PFI: Development of Lubricants and Battery Electrolytes From Nanoparticle Ionic Materials

PFI：利用纳米粒子离子材料开发润滑剂和电池电解质

• 批准号: 1114275
• 负责人: Emmanuel Giannelis
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1114275&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; Development; Lubricants; Battery; Electrolytes

This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project from Cornell University will develop applications for high performance lubricants and non-flammable electrolytes for lithium ion and other advanced batteries. These applications will be generated utilizing a new platform technology of nanoparticle ionic materials (NIMs) discovered at Cornell. NIMs consist of inorganic core particles wrapped within a dense layer of organic molecules. Tethering mobile molecules to the tiny particle cores yields a family of nanoscale materials whose properties can be tuned to conduct electrical charge or serve as a lubricant, while not releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because NIMs are solvent-free. Thus, used as lithium battery electrolytes, NIMs can be designed to provide competitive electrical conductivity and electrochemical stability for high performance, while eliminating the risks of conventional battery electrolytes employing flammable solvents. Likewise, in applications as lubricants, ultra-slippery gel-like NIMs greases and oils can be designed to enhance energy efficiency and longevity of high-performance machine components that present small tolerances and commensurate high contact pressures, yet demand stable lubricant mechanical properties over extended periods of time.The broader impacts of this project are enhancement of education and entrepreneurship, and an improvement in U.S. economic competitiveness. Since this project will facilitate commercial deployment of new hybrid materials in two high-growth technology sectors: electrical energy storage and high performance machinery (e.g. wind-turbines, heavy-duty trucks, and high-speed rail), significant economic multiplication of the initial funding investment is expected. For education and entrepreneurship, the project will educate engineering researchers in the structure-property-performance relationships of NIMs in partnership with both industrial partners interested in the scaling up of NIMs production and performance and with Johnson School of Business graduate students, who will assist project participants in adapting NIMs for these new applications and in transitioning these technologies to the marketplace. More broadly, interactions of the project participants with K-12, Research Experience for Undergraduates, Research Experience for Teachers, and Women in Engineering programs organized by the Cornell Center for Materials Research and the College of Engineering will significantly expand the educational experiences provided by the project. Partners at the inception of this project are all part of the Knowledge-Enhancement Partnership (KEP) unit, consisting of Cornell University (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the KAUST-Cornell Center for Energy and Sustainability, Cornell Center for Materials Research, and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management); two small businesses: NOHMS Technologies, Inc. and Primet Precision Materials, Inc. (both of Ithaca, NY); and a standalone small business subsidiary of Quaker Chemical: Summit Lubricants, Inc. (Batavia, NY).

康奈尔大学的创新合作伙伴关系 (PFI) 项目将为锂离子和其他先进电池开发高性能润滑剂和不易燃电解质的应用。这些应用将利用康奈尔大学发现的纳米粒子离子材料（NIM）的新平台技术来生成。 NIM 由包裹在致密有机分子层内的无机核心颗粒组成。将移动分子束缚在微小颗粒核心上可产生一系列纳米级材料，其特性可调节以传导电荷或用作润滑剂，同时不会释放挥发性有机化合物 (VOC)，因为 NIM 不含溶剂。因此，用作锂电池电解质时，NIM 可以设计为提供具有竞争力的导电性和电化学稳定性以实现高性能，同时消除使用易燃溶剂的传统电池电解质的风险。同样，在润滑剂应用中，超滑凝胶状 NIM 润滑脂和油可以设计用于提高高性能机器部件的能源效率和寿命，这些部件具有小公差和相应的高接触压力，但需要在较长时间内保持稳定的润滑剂机械性能。该项目更广泛的影响是加强教育和创业精神，并提高 美国的经济竞争力。由于该项目将促进新型混合材料在两个高增长技术领域的商业部署：电能存储和高性能机械（例如风力涡轮机、重型卡车和高铁），预计初始资金投资将显着增加经济倍数。在教育和创业方面，该项目将与对扩大NIM生产和性能感兴趣的工业合作伙伴以及约翰逊商学院的研究生合作，教育工程研究人员了解NIM的结构-性能-性能关系，后者将协助项目参与者使NIM适应这些新应用，并将这些技术转化为市场。更广泛地说，项目参与者与康奈尔大学材料研究中心和工程学院组织的 K-12、本科生研究经验、教师研究经验以及工程领域女性项目的互动将显着扩大该项目提供的教育经验。该项目启动时的合作伙伴都是知识增强合作伙伴关系 (KEP) 单位的一部分，该单位包括康奈尔大学（材料科学与工程系、KAUST-康奈尔能源与可持续发展中心、康奈尔材料研究中心以及塞缪尔·柯蒂斯·约翰逊管理研究生院创业与创新研究所）；两家小型企业：NOHMS Technologies, Inc. 和 Primet Precision Materials, Inc.（均位于纽约州伊萨卡）；以及奎克化学 (Quaker Chemical) 的独立小型企业子公司：Summit Lubricants, Inc.（纽约州巴达维亚）。