SBIR Phase I: High Performance Structural Composites with Cellulosic Nanoparticles

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的目标是为汽车和其他行业创造具有成本效益的，可持续的，高性能的纳米复合材料。汽车行业目前每年使用27亿磅的可持续聚合物复合材料，预计到2017年美国市场将达到230亿美元。最初的目标是用纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）取代聚合物复合材料中的重玻璃增强材料，用于汽车部件，提供更轻重量的车辆，提高燃油效率。CNC是一种丰富的可再生自然资源，其原料由木材或木材加工产生的废物提供，用于制造纸浆，纸张和木材。正在进行的从各种木材来源生产CNCs的研究已经导致了成本的显着降低（更多），使CNCs成为越来越有吸引力的功能性天然填料。开发可以按比例放大以商业上有吸引力的价格制造更大部件的CNC是本研究的一个关键目标。成功地将CNC应用于复合材料中不仅可以减轻车辆重量并减少对环境的影响，还可以将废物流转化为高价值材料。这项工作将解决将CNC应用于聚合物热塑性复合材料中之前遇到的三个挑战，即：（1）颗粒分散，（2）界面结合，和（3）用于汽车和其它工业的大规模制造的商业上可行的加工方法。CNC的拉伸强度是芳纶纤维的两倍以上，并且比碳纤维具有更大的拉伸强度和更低的密度。必须开发新的界面化学和加工途径，以实现CNC和聚合物基质之间的适当界面结合，以及CNC颗粒的分散，以允许聚合物复合材料实现CNC可以提供的上级机械性能。化学和处理的可扩展性和成本也将是本研究的主要考虑因素。

The goal of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to create cost-effective, sustainable, high performance nanocomposites for automotive and other industries. The automotive industry is currently using 2.7 billion pounds per year of sustainable polymeric composites with an estimated US market of $23 billion by 2017. The initial target is to replace heavy glass reinforcement in polymeric composites with cellulosic nanocrystals (CNCs) for car parts, providing lighter weight vehicles with increased fuel efficiency. CNCs are an abundant and renewable natural resource, with the feedstock provided by wood or waste from wood processing to make pulp, paper, and lumber. On-going research on the production of CNCs from various wood sources have resulted in significant reductions in cost (with more coming), making CNCs an increasingly attractive functional natural filler. Developing CNCs that can be scaled up to make larger parts at a commercially attractive price is a key objective in this research. Successful implementation of CNCs into composites could not only lighten vehicles and reduce environmental impact, but also transform a waste stream into high-value materials.This effort will address three previously encountered challenges with incorporating CNCs into polymeric thermoplastic composites, namely: (1) particle dispersion, (2) interfacial bonding, and (3) commercially viable processing methods for large-scale manufacturing for automotive and other industries. CNCs have more than twice the tensile strength of aramid fibers and a greater tensile strength and lower density than carbon fibers. Novel interfacial chemistries and processing paths will have to be developed in order to achieve proper interfacial bonding between CNCs and the polymer matrices, as well as dispersion of the CNC particles to allow the polymeric composite to realize the superior mechanical properties that CNCs can provide. The scalability and cost of the chemistries and processing will also be a primary consideration in this investigation.