NanoMarkets has identified some vital market opportunities for manufacturers of silver flakes and powders in the future and released a report on the same. This report studies and lists the use for silver powders and flakes in a wide array of sectors such as silver inks for the PV sector, conventional silver pastes and inks, nanosilver-based adhesives, pastes and inks, nanosilver-based medical and antimicrobial applications, and traditional conductive adhesives.
The report also explains the strategies of the major suppliers of silver powders and flakes. It presents an eight-year forecast, which discusses in detail about all material and application types both with respect to value and volume.
The report suggests that the profits generated from nanosilver flakes and powders are currently negligible. However, the revenues will reach nearly $300 million by 2016. There is huge potential for nanosilver in antibacterial and medical applications. The annual growth for nanosilver will reach an average of 85% in real terms from 2011 to 2016. The fact that nanosilver is not largely affected by the rising price of silver when compared to more conventional powder and flake products is an important reason why nanosilver particles are preferred. However, the company anticipates that key business development work has to be performed to persuade prospective customers to modify their processes.
The report also suggests that with the rising price of silver, manufacturers will turn to hybrid materials formed by combining silver flake or powder with cheap and less conductive materials. The volume of such hybrid materials used around the world is anticipated to grow over 50% from the current year through 2016. NanoMarkets also expect that suppliers could sell hybrid materials such as silver-coated nickel or silver-coated copper fillers for a section of the conductive adhesives market.
Source: http://nanomarkets.net/