STTR Phase I: Cost- and energy-efficient synthesis of long carbon nanotubes from waste plastics

这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）第一阶段项目将开发一个两阶段的工艺，包括热塑性废物的热解和催化剂存在下的燃烧，以生产具有可复制质量的长长度碳纳米管（CNTs）。利用通常被填埋的聚合物废物的概念是新颖和革命性的，特别是在碳纳米管的制造领域。这项研究如果成功，不仅会对环境和土地污染产生重大影响，而且会大大降低碳纳米管的制造成本。碳纳米管的成本一直很高，主要是由于工艺收率低，质量要求严格，特别是在制造长碳纳米管时。所提出的研究有望从固体聚合物废料中制造出一种重要的新型工程材料，同时仍然控制和保持所需和期望的高质量。研究小组确定的最初目标应用是替代作为透明导电氧化物（TCO）涂层的氧化铟锡（ITO）薄膜，用于平板显示器、液晶显示器（LCD）和太阳能电池，所有这些目前都在开发中，以满足医疗、电子和替代能源市场的需求。这项研究的更广泛影响，如果成功地完成并在商业规模上实施，将在聚合物废物减少和转化为一种非常高附加值的产品，这在技术和商业上对开发影响大量行业的先进技术极其重要，从微电子，先进复合材料，医疗设备，航空航天和汽车材料，高强度结构工程材料，新型微纳米设备、传感器、生物医学诊断工具、信息存储、检索和分析工具、机床和能够开发高质量纳米制造工艺的机器。这些新技术开发的全球竞争得到了全球许多国家的大力资助，包括所谓的发展中国家，这对美国的创新者构成了重大挑战，这是一个值得实现的目标，即通过在新的创新理念上取得领先，并将其转化为非常成功的商业产品，从而保持领先地位。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a two-stage process consisting of pyrolysis of thermoplastic waste, and combustion in the presence of a catalyst, to manufacture long-length carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with reproducible quality. The concept of using polymer waste, which normally ends up in landfills, is novel and revolutionary, especially in the field of manufacture of CNTs. Not only does this research, if successful, will have a significant impact on the environment and land pollution, but will dramatically reduce the cost of manufacture of CNTs. The cost of CNTs has always been very high, mainly because of low process yields, and stringent quality requirements, especially when long length CNTs are manufactured. The proposed research has the promise to manufacture an important new engineering material from solid polymer waste product, and still controlling and maintaining the high quality needed and expected. The initial target application identified by the research team is for replacement of indium tin oxide (ITO) films used as transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coatings for flat panel displays, liquid crystal displays (LCD) and solar cells, all of which are currently being developed to meet the needs of medical, electronics and alternative energy markets.The broader impacts of this research, if successfully completed and implemented on a commercial scale, will be in the polymer waste reduction and conversion into a very high value-added product which is technologically and commercially extremely important in developing advanced technologies that impact a large number of industries, from microelectronics, advanced composites, medical devices, aerospace and automotive materials, high strength structural engineering materials, novel micro-and nano-scale devices, sensors, biomedical diagnostic tools, information storage, retrieval and analysis tools, machine tools and machines capable of developing high-quality nano-manufacturing processes. The worldwide competition for these new technology developments are aggressively funded by many nations around the globe, including the so-called developing countries, providing a significant challenge to the U.S. innovators a worthy goal of remaining ahead of the pack by taking the lead on new, innovative ideas that can be turned into highly successful commercial products.