SBIR Phase I: Production of Mini-Fullerenes

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目旨在开发一种新的工艺来制造尺寸小于传统富勒烯的小型富勒烯。先前进行的研究已经成功地开发了一种制造富勒烯的燃烧方法并将其商业化，因此，传统的富勒烯现在可以在商业上以吨计的数量获得。这些富勒烯目前正在各种新产品中找到用途，包括聚合物和先进复合材料，并正在积极研究在化妆品和药品中的用途。据预测，小于C60的富勒烯具有独特的结构和电子性质，这将使它们在新型先进材料中具有商业价值。然而，目前还没有成功的方法来合成它们。这个第一阶段的项目将研究一种新型的合成工艺，该工艺基于目前商业上可获得的较大富勒烯。这一过程本身是可扩展的，最终将允许生产吨级的迷你富勒烯。从商业上估计，小富勒烯将在商业上用于形成硬和超硬材料，并形成硬的、全碳保护涂层和薄膜。它们还将用于聚合物和作为先进复合材料的组件。因为它们将形成三维网络，全碳固体，一些形式将是金属和半导体，这将使它们作为新的电子材料具有价值。想要研究这种新材料性质的科学家和公司将立即提供迷你富勒烯的研究产品市场。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a new process to manufacture small fullerenes having a size less than conventional fullerenes. Prior research performed has lead to the successful development and commercialization of a combustion process for making fullerenes, and as a result, conventional fullerenes are now commercially available in ton quantities. These fullerenes are now finding uses in a variety of new products including polymers and advanced composite materials and are being actively investigated for use in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Fullerenes smaller than C60 are predicted to have unique structural and electronic properties that would make them commercially valuable for new types of advanced materials. However, no successful process has yet been developed to synthesize them. This Phase I project will investigate a new type of synthesis process based on the now commercially available larger fullerenes. This process is inherently scalable and would eventually allow the production of the mini-fullerenes at the ton level.Commercially it is estimated that small fullerenes will be commercially useful for forming hard and ultra hard materials and to form hard, all carbon protective coatings and films. They will also find use in polymers and as components for advanced composite materials. Because they will form three-dimensional networked, all carbon solids, some forms will be metallic and semi-conducting, and this will make them valuable as new electronic materials. An immediate research products market for mini-fullerenes will be available from scientists and corporations that want to investigate the properties of this new material.