SBIR Phase I: Tough polymer composite materials through iLAMB, or interlaminar modifications through master batching

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目的目标是克服当前复合材料因分层而存在的弱点，开发出层间韧性提高100%以上的复合材料。该项目旨在加快复合材料用环氧/树脂纳米添加剂的创新，以解决这一问题。复合材料预计将成为全球环氧树脂市场增长最快的应用领域，复合年增长率估计为6%，到2024年预计市场价值将达到145亿美元。市场的关键驱动力是终端使用行业，包括航空航天、汽车、运输和涂料。迫切需要通过提高这些材料的低速抗冲击性来使其更安全可靠，并增加层与层之间的粘附力。到2021年，仅在美国，该产品的市场价值就可能达到3600万美元。该项目的智力优势在于开发了基于氧化石墨烯(GO)和多面体低聚倍半硅氧烷(POSS)的新型混合纳米膜。这些纳米填料可以通过“母料”工艺添加到环氧/乙烯基酯/聚酯基质中，以增强商业复合材料的层间断裂韧性。在不改变当前制造工艺的情况下，在极低的添加量(约0.2%的复合材料重量)下，断裂韧性的增加可以超过100%。除了当前生产实践中的重大变化外，碳纳米管和纳米粘土等纳米薄膜很难添加到复合基质中，因为它们容易团聚，导致分散性差。初步实验表明，基于GO和POSS的杂化纳米膜是有可能开发出来的，它们可以添加到复合基质中，在复合工业标准溶剂中具有良好的分散性。通过杂交和母料配料克服了分散的挑战。将对固化母料进行表征，并测量样品复合材料的物理性能，以优化纳米填料的含量和工艺参数。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project objective is to overcome weaknesses of current composite materials due to delamination and develop composites with more than 100% improvement in interlaminar toughness. The project aims to accelerate the innovation of epoxy/resin nanoadditives for composite materials in order to solve this problem. Composites are expected to be the fastest growing application segment in the global epoxy resin market, with an estimated compounded annual growth rate of ~6% and an expected market value of $14.5 billion by 2024. The key drivers in the market are the end-use industries which include aerospace, automotive, transportation, and coatings. There is a critical need to make these materials safer and more reliable by increasing their low velocity impact resistance, and to increase the adhesion between laminar layers. The product could have an obtainable market volume of $36 million in the US alone by 2021.The intellectual merit of this project is in the development of new hybrid nanofillers based on Graphene Oxide (GO) and Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS). These nanofillers can be added to epoxy/vinyl ester/polyester matrices through a "Master Batch" process to enhance the interlaminar fracture toughness of commercial composites. This increase in fracture toughness can be more than 100% at extremely low addition levels (~0.2% by weight of the composite) without any changes in current manufacturing processes. Nanofillers such as carbon nanotubes and nanoclays are difficult to add to composite matrices because of their tendency to agglomerate and result in poor dispersion, apart from major changes in current manufacturing practices. Preliminary experiments have demonstrated that it is possible to develop these hybrid nanofillers based on GO and POSS that can be added to composite matrices with excellent dispersion in composite industry standard solvents. The challenges of dispersion are overcome through hybridization and Master Batching. Characterization of the cured Master Batches as well as measurement of physical properties of sample composites will be carried out to optimize the nanofiller content and the processing parameters.