SBIR Phase II: Automotive Nanocomposites

这项小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段提案旨在将一种新型介孔硅酸盐纳米颗粒商业化，用于增强美国轿车和轻型卡车制造中使用的热塑性聚合物。尽管纳米颗粒总体上提供了一些聚合物增强的好处，但它们通常缺乏提供强度和刚性的能力。此外，它们通常需要广泛的有机表面改性才能分散在聚合物基质中。有机改性剂通过经济高效的熔融加工方法限制了纳米颗粒的热稳定性，并损害了它们在纳米复合材料制造中的适用性。本项目计划的纯无机介孔硅酸盐通过提供表面极性、介孔大小、表面积和孔体积的独特组合，优化颗粒与聚合物基质之间的界面相互作用，从而有效分散和增强，从而绕过了有机改性所造成的所有限制。除了在颗粒载荷下提供刚性外，介孔硅酸盐还提供强度，这使得生产汽车部件所需的聚合物量可以与增加的强度成比例地减少。仅聚合物的节省就可以让该技术的用户在不增加成本的情况下减轻车辆的重量，实现刚性，并提高燃油经济性。汽车纳米复合材料的更广泛的影响/商业潜力可以直接影响美国的能源经济以及环境质量。车辆重量的减轻和燃油经济性的提高相结合，转化为石油消耗和温室气体排放的减少。制备介孔硅酸盐纳米颗粒的过程既不耗能，也不会对环境造成损害。基于水溶胶-凝胶化学，该项目的纳米颗粒是在不向环境排放有害废物的温度下以产量制造的。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II proposal aims to commercialize a new mesoporous silicate nanoparticles for the reinforcement of thermoplastic polymers used in the manufacture of U.S. cars and light trucks. Whereas nanoparticles, in general, provide some polymer reinforcement benefits, they typically lack the ability to provide strength as well as stiffness. Also, they normally require extensive organic surface modification for dispersion in the polymer matrix. Organic modifiers limit nanoparticles thermal stability and compromise their suitability for nanocomposite manufacturing through cost-effective melt processing methods. The purely inorganic mesoporous silicates this project plans, circumvent all of the limitations caused by organic modifies by providing a unique combination of surface polarity, mesopore size, surface area, and pore volume which optimizes interfacial interactions between the particles and the polymer matrix for effective dispersion and reinforcement. In addition to providing stiffness at particle loadings, the mesoporous silicates provide strength, which allows the amount of polymer needed to produce an automotive part to be reduced in proportion to the added strength. The polymer savings alone allow users of the technology to reduce the weight of the vehicle, achieve stiffness, and improve fuel economy at no added cost. The broader impact/commercial potential of automotive nanocomposites can directly impact the US energy economy, as well as environmental quality. The combination of reduced vehicle weight and increased fuel economy translates into a reduction in petroleum consumption and green house gas emissions. The process for producing mesoporous silicate nanoparticles is neither energy-intensive nor environmentally harmful. Based on aqueous sol-gel chemistry, this project's nanoparticles are manufactured in yields at a temperature of with no harmful waste released to the environment.