PTFE/NanoDiamond coating can reduce friction by 66%

NanoDiamond particles are hardwearing, small and offer very low surface friction. Carbodeon has developed a liquid dispersion of 4-6nm NanoDiamond particles with surface chemistry that has been specially created to integrate the particles with PTFE molecules without the use of additional surfactants. The coating has huge potential to cost-effectively reduce CO₂ output and fuel demand, as well as to improve equipment lifespan, in fields such as the automotive, aerospace and industrial machinery industries

The improvements in durability and friction come in part because of the properties of the diamond material that the particles are composed of, but equally important are the changes to the overall coating structure caused by the presence of the particles themselves. The use of hard particles to improve the durability of coatings is well known, but the combination of small size and surface functionalisation in the uDiamond Vox D coating means that Carbodeon’s particles are interfaced with PTFE molecules in a fundamentally different way.

Vesa Myllymäki, CTO, Carbodeon, comments: "We have been developing this application over a number of years, starting with traditional NanoDiamond materials. Since developing our portfolio of functionalised, dispersed NanoDiamonds though we have been able to improve the performance while reducing the required NanoDiamond concentration to extremely low levels, making the applications very economical. This is a breakthrough improvement in fluoropolymer friction and durability and we expect to find many applications in the automotive, aerospace and industrial sectors. We have been taking inquiries from parties looking to use coatings with these kind of improvements before we have even announced this product.”