I-Corps: Non-Silane Coupling Agents

这个I-Corps项目“非硅烷偶联剂”的更广泛的影响/商业潜力取决于偶联剂新技术平台的环境优势，该平台具有轮胎应用的潜在性能优势。全球轮胎和橡胶公司每年消耗3.25亿美元的硅烷偶联剂。硅烷偶联剂重量的大约一半（即，约10千吨或轮胎重量的约1-5%）转化为乙醇，如果未被捕获，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基于邻苯二酚的技术，每年将减少约50千吨的VOC排放。NSC技术为成熟的硅烷基耦合技术引入了颠覆性的替代品，后者的知识产权早已过期，其制造仅在亚洲进行。NSC技术还将使美国橡胶和轮胎制造商与环境法规宽松的发展中国家的竞争对手竞争。I-Corps的“非硅烷偶联剂”项目是对当前硅烷基技术的一次彻底的知识创新，利用了邻苯二酚基序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。该技术是由NSF I/UCRC轮胎研究中心赞助的一项研究计划的成果。I-Corps团队计划所包含的活动将使我们能够深入了解客户机会，在早期研发阶段定制新颖的颠覆性技术以满足这些需求，并提高成功的可能性。该奖项反映了NSF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。

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.