Between new environmental requirements and a slow and steady move to electronic vehicles, auto manufacturers are exploring new and better kinds of plastic. A Russian compound company called Research and Production Polyplastic says it has had great success modifying the properties of plastic using graphene nanotubes.

According to the company, the graphene-enhanced polymers show increased friction resistance and anti-wear properties, thanks to an electrostatic coating that’s simply painted on. 

“Introducing nanotubes into polyamide drastically changes the properties of that material making it electrically conductive, which allows us to paint plastic parts without using a separate line. This significantly reduces the cost of production technology, making it more efficient and environmentally friendly,” Alexandr Zimnyakov, Vice President of Sales for OCSiAl, the Russian firm synthesizing the nanotubes for R&P Polyplastic told Plastics Today.

“Unlike the previously used methods, nanomodification of polyamide ensures a constant resistivity level and does not have an adverse effect on the material’s durability.”

The company plans on testing its method with pre-production testing of a car fender made of conductive polymer and electrostatically painted sometime this year.

Photo by Adam Stefanca on Unsplash