I-Corps: Exploring Commercialization Opportunities for New Butyl Nanocomposites

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是探索NSF资助的基于丁基橡胶的纳米复合材料研究的商业化潜力。纳米复合材料具有许多通用应用的潜力，包括涂料，粘合剂，药用塞子和医疗器械。橡胶纳米复合材料可回收利用，消除了设备制造过程中和使用后的浪费。一种类似的橡胶纳米复合材料被用作药物洗脱支架的涂层，产生了数十亿美元的收入，这进一步凸显了其商业潜力。 丁基弹性体是异丁烯与少量异戊二烯的共聚物，具有出色的低温性能和非常高的阻尼，但在没有交联的情况下具有非常高的蠕变。 聚（苯乙烯-异丁烯-苯乙烯）热塑性橡胶和丁基弹性体的共混物，用碳、二氧化硅或氧化铁等纳米填料增强，可能是有前途的纳米复合材料，可用于广泛的应用。 未来潜在的改进包括用单一的聚（别罗勒烯-异丁烯-别罗勒烯）热塑性橡胶代替聚合物混合物。该项目将探索各种潜在混合物和应用的市场开发和商业化。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to expore the commercializtion potential of NSF funded research on nanocomposites based on butyl rubber. Nano-composites have potential for numerous versatile applications including coatings, adhesives, pharmaceutical stoppers and medical devices. The rubber nanocomposites are recyclable, eliminating waste during device manufacturing and after use. A similar rubber nanocomposite is used as a coating on drug eluting stents, generating billions of dollars in revenue which further highlights the commercial potential. Butyl elastomer, a copolymer of isobutylene with a small amount of isoprene, has outstanding low temperature properties and very high damping, but has very high creep without crosslinking. It is likely that a blend of poly(styrene-isobutylene-styrene) thermoplastic rubber and butyl elastomer, reinforced with nanofillers such as carbon, silica or iron oxide, would be promising nanocomposites for a broad range of applications. Future potential improvements include replacing the polymer mix with a single poly(alloocimene-isobutylene-alloocimene) thermoplastic rubber. This project will explore market development and commercialization for various potential blends and applications.