NanoIntegris

NanoIntegris is a nanotechnology company based in Boisbriand, Quebec, focused on producing separated, enriched, and purified carbon nanomaterials. Its principal technical area is single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), especially materials in which semiconducting nanotubes are separated from conducting nanotubes. This distinction is important because the electronic behavior of a carbon nanotube depends on its structure: mixtures of semiconducting and metallic or conducting nanotubes can limit the performance and consistency of devices, while enriched fractions are more suitable for specialized electronic and optoelectronic research. The technology associated with NanoIntegris originated from research conducted by the Hersam Research Group at Northwestern University. A central method is density-gradient ultracentrifugation (DGU), an approach previously used in biological and medical processing that was adapted for the separation of carbon nanotubes. In this process, nanotubes are dispersed in a density gradient and subjected to high-speed centrifugation. The method enabled the production of high-purity semiconducting nanotube fractions and helped demonstrate the commercial and research value of sorting nanotubes according to electronic type. NanoIntegris has also licensed a polymer-based separation approach, commonly described as conjugated polymer extraction or polymer wrapping. Unlike DGU, which is limited by the volume that can be processed at very high rotational speeds, polymer-assisted extraction is intended to provide a more scalable route for producing semiconducting nanotubes in larger quantities. The DGU route is used for aqueous dispersions, while the polymer-based route can produce materials dispersed in non-polar aromatic solvents. The company’s material portfolio has included semiconducting SWCNTs, conducting SWCNTs, industrially produced PlasmaTubes SWCNTs, highly purified PureTubes and SuperPureTubes, graphene sheets, and small-diameter HiPco SWCNTs. These materials are aimed primarily at research, development, and advanced-material applications rather than conventional consumer products. Potential and reported application areas include thin-film transistors, flexible and transparent electronics, display technologies, organic light-emitting diode systems, transparent conductive films, and high-frequency electronic devices. Separated nanotubes can be deposited through printing methods such as inkjet or gravure processing onto flexible polymers, glass, and other substrates. Research described in connection with these materials has reported high mobility, useful on/off ratios, low operating voltages, mechanical flexibility, and environmental stability, although variability and hysteresis remain technical challenges for nanotube-based transistor systems. NanoIntegris was acquired by Raymor Industries in 2012. Raymor was described as a large-scale producer of single-wall carbon nanotubes using a plasma-torch process, creating a relationship between NanoIntegris’s separation and enrichment technologies and industrial-scale nanotube production. The acquisition is the clearest documented corporate turning point in the available material. No reliable current information is provided here about NanoIntegris’s standalone operating status, leadership, website, or whether all of its products continue to be marketed under the NanoIntegris name. Accordingly, the brand is best characterized as a specialized nanomaterials company and technology platform whose documented work centers on electronically sorted and purified carbon nanotubes.

NanoIntegris emerged from nanotechnology research connected with the Hersam Research Group at Northwestern University. The company’s technical identity was built around the controlled separation of single-walled carbon nanotubes according to their electronic properties. Carbon nanotubes can behave as semiconductors or conductors depending on their structure, and an unsorted mixture is difficult to use consistently in electronic devices. NanoIntegris’s work addressed this materials problem by developing or commercializing methods for obtaining enriched fractions rather than relying only on bulk nanotube mixtures. The most prominent method associated with the company is density-gradient ultracentrifugation, or DGU. DGU had already been used in biological and medical contexts, but its application to carbon nanotubes provided a way to separate nanotubes according to differences in density and related physical characteristics. Under centrifugation, nanotubes migrate through a density gradient, allowing semiconducting and conducting populations to be isolated with comparatively high purity. The approach helped establish that sorted nanotubes could be used more effectively in electronic and optoelectronic research. Its principal limitation was scale: the high rotation speeds required constrained the amount of liquid and nanotube material that could be processed in each operation. To address scalability, NanoIntegris licensed a second separation approach based on selective wrapping with conjugated polymers. In this process, polymers preferentially associate with semiconducting nanotubes, allowing those nanotubes to be extracted and dispersed. The method is described as conjugated polymer extraction, or CPE. It differs from the DGU route in both processing and formulation. DGU can be used to provide semiconducting nanotubes in aqueous dispersion, while polymer-assisted extraction can produce enriched material in non-polar aromatic solvents. The latter approach was significant because it offered a route toward larger-scale supply for commercial and industrial applications. The company’s documented product range included semiconducting and conducting SWCNT fractions, plasma-grown nanotubes, highly purified nanotubes, graphene sheets, and small-diameter HiPco nanotubes. PlasmaTubes were described as highly graphitized single-wall nanotubes produced using an industrial-scale plasma torch, with dimensions and purity characteristics comparable in broad terms to nanotubes produced by arc or laser methods. PureTubes and SuperPureTubes were positioned around the reduction of carbon and metal-catalyst impurities, while PureSheets/Graphene consisted of liquid-exfoliated graphene sheets. These offerings connected separation technology with a broader catalog of carbon nanomaterials. NanoIntegris materials were associated with research into printed thin-film transistors, flexible displays, transparent conductors, OLED-related technologies, and high-frequency devices. Sorted nanotubes could be printed onto flexible substrates such as polyimide and PET or onto transparent substrates such as glass. Reported device benefits included high carrier mobility, useful current on/off ratios, low threshold voltages, low power requirements, flexibility, and environmental stability. At the same time, device variability, threshold-voltage variation, and hysteresis remained unresolved engineering issues. In 2012, NanoIntegris was acquired by Raymor Industries. Raymor was described as a large-scale single-wall carbon-nanotube producer using a plasma-torch process. The transaction linked NanoIntegris’s sorting and enrichment expertise with Raymor’s industrial production capabilities. The available reference material does not establish a later independent corporate history, current leadership, current website, or present trading status. NanoIntegris’s documented historical importance therefore rests on its role in commercializing separated carbon-nanotube materials and on the connection between academic nanotube research and scalable nanomaterials production.

• 2012

  Acquisition by Raymor Industries

  [1]NanoIntegrisen.wikipedia.org

  Raymor Industries acquired NanoIntegris, combining NanoIntegris’s nanotube separation and enrichment capabilities with Raymor’s plasma-torch-based single-wall carbon-nanotube production.

A specialized nanomaterials supplier and technology company positioned around electronically separated, enriched, and purified carbon nanotubes for research and advanced electronic applications.

• Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

  Semiconducting SWCNT

  Enriched semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes produced through density-gradient ultracentrifugation or conjugated polymer extraction. The DGU route provides aqueous dispersions, while the polymer-based route supports dispersions in non-polar aromatic solvents. These materials are intended for applications requiring a controlled semiconducting nanotube population, including thin-film transistors, flexible electronics, displays, and other nanoscale electronic devices.

• Conducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

  Conducting SWCNT

  Enriched conducting single-walled carbon nanotubes separated from mixed nanotube populations. Conducting nanotubes can be used in conductive films and other applications where electrical transport rather than semiconducting switching is required. The documented portfolio presents these materials as complementary to the company’s semiconducting nanotube products.

• Plasma-grown single-walled carbon nanotubes

  PlasmaTubes SWCNT

  Highly graphitized single-wall carbon nanotubes grown using an industrial-scale plasma-torch process. The documented material describes diameters of approximately 1 to 1.5 nanometers and lengths of roughly 0.3 to 5 microns, with characteristics broadly comparable to nanotubes made through arc or laser production methods. They represent the production-scale side of the carbon-nanomaterials portfolio.

• Purified carbon nanotubes

  PureTubes and SuperPureTubes

  Highly purified carbon nanotube materials designed to reduce unwanted carbonaceous and metal-catalyst residues. The reference material describes carbon impurities below 3 percent and metal-catalyst impurities below 1.5 percent for the relevant purified grades. Such purity is important in experimental electronics, composite formulation, and other applications where residual catalyst or amorphous carbon can affect performance.

• Graphene sheets

  PureSheets/Graphene

  Graphene sheets obtained through liquid exfoliation of graphite. The documented product description covers sheets ranging from approximately one to four or more layers. This offering extends the portfolio beyond nanotubes into another carbon nanomaterial used in research on conductive films, composites, coatings, and other advanced-material systems.

• Small-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes

  HiPco SWCNT

  Small-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes associated with the high-pressure carbon monoxide, or HiPco, production approach. These nanotubes provide a distinct material option for research and device development where diameter distribution and nanotube electronic properties are important.

• 2012

  Joining Raymor IndustriesM&A

  Background

  NanoIntegris had developed or commercialized technologies for separating and enriching carbon nanotubes, while Raymor Industries was described as a large-scale producer of single-wall carbon nanotubes using a plasma-torch process.

  Action taken

  Raymor Industries acquired NanoIntegris.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition connected nanotube sorting and enrichment technologies with industrial-scale nanotube manufacturing. The available material does not specify the subsequent organizational structure, financial terms, or current status of the NanoIntegris brand.

  Source

1. 1NanoIntegrisen.wikipedia.org