SBIR Phase I: Novel Catalysts Based on Doped Carbon Nano-Fibers

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的重点是开发一种生产纳米结构非贵金属电极的经济工艺。目前，许多电极应用都使用了贵金属，这使得该技术在大规模采用时过于昂贵。与用于电极的传统材料相比，该项目开发的材料具有独特的性能，并且可以纳入许多重要的应用中。这种材料是基于碳纳米纤维，一种类似于碳纳米管的材料。这些材料的独特性质可以通过在纳米尺度上调整特定的特征来优化。在该项目中，将开发一种使用低成本起始材料的可扩展工艺（高达吨位数量），用于生产这些具有高性能的先进材料，用于目标电极应用。生产过程将基于一种独特的正在申请专利的制造路线，这使得纳米结构碳的生产比传统路线更经济。工艺条件也将被优化，以生产具有目标电极应用首选性能的材料。该项目将展示一种比传统电极性能更好的材料，而制造成本仅为传统电极的一小部分。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将与更有效的能源储存和使用形式有关。最大的价值主张是用于替代贵金属，用于从燃料电池和电池到工业电解等应用中的空气电极。这些应用是特别有趣的，因为廉价和稳定的电极材料可以显著提高美国一些最大的电力消耗来源的效率，包括运输和化学生产的能源储存。例如，由于其优越的能量密度（高一个数量级），金属空气电池有可能取代锂离子电池，用于电子设备和电动汽车。此外，有了稳定的低成本空气电极，氯的电化学生产（在美国大约消耗2%的电力）的效率将提高30%。与目前最先进的材料相比，该项目开发的材料成本明显更低，使用寿命更长，可以广泛采用。因此，更便宜的电极材料将降低电池、燃料电池和电解技术的成本，最终实现更高效、更高性能的能量存储和使用手段。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is focused on development ofan economical process for production of nano-structured non-precious metal electrodes.Currently, many electrode applications use precious metals that make the technologiesprohibitively expensive for wide-scale adoption. The materials being developed on thisproject have unique properties compared to conventional materials used in electrodes,and can be incorporated into a number of important applications. The materials arebased on carbon nano-fibers, a similar material to carbon nano-tubes. The uniqueproperties of these materials can be optimized by tuning particular features at thenanometer scale. In this project, a scalable process (up to tonnage quantities) using lowcost starting materials will be developed for the production of these advanced materialswith high performance for target electrode applications. The production process will bebased on a unique patent-pending manufacturing route that allows the nano-structuredcarbon to be produced more economically than conventional routes. The processconditions will also be optimized to produce materials with the preferred properties fortarget electrode applications. The project will result in demonstration of a material withbetter performance than conventional electrodes that can be manufactured at a fractionof the cost.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be related to more efficientforms of energy storage and usage. The strongest value proposition is for replacementof precious metals for use in air electrodes used in applications ranging from fuel cellsand batteries, to industrial electrolysis. These applications are of particular interest sincean inexpensive and stable electrode material could allow significant efficiencyimprovements to some of the largest sources of electricity consumption in the U.S.,including energy storage for transportation, and chemical production. For example,because of their superior energy density (an order of magnitude higher), metal airbatteries could potentially replace lithium ion batteries for use in electronic devices andelectric vehicles. Additionally, with stable low cost air electrodes, the electrochemicalproduction of chlorine (which consumes approximately 2% of electricity in the U.S.)would be 30% more efficient. The materials developed in this project will costsignificantly less and last longer than current state-of-the-art materials, enabling theirwide-scale adoption. The less expensive electrode materials will consequently reducethe cost of battery, fuel cell, and electrolysis technologies, ultimately enabling theadoption of more efficient and higher performing means of energy storage and use.