Demand for silver powders globally has been driven by growth in wind and solar energy, fuel cell and thermal management technologies, despite the recent downturn, the company says. Silver powder is also in demand for antibacterial coatings, conductive polymer systems and ceramic and metallic sinter materials. They call for silver powder of the highest purity and in a variety of classifications.
AMI DODUCO has been expanding its silver powder production over the last few years. In 2006 it increased its silver refining capacity to 400 tons per year, corresponding to 7% of the world market capacity and in 2008 it doubled its capacities for electrolytically and chemically deposited silver.
The company uses different manufacturing processes to produce the powder, including the atomization of molten silver, which produces a high-tap-density powder made up of spherical particles, electrolysis, which produces dendritic to crystalline forms and precipitation, which chemically creates fine agglomerated powders with large specific surfaces.
The company can also produce silver flakes with special flow properties. In addition to the surface finish, the subsequent processes depend on particle size distribution and morphology.