SBIR Phase I: An Economical Process for Manufacture of Nano-Sized Inorganic Powders Based on Microemulsion-MediatedSynthesis

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*** 96-60026 Higgins This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore a novel process for economical synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles via microemulsion synthesis, which can be scaled readily to industrial-scale production. There are many methods for creation of nano-sized particles, but most synthetic techniques for nanoparticle production have rather limited potential for scale-up to manufacturing scale due to high capital costs, intrinsically low production rates, need for exotic/expensive precursor materials, limited applicability to many chemical compositions, and/or inadequate control over nanoparticle chemical and physical homogeneity. Phase I will study the use of water-in-oil microemulsions as "nano-reactors," a technique which has been used at a bench-scale to prepare nanoparticles in a number of chemical compositions using inexpensive equipment and precursors. This method of nanoparticle synthesis is thought to be free of the above limitations and to avoid a need in nanopowder manufacture to separate and recycle most of the microemulsion components for re-use. Commercial application of this process is expected to enhance production of inorganic nanoparticles for use in catalysis, structural materials, and microelectronic, photonic, and optical devices. ***