You can’t go far these days without hearing about Chinese nanotech, and a new battle is looming over standards.
As we have discussed in the past, the lack of standards is holding back development of some forms of nanomaterials. Buy multiwall carbon nanotubes from three different suppliers and chances are that you’ll end up with three different materials, just as if you went into three different pubs and asked for “some beer.”
There’s a bit of a global battle going on over nanotechnology standards, with ISO, the IEE, and now the Chinese National Standardization Committee all trying to propose international standards.
Anyone old enough to remember wrestling with British Standard Whitworth, UNC, UNF and BA threads on bolts will appreciate the need for a single standard.
China, according to People’s Daily During the National Peoples Congress (全人代) this year, has had its first national standards for nano material in effect from April 1.
“There are seven items, including a Glossary, four standards for Nano products, nickel powder, Zinc Oxide, titanium dioxide, and calcium carbonate, as well as two for testing of gas adsorption BET and the granularity of nano powder.
Nano materials have attracted much attention from the public in China. however, some businesses play tricks and consumers get consufed.
The standards is expected to lay a good foundation for the establishment of market access and technical standards, regulating the market, proper application of tech-intensive nano materials and the healthy development of the sector.
As this is also the first national standards for nano material in the world, Li expects it would be a draft for an international standard for nanotechnology.
Liu Zhaobin, spokesman for General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, confirmed that preparation for certification of nano materials had begun and personnel training had launched.”