STTR Phase I: High-Yield Platform Process for Fabrication of Unique Nanofiber Materials

STTR 第一阶段：用于制造独特纳米纤维材料的高产平台工艺

• 批准号: 2127012
• 负责人: Anthony Brayer
• 金额: $ 25.6万
• 依托单位: TRUSPIN NANOMATERIAL INNOVATION, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-11-15 至 2023-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2127012&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Yield; Platform; Process

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to enable nanofiber integration in a wide variety of applications that were previously cost prohibitive. The technology will enable both the cost-efficient production of nanofibers at commercially acceptable rates, as well as the development of unique nanofiber materials with properties compatible with specific industry uses. The high-capacity batteries developed as part of this effort may give rise to advancements in the energy industry enabling electricity distribution via microgrids and solar arrays, in turn supporting energy resilience, independence, and sustainability. Further, the commercialization of this technology platform for facile nanofiber production at scale may create prospects for nanofiber use across a multitude of industries, such as: textiles for fine-mesh surgical face masks and thermal regulating clothing, remediation of water and air, tissue engineering and wound care, and defense applications such as low-weight aircraft, bulletproof uniforms, and personal protective equipment for use against chemical/biological agents.This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project develops a low cost, high-throughput process to fabricate nanofibers with unique properties, enabling their integration into a variety of end applications. Traditional DC electrospinning methods have low nanofiber production rates, preventing their widespread adoption. This project develops an alternating field electrospinning (AFES) process capable of producing a wide variety of unique nanofibers at a rate thousands of times faster than existing systems. Phase I research objectives include: the characterization of different thermal settings for AFES electrospinning and studies of the impacts on material properties, the expansion of classes of materials compatible with the AFES system, and the fabrication of materials with application-specific properties. This work will involve extensive testing and characterization of nanofibers produced under a variety of thermal process settings. The researchers will also incorporate the nanofibers into lithium ion batteries to quantify capabilities and identify optimal silicon nanofiber characteristics for the application.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.

该小型企业技术转让 (STTR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是使纳米纤维能够集成到以前成本高昂的各种应用中。该技术将以商业上可接受的速度经济高效地生产纳米纤维，并开发具有与特定工业用途兼容的特性的独特纳米纤维材料。 作为这一努力的一部分而开发的高容量电池可能会促进能源行业的进步，从而通过微电网和太阳能电池阵列实现电力分配，从而支持能源弹性、独立性和可持续性。此外，这种用于大规模纳米纤维生产的技术平台的商业化可能会为纳米纤维在多个行业的使用创造前景，例如：用于细网外科口罩和热调节服装的纺织品、水和空气的修复、组织工程和伤口护理，以及国防应用，例如轻型飞机、防弹制服和用于抵御化学/生物制剂的个人防护设备。这种小型企业技术 Transfer (STTR) 第一阶段项目开发了一种低成本、高通量的工艺来制造具有独特性能的纳米纤维，使其能够集成到各种最终应用中。传统的直流静电纺丝方法的纳米纤维生产率较低，阻碍了其广泛采用。该项目开发了一种交变电场静电纺丝 (AFES) 工艺，能够以比现有系统快数千倍的速度生产各种独特的纳米纤维。第一阶段的研究目标包括：AFES 静电纺丝不同热设置的表征和对材料性能影响的研究、与 AFES 系统兼容的材料类别的扩展以及具有特定应用属性的材料的制造。 这项工作将涉及对各种热处理设置下生产的纳米纤维进行广泛的测试和表征。 研究人员还将纳米纤维融入锂离子电池中，以量化功能并确定应用的最佳硅纳米纤维特性。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。