I-Corps: Non-Silane Coupling Agents

I-Corps项目“非硅烷偶联剂”的更广泛影响/商业潜力取决于偶联剂这一新技术平台的环境优势，该技术平台具有潜在的轮胎应用性能优势。全球轮胎和橡胶公司每年消耗3.25亿美元的硅烷偶联剂。大约一半的硅烷偶联剂(即~10kton或~1-5%的轮胎重量)被转化为乙醇，如果不被捕获，则作为挥发性有机化合物(VOC)释放到大气中。通过用邻苯二酚官能团取代传统硅烷偶联剂中的硅烷部分，非硅烷偶联(NSC)技术完全消除了轮胎制造过程中产生的VOC。如果目前使用硅烷的其他工业部门也采用邻苯二酚技术，每年将减少约50千吨的VOC排放。NSC技术为成熟的硅烷偶联技术引入了一种颠覆性的替代技术，该技术的知识产权早已到期，其制造只在亚洲进行。NSC技术还将使美国橡胶和轮胎制造商与他们在发展中国家的竞争对手平起平坐，那里的环境法规已经放松。i-Corps的这个名为“非硅烷偶联剂”的项目完全脱离了目前基于硅烷的技术，利用邻苯二酚基元在二氧化硅表面形成螯合的特殊能力。这种方法从根本上说是新颖的。这项技术是由NSF I/UCRC轮胎研究中心赞助的一项研究项目的成果。I-Corps团队计划包含的活动将使我们能够深入了解客户机会，在早期研发阶段量身定制新的颠覆性技术来满足这些需求，并提高成功的可能性。研发和业务团队汇集了橡胶化学、技术、营销和商业管理领域的丰富经验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project 'Non-Silane Coupling Agents' rests on the environmental advantage of a new technology platform of coupling agents with potential performance advantages for tire applications. The global tire and rubber companies consume $325 million in silane coupling agents each year. About half of the weight of the silane coupling agents (i.e., ~10 kTon or ~1-5% by weight of the tire) is converted to ethanol and, if not captured, released into the atmosphere as a volatile organic compound (VOC). By replacing the silane moiety in the conventional silane coupling agents with a catechol functional group, the non-silane coupling (NSC) technology completely eliminates the VOC generated during tire manufacture. If other industrial sectors that currently use silanes also adopt the catechol-based technology, ~50 kTon of annual VOC emission will be eliminated. The NSC technology introduces a disruptive replacement for the mature silane-based coupling technology, whose intellectual properties have long expired and whose manufacture is exclusively based in Asia. The NSC technology will also level the playingfield for US rubber and tire manufacturers against their competitors in developing countries, where the environmental regulations are relaxed.This I-Corps project 'Non-Silane Coupling Agents' is a clean intellectual departure from the current silane-based technology, taking advantage of the exceptional ability of the catechol motif to form chelation on the surface of silica. The approach is fundamentally novel. The technology is the outcome of a research program sponsored by the NSF I/UCRC Center of Tire Research. The activities encompassed by the I-Corps Teams program will allow us the deep dive necessary to truly understand the customer opportunity, tailor the novel disruptive technology to meet these needs at an early R&D stage and enhances the probability of success. The R&D and business team bring together extensive experience working in the areas of rubber chemistry, technology, marketing, and business management.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.