SBIR Phase I: High Performance Structural Composites with Cellulosic Nanoparticles

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目的目标是为汽车和其他行业创造具有成本效益、可持续、高性能的纳米复合材料。汽车行业目前每年使用27亿磅可持续聚合物复合材料，预计到2017年美国市场将达到230亿美元。最初的目标是用纤维纳米晶(CNCS)取代聚合物复合材料中的重玻璃，用于汽车零部件，提供更轻的汽车，提高燃料效率。碳纳米管是一种丰富的、可再生的自然资源，以木材或木材加工产生的废料为原料制造纸浆、纸张和木材。对从各种木材来源生产碳纳米管的持续研究已经导致了成本的显著降低(还会有更多的降低)，使碳纳米管成为一种越来越有吸引力的功能性天然填料。这项研究的一个关键目标是开发能够扩大规模、以具有商业吸引力的价格制造更大部件的CNCS。成功地将碳纳米管应用到复合材料中，不仅可以减轻车辆重量和减少对环境的影响，还可以将废流转化为高价值的材料。这一努力将解决将碳纳米管引入聚合物热塑性复合材料中之前遇到的三个挑战，即：(1)粒子分散，(2)界面粘合，(3)用于汽车和其他工业的大规模制造的商业可行的加工方法。碳纳米管的抗拉强度是芳纶纤维的两倍以上，比碳纤维具有更高的抗拉强度和更低的密度。必须开发新的界面化学方法和加工路径，以实现碳纳米管与聚合物基质之间的适当界面结合，并分散碳纳米管颗粒，使聚合物复合材料实现碳纳米管所能提供的优异力学性能。化学和加工的可扩展性和成本也将是本次调查的主要考虑因素。

The goal of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to create cost-effective, sustainable, high performance nanocomposites for automotive and other industries. The automotive industry is currently using 2.7 billion pounds per year of sustainable polymeric composites with an estimated US market of $23 billion by 2017. The initial target is to replace heavy glass reinforcement in polymeric composites with cellulosic nanocrystals (CNCs) for car parts, providing lighter weight vehicles with increased fuel efficiency. CNCs are an abundant and renewable natural resource, with the feedstock provided by wood or waste from wood processing to make pulp, paper, and lumber. On-going research on the production of CNCs from various wood sources have resulted in significant reductions in cost (with more coming), making CNCs an increasingly attractive functional natural filler. Developing CNCs that can be scaled up to make larger parts at a commercially attractive price is a key objective in this research. Successful implementation of CNCs into composites could not only lighten vehicles and reduce environmental impact, but also transform a waste stream into high-value materials.This effort will address three previously encountered challenges with incorporating CNCs into polymeric thermoplastic composites, namely: (1) particle dispersion, (2) interfacial bonding, and (3) commercially viable processing methods for large-scale manufacturing for automotive and other industries. CNCs have more than twice the tensile strength of aramid fibers and a greater tensile strength and lower density than carbon fibers. Novel interfacial chemistries and processing paths will have to be developed in order to achieve proper interfacial bonding between CNCs and the polymer matrices, as well as dispersion of the CNC particles to allow the polymeric composite to realize the superior mechanical properties that CNCs can provide. The scalability and cost of the chemistries and processing will also be a primary consideration in this investigation.