PFI: Development of Lubricants and Battery Electrolytes From Nanoparticle Ionic Materials

康奈尔大学的创新伙伴关系（PFI）项目将开发用于锂离子电池和其他先进电池的高性能润滑剂和不易燃电解质的应用。这些应用将利用康奈尔大学发现的纳米粒子离子材料（nim）的新平台技术。纳米粒子由包裹在有机分子致密层内的无机核心粒子组成。将可移动分子系在微小的颗粒核心上，产生了一系列纳米级材料，这些材料的特性可以被调整为导电或用作润滑剂，同时不会释放挥发性有机化合物（VOCs），因为纳米颗粒是无溶剂的。因此，作为锂电池电解质，nim可以设计成具有竞争力的导电性和电化学稳定性，同时消除使用易燃溶剂的传统电池电解质的风险。同样，在润滑剂的应用中，超滑凝胶状nim润滑脂和油可以设计为提高能效和高性能机器部件的寿命，这些部件具有小公差和相应的高接触压力，但需要长时间稳定的润滑剂机械性能。这个项目更广泛的影响是促进教育和创业，提高美国的经济竞争力。由于该项目将促进新混合材料在两个高增长技术领域的商业部署：电能存储和高性能机械（如风力涡轮机、重型卡车和高速铁路），预计初始资金投资将显著增加经济效益。在教育和创业方面，该项目将与有意扩大NIMs生产和性能的工业合作伙伴以及约翰逊商学院（Johnson School of Business）的研究生合作，向工程研究人员传授NIMs的结构-性能-性能关系，后者将协助项目参与者使NIMs适应这些新应用，并将这些技术转化为市场。更广泛地说，项目参与者与由康奈尔材料研究中心和工程学院组织的K-12、本科生研究经验、教师研究经验和工程女性项目的互动将大大扩展项目提供的教育经验。该项目的合作伙伴都是知识增强伙伴关系（KEP）单位的一部分，包括康奈尔大学（材料科学与工程系，考斯特-康奈尔能源与可持续发展中心，康奈尔材料研究中心，塞缪尔·柯蒂斯·约翰逊管理研究生院创业与创新研究所）；两家小型企业：NOHMS Technologies， Inc.和Primet Precision Materials， Inc.（均位于纽约州伊萨卡）；以及桂格化学的独立小型业务子公司：Summit润滑油公司（纽约州巴达维亚）。

This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project from Cornell University will develop applications for high performance lubricants and non-flammable electrolytes for lithium ion and other advanced batteries. These applications will be generated utilizing a new platform technology of nanoparticle ionic materials (NIMs) discovered at Cornell. NIMs consist of inorganic core particles wrapped within a dense layer of organic molecules. Tethering mobile molecules to the tiny particle cores yields a family of nanoscale materials whose properties can be tuned to conduct electrical charge or serve as a lubricant, while not releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because NIMs are solvent-free. Thus, used as lithium battery electrolytes, NIMs can be designed to provide competitive electrical conductivity and electrochemical stability for high performance, while eliminating the risks of conventional battery electrolytes employing flammable solvents. Likewise, in applications as lubricants, ultra-slippery gel-like NIMs greases and oils can be designed to enhance energy efficiency and longevity of high-performance machine components that present small tolerances and commensurate high contact pressures, yet demand stable lubricant mechanical properties over extended periods of time.The broader impacts of this project are enhancement of education and entrepreneurship, and an improvement in U.S. economic competitiveness. Since this project will facilitate commercial deployment of new hybrid materials in two high-growth technology sectors: electrical energy storage and high performance machinery (e.g. wind-turbines, heavy-duty trucks, and high-speed rail), significant economic multiplication of the initial funding investment is expected. For education and entrepreneurship, the project will educate engineering researchers in the structure-property-performance relationships of NIMs in partnership with both industrial partners interested in the scaling up of NIMs production and performance and with Johnson School of Business graduate students, who will assist project participants in adapting NIMs for these new applications and in transitioning these technologies to the marketplace. More broadly, interactions of the project participants with K-12, Research Experience for Undergraduates, Research Experience for Teachers, and Women in Engineering programs organized by the Cornell Center for Materials Research and the College of Engineering will significantly expand the educational experiences provided by the project. Partners at the inception of this project are all part of the Knowledge-Enhancement Partnership (KEP) unit, consisting of Cornell University (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the KAUST-Cornell Center for Energy and Sustainability, Cornell Center for Materials Research, and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management); two small businesses: NOHMS Technologies, Inc. and Primet Precision Materials, Inc. (both of Ithaca, NY); and a standalone small business subsidiary of Quaker Chemical: Summit Lubricants, Inc. (Batavia, NY).