Automotive Industry

Optimizing properties of rubber

by the Nanomaterials group

We had a long standing years´ collaboration with CIKAUTXO in order to improve the mechanical properties of the rubber by using advanced coating methods such as the infiltration of components using atomic layer deposition. This method involves manufacturing hybrid polymeric-inorganic materials in which synergies can be established, thus giving rise to new properties that these components do not display individually, or else improvements in their initial properties. While traditional approaches mostly involve the use of electroplating or molecular assembly of surfaces, modern approaches use techniques capable of modifying the interfacial properties of a substrate by generating hybrid materials. Hybridization can generate synergistic effects in the inorganic and polymeric phases, so it could turn into a significant mechanism for improving mechanical properties and reducing elastomer fatigue to a minimum. The use of these state-of-the-art technologies that have yet to be explored would without doubt allow a qualitative leap to be made towards increasing the capabilities of the components, and if these were to be achieved, competitiveness could be increased as it would be possible to continue to adhere to specifications using components that are smaller or lighter or more competitive in terms of price.