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

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目将开发一个两阶段的过程，包括热塑性塑料废物的热解，并在催化剂的存在下燃烧，以制造具有可再生质量的长长度碳纳米管（CNT）。使用通常最终在垃圾填埋场的聚合物废物的概念是新颖的和革命性的，特别是在CNT制造领域。这项研究如果成功，不仅将对环境和土地污染产生重大影响，而且将大大降低碳纳米管的制造成本。CNT的成本一直非常高，主要是因为低的工艺产率和严格的质量要求，特别是当制造长长度CNT时。拟议的研究有希望从固体聚合物废料中制造一种重要的新工程材料，并且仍然控制和保持所需和预期的高质量。研究团队确定的最初目标应用是替代用作平板显示器、液晶显示器（LCD）和太阳能电池的透明导电氧化物（TCO）涂层的氧化铟锡（ITO）薄膜，所有这些薄膜目前都在开发中，以满足医疗、电子和替代能源市场的需求。如果成功完成并以商业规模实施，将减少聚合物废物并将其转化为非常高的附加值产品，这在开发影响大量行业的先进技术方面具有技术和商业上的极其重要性，这些行业包括微电子，先进复合材料，医疗器械，航空航天和汽车材料、高强度结构工程材料、新型微米和纳米级器件、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。地球仪上的许多国家，包括所谓的发展中国家，积极资助这些新技术开发的全球竞争，这给美国创新者提供了一个重大挑战，这是一个有价值的目标，即通过在新的、创新的想法上领先，从而保持领先地位，这些想法可以转化为非常成功的商业产品。

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.