SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a manufacturing process to achieve superior properties of nano-structured composite materials by uniformly dispersing the fillers in a host polymer matrix. A supercritical fluid processing (SCFP) will be used which is versatile, relatively simple, and environmentally friendly method for producing exfoliated and coated nanoparticles that can be dispersed in a polymer. The overall objective of the proposed Phase I project is to identify the optimum SCFP conditions and compare the SCFP technology with the current technologies for polymer/clay nanocomposites. The research team will conduct a parametric study of processing conditions for two representative clays. Sufficient quantities of exfoliated and coated clay will be prepared for compounding into commercially important polymer matrices. The mechanical, rheological, thermal and barrier properties of nanocomposites prepared by the conventional and the SCFP methods will be measured as a way of benchmarking the SCFP of nanocomposites. The expected outcome of the Phase I project is to prove that SCFP technology is scalable and represents a profitable opportunity for manufacturing well-dispersed polymer nanocomposites compared to conventional intercalated nanocomposites. The commercial potential for these nanocomposites is particularly high in the automotive and food packaging industries. It is estimated that the size of the polymer/clay nanocomposites market for the automotive and packaging industries will be over $250 million by 2007. The breakthrough technology being developed here will be a major factor in accelerating the growth of nanocomposites and other engineered nanomaterials. Experts agree that if the technical issues surrounding the production of nanocomposites can be overcome, nanocomposites will grow into a multibillion dollar industry

This Small Businesss Innovation Reseach (SBIR) project will address a major technological barrier to producing superior nanocomposites by overcoming the difficulty of dispersing nano-fillers uniformly in a host matrix to derive the maximum surface area advantage. When effective filler dispersion is coupled with improved polymer-clay interactions, a significant technological gap in the field of polymer nanocomposites can be addressed. The company, nanoSEC has licensed, developed, and 'validated' (lab scale) a supercritical fluid-based dispersion (SCFP) technology, that produces significant clay dispersion using a simple, versatile, environmentally friendly process that utilizes the unusual properties of supercritical CO2. During Phase I, the clay dispersion conditions were optimized and showed significant property improvements in the resultant nanocomposites that were appreciably better than those in literature. During Phase II, these technical accomplishments will be translated towards commercial success by: (1) producing and benchmarking pilot-scale polystyrene/clay, polyethylene/clay, polypropylene/clay nanocomposites for mechanical and barrier property improvements, with applications in automotive and food packaging industries; (2) scaling up the pilot production process to produce 200 lbs/week of dispersed clay in Year 1, and to produce 1 million lbs/year of polymer-clay nanocomposites (at 10% clay loading) by Year 3; (3) developing specific joint development agreements with business customers for faster adaptation of nanoSEC's technology in actual products. Commercially, nanoSEC's technology addresses a key need in nanocomposites, which could single-handedly revive the packaging technology applications of nanocomposites. Several companies have expressed strong interest in joint development agreements. Working closely with Wayne State, and end users like Ford, Daimler Chrysler, and GE Plastics will enable nanoSEC to advance both on research and commercial sides to produce a revenue of close to $ 8 million by the end of 2008. The Phase II project will enable pilot-commercial scale validation for rapid development and nanoSEC's location in the state-of-the- art NextEnergy building in Detroit, and the familiarity of the participants with the automotive and food packaging industry will enable unique applications to be achieved in a timely manner. The 'top down' strategy to partner with end users will enable fast implementation upon validation.