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

这个小型企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是在以前成本高昂的各种应用中实现可扩展性集成。该技术将能够以商业上可接受的速度经济高效地生产纳米纤维，以及开发具有与特定行业用途兼容的特性的独特的可再生材料。 作为这一努力的一部分，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，进而支持能源弹性，独立性和可持续性。此外，该技术平台的商业化可用于大规模的简易生物质生产，这可能会为多个行业的生物质利用创造前景，例如：用于细孔外科口罩和热调节服装的纺织品，水和空气的补救，组织工程和伤口护理，以及国防应用，如轻型飞机，防弹制服，这个小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目开发了一种低成本、高通量的工艺，用于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。传统的直流电纺丝方法具有低的纺丝生产率，阻止了它们的广泛采用。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：表征AFES静电纺丝的不同热设置和对材料性能影响的研究，扩展与AFES系统兼容的材料类别，以及制造具有特定应用性能的材料。 这项工作将涉及在各种热工艺设置下生产的纳米纤维的广泛测试和表征。 研究人员还将把纳米纤维纳入锂离子电池中，以量化性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 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.