SBIR Phase I: Supercritical Fluid Processing of Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发一种制造工艺，通过在宿主聚合物基体中均匀分散填料来实现纳米结构复合材料的优越性能。超临界流体处理（SCFP）是一种通用、相对简单、环保的方法，用于生产可分散在聚合物中的剥离和包被纳米颗粒。第一阶段项目的总体目标是确定最佳的SCFP条件，并将SCFP技术与目前的聚合物/粘土纳米复合材料技术进行比较。课题组将对两种代表性粘土的加工条件进行参数化研究。将制备足够数量的剥落和涂覆粘土，以配制成商业上重要的聚合物基质。通过测量常规方法和SCFP方法制备的纳米复合材料的力学、流变、热学和屏障性能，作为测试纳米复合材料SCFP的基准的一种方法。第一阶段项目的预期结果是证明SCFP技术是可扩展的，与传统的插层纳米复合材料相比，它代表了制造分散良好的聚合物纳米复合材料的有利可图的机会。这些纳米复合材料在汽车和食品包装行业的商业潜力特别高。据估计，到2007年，用于汽车和包装工业的聚合物/粘土纳米复合材料市场规模将超过2.5亿美元。这里正在开发的突破性技术将是加速纳米复合材料和其他工程纳米材料发展的主要因素。专家们一致认为，如果围绕纳米复合材料生产的技术问题能够得到解决，纳米复合材料将发展成为一个价值数十亿美元的产业。

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 andrepresents 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.