ApNano
Materials, Inc., a provider of nanotechnology-based products,
today announced the establishment of a subsidiary of ApNano Materials
that will develop and manufacture the company's new
NanoArmor™ line of nanotechnology-based bullet-proof
products. The new subsidiary will start with products that enhance the
performance of personal safety items such as bullet proof vests and
helmets, and will continue with protection products for vehicles and
aircraft.
"The company has already started negotiations with investors,"
said Aharon Feuerstein, ApNano Materials' Chairman and CFO. "In
addition, NanoArmor potential products have already attracted huge
interest from military, law enforcement and homeland security
organizations and agencies in various countries."
The Nano Armor products will be based on ApNano’s
proprietary nanospheres and nanotubes, which are excellent shock
absorbing materials and among the most impact resistant substances
known in the world today. These revolutionary nanoparticles of
inorganic compounds provide exceptional shock absorbing capabilities.
ApNano's nanomaterials have up to twice the strength of
today’s best impact resistant protective armor materials such
as boron carbide and silicon carbide used in hard armor plates, and is
4-5 times stronger than steel.
The Nano Armor products will be made of tungsten disulfide
(WS2) nanoparticles, currently manufactured by ApNano Materials, under
the trade name NanoArmor™. In addition, the subsidiary will
develop multi-walled titanium-based nanoparticles which will enable it
to produce over 50% lighter weight armor products.
NanoArmor will provide multi-hit protection as well as
enhanced ballistic and blast resistance. It will enable the development
of special trauma layers behind the armor, reducing the level of blunt
force trauma injuries.
ApNano's nanospheres were tested by a research group headed by
Dr. Yan Qiu Zhu of the School of Mechanical, Materials and
Manufacturing Engineering, at the University of Nottingham, England.
The material was subjected to severe shocks generated by firing shots
at it at impact velocities of up to 1.5 km/second. The nanospheres
withstood the shock pressures generated by the impacts of up to 250
tons per square centimeter. The nanospheres are so strong that after
the impact the samples remained essentially identical compared to the
starting material. In contrast, similarly structured hollow spheres of
carbon, fail under much lower pressures of less than one tenth of those
that the nanospheres can survive. Apnano's
nanospheres are termed inorganic fullerene-like nanostructures, or IF
for short. Fullerenes are soccer ball-like clusters of atoms, named
after R. Buckminster Fuller, architect of the geodesic dome that he
designed for the 1967 Montreal World Exhibition.
ApNano's nanotubes were also found as ultra-strong
impact resistant material. "The unique nanotubes of ApNano Materials
are up to 4-5 times stronger than steel and about 6 times stronger than
Kevlar, a popular material today for bullet proof vests," said
Professor Reshef Tenne, The Drake Family Chair in Nanotechnology at the
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and the Director of Helen and
Martin Kimmel Center for Nanoscale Science, who co-discovered the
unique nanoparticles.
"Laboratory experiments conducted by Nobel Laureate Professor
Sir Harold Kroto and his colleagues have demonstrated that
ApNano’s nanotubes are strong enough to withstand a pressure
of 21 GPa (Gigapascal) – the equivalent of 210 tons per
square centimeter,” said Dr. Menachem Genut, President and
CEO of ApNano Materials. Dr. Genut was a research fellow in the
original research group which discovered the IF nanoparticles at the
Weizmann Institute and first to synthesize the new materials.
Recently ApNano Materials opened a new 1,000 square meter
manufacturing facility in Israel. The facility
houses a semi-industrial reactor with a production capacity
of tons of the company's nanomaterial. The new state-of-the-art
manufacturing facility meets international guidelines for health,
safety and manufacturing of nanomaterials.
ApNano has already launched another product, NanoLub®,
the world's first commercial nanotechnology-based solid lubricant.
“NanoLub has been shown in numerous independent tests
worldwide to reduce friction and wear significantly better than
conventional lubricants, especially under extreme conditions such as
very high loads,” said Dr. Niles Fleischer, Vice President of
Business Development and Vice President of Product Development of
ApNano Materials.