GOALI/Collaborative Research: Nanomanufacturing of Vertically Aligned Boron-Nitride-Nanotube Membranes for Energy Conversion

在全球范围内，有相当于大约2000座核电站的未开发电力，这些电力可以在沿海河口通过淡水和盐水的混合产生。然而，到目前为止，还没有经济的方法从天然盐梯度中提取这种清洁的“蓝色”能源。这主要是由于现有膜技术的低效率和高成本。这项学术研究与工业合作奖（GOALI）支持对一种新方法的基础研究，该方法利用氮化硼纳米管（BNNT）作为独特的光滑、高电荷的纳米级孔隙，制造能从盐度梯度中高效转换能量的膜。新的纳米制造工艺能够制造能量收集BNNT膜，其功率密度比现有膜高10到100倍，以一种高效和经济的方式，可以扩大到高生产率和许多平方米大小的大规模膜。所开发的知识基础和纳米制造方法能够从未充分利用的非间歇性电源中产生可再生能源，并且通常也适用于对许多工业过程至关重要的专用膜的设计和制造。这项由工业合作伙伴、Chasm Technologies和两所大学的化学和机械工程师共同开展的GOALI合作研究，将帮助学生培养多学科技能，并获得与行业相关的经验。通过协调一致的外展努力，激发女性和少数族裔学生对科学、技术、工程和数学的兴趣，增强了多样性，有助于满足美国的劳动力需求。GOALI合作研究项目设计了第一个可扩展的、卷对卷兼容的方法，用于生产垂直排列的氮化硼纳米管（BNNT）膜。这是通过一种基于溶液的方法实现的，该方法在外电场的影响下沉积和排列低聚物分散的bnnt，并通过原位聚合将纳米结构锁定在位置上。该项目为实验室规模的溶液制造提供了基本的理解和方法，目标是1-10 cm2的膜，孔密度为108 - 1010 bnnt /cm2。这种膜的可用性为离子和液体在高电荷纳米级孔隙中的传输、分子分离和电动能量转换的含义等基本问题提供了答案。学术合作伙伴正计划与行业合作伙伴Chasm Technologies合作，开发子系统和加工步骤（例如，涂层，电动校准，固化和后处理），以实现大面积BNNT膜的卷对卷制造。该团队共同研究了制造工艺的可扩展性，膜的产量和性能，当尺寸增加到100平方厘米以上时。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Globally, there is untapped power equivalent to approximately 2,000 nuclear power plants that could be generated at coastal estuaries from the mixing of fresh and salt water. To date, however, there have been no economical ways to extract this clean 'blue' energy from natural salt gradients. This is largely due to the poor efficiencies and high cost of existing membrane technologies. This Grant Opportunity for Academic Research with Industry (GOALI) collaborative award supports fundamental research on a new approach to manufacturing membranes for efficient energy conversion from salinity gradients, using boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNT) as uniquely smooth, highly charged nanoscale pores. The new nanomanufacturing process enables fabrication of energy-harvesting BNNT membranes with power densities ten to 100 times greater than existing membranes, in an efficient and cost-effective manner that can be scaled up to high production rates and large-scale membranes many meter-square in size. The knowledge base and nanomanufacturing methods that are developed enable renewable energy generation from an under-utilized and non-intermittent power source, and are also generally applicable to the design and manufacture of the specialized membranes that are critical to many industrial processes. This GOALI collaborative research, between an industrial partner, Chasm Technologies, and Chemical and Mechanical Engineers at two universities, helps students develop multidisciplinary skills and gain industry-relevant experience. Concerted outreach efforts to spark interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics among women and under-represented minority students enhances diversity and help fill US workforce needs. The GOALI collaborative research project devises the first scalable, roll-to-roll-compatible method for producing vertically aligned boron-nitride nanotube (BNNT) membranes. This is achieved with a solution-based approach that deposits and aligns oligomer-dispersed BNNTs under the influence of an external electric field, and locks the nanostructure in position by in situ polymerization. The project develops a fundamental understanding and methods for solution-based fabrication at lab scales, targeting 1-10 cm2 membranes with pore densities of 108 - 1010 BNNTs/cm2. The availability of such membranes provides answers to basic questions regarding ion and liquid transport in highly charged nanoscale pores, the implications for molecular separations and electrokinetic energy conversion. The academic collaborators are planning to work with industry partner Chasm Technologies to develop the subsystems and processing steps (e.g., coating, electrokinetic alignment, curing, and post processing) to enable roll-to-roll manufacturing of large-area BNNT membranes. Together, the team studies scalability of the manufacturing process, membrane yield and performance as the size is increased to 100 cm2 and beyond.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.