in the microelectronics industry, particularly as conductive inks. Such inks achieve high conductivities by direct printing of conductive patterns and offer promising applications in the production of electronic devices.
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Other computing and electronic products include Flash memory chips for smart phones and thumb drives; ultra-responsive hearing aids; antimicrobial/antibacterial coatings on keyboards and cell phone casings; conductive inks for printed electronics for RFID/smart cards/smart packaging; and flexible displays for e-book readers.
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Cu NPs is a materials with different properties and features that make the nanoparticles have various applications in many fields electronics such as (nanowires and nanosensors), MRI (magnetic devices).
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These technologies will help develop miniature-sized devices with improved efficiency. Just as copper-based inks can be seen in various devices such as solar cells, nano antennas, RIFD printed radio frequency identification labels and battery applications.
