Global market for nanoparticles in electronic, magnetic and optoelectronic applications to increase
The market is broken down into applications of electronic, magnetic and optoelectronic applications. Of these, electronic applications hold the largest share of the market. Worth an estimated US$433.7 million in 2007, this segment is expected to be worth US$894.6 million in 2012, a CAGR of 15.6%.
The second largest segment in 2007, cosmetic applications are expected to decline at an average rate of almost 19% per year and, as a result, their market value is projected to be US$25.4 million in 2012. Optoelectronic applications' share should grow from 3.1% to 18% between 2006 and 2012 and reach US$201.4 million.
Within these three broad application segments, several specific applications stand out, chemical-mechanical planarisation (CMP) was the largest market for nanoparticles in 2006, followed by magnetic recording media and multi-layer ceramic capacitors. However, consumption of nanoparticles for magnetic recording media is projected to decline, while new applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and quantum optical devices are growing rapidly. As a result, magnetic recording media are expected to drop to sixth place by 2012, behind CMP, quantum optical devices, multilayer ceramic capacitors, LEDs and advanced displays, and fibre optic cable.
Three types of nanoparticles (silica, iron oxide, and alumina) together accounted for more than 85% of the electronic, magnetic, and optoelectronic market in 2006. While alumina consumption is projected to grow faster than the market as a whole, silica and particularly iron oxide are expected to underperform the market and consequently lose market share. Meanwhile ceria and other oxides and quantum dots are expected to increase their market share significantly.
