SBIR Phase II: Durable Omni-Phobic Coatings

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响是提供环境友好的自清洁涂层技术。氟材料被称为永久材料，由于其优异的自清洁性能而得到了广泛的应用，但这些涂层所产生的有害环境影响促使了环境友好解决方案的引入。该项目计划创造一种新技术，使环保涂料能够在任何条件下附着在多种基材上，同时提供高耐磨性和出色的耐候性。该项目的成功完成将为这项技术在家用和工业产品、汽车应用、传感器、太阳能电池板和航空航天应用中的商业化和采用奠定基础。这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目旨在验证中试规模生产的可行性，增强耐候性，并使无氟自清洁材料实现商业化。以前的自清洁涂层方法有几个局限性，如依赖有害的氟化学物质、成本高、可扩展性差、光学性能差和耐候性低。建议的技术是通过一种独特的方法开发的，该方法可以实现更高性能的无氟涂层(例如，出色的机械性能、光学清晰度、疏水性、附着力)，同时以较低的成本保持制造工艺的简便性。这一拟议项目的主要目标包括：1)试生产涂料，为商业化奠定基础；2)扩大高端应用的耐候性，如汽车和航空航天部门的应用；以及3)开发全方位添加剂的协议，以便将该技术快速实施到相关应用中。预期的结果包括成功的中试生产试验，实现了长期耐候性，以及成功地合成了具有理想组成和性能的全方位添加剂。该项目的成功完成将为家庭和工业产品、汽车应用、传感器、太阳能电池板和航空航天等领域的这项技术的商业化和采用奠定基础。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide environmentally friendly, self-cleaning coating technologies. Fluorinated materials, known as forever materials, have been widely used due to their excellent self-cleaning properties, but the detrimental environmental impacts resulting from these coatings motivate the introduction of environmentally friendly solutions. This project plans to create a new technology to enable environmentally-friendly coatings capable of adhering to a myriad of substrates under any conditions, while offering high abrasion resistance and exceptional weather resistance. The successful completion of the project will set the stage for commercialization and adoption of this technology for household and industrial products, automotive applications, sensors, solar panels, and aerospace applications.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to validate pilot-scale production feasibility, enhance the weatherability, and enable the commercialization of fluorine-free, self-cleaning materials. Previous approaches toward self-cleaning coatings have had several limitations such as reliance on harmful fluorochemicals, high cost, poor scalability, poor optical properties, and low weatherability. The proposed technology is developed via a unique approach that enables higher performance, fluorine-free coatings (e.g., excellent mechanical properties, optical clarity, hydrophobicity, adhesion) while preserving the ease of manufacturing processes at a lower cost. The key objectives of this proposed project include: 1) pilot-scale production of the coating to set the stage for commercialization; 2) extend the weatherability for high-end applications such as those in the automotive and aerospace sectors; and 3) develop protocols for omniphobic additives for rapid implementation of the technology into relevant applications. The anticipated results include successful pilot-scale production tests, accomplishing the long-term weatherability, and the successful synthesis of omniphobic additives with desirable compositions and performance. The successful completion of the project will set the stage for commercialization and adoption of this technology for household and industrial products, automotive applications, sensors, solar panels, and aerospace, to name a few.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.