A new post-manufacturing process in development by Applied Sciences, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio, will make composite resin materials stronger, better able to conduct electricity, and less expensive, too. This development will improve products that could benefit from the use of filamentary nanocarbon components, such as cell phones, laptop computers, automotive fuel systems, body panels in cars and trucks, aircraft, and spacecraft.

Byproducts that stick to the surface of carbon nanofiber materials as they are being manufactured can interfere with the materials’ ability to conduct electricity and may limit the material’s strength, which are critical flaws for materials that are used in aerospace and communications. Applied Sciences is developing a new low-cost alternative that can effectively remove these byproducts through a less expensive process than is currently in use. The basis for the new method of byproduct removal is described in a patent application for supercritical carbon dioxide extraction technology that Applied Sciences licensed from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, also in Dayton.

Applied Sciences worked directly with the Materials Directorate for many years in the area of carbon nanofiber development. “The researchers at the U.S. Air Force have long been proponents of carbon nanofiber technology and have been strong supporters over the past 15 to 20 years,” said Tom Hughes, general manager of Applied Sciences. “We will continue our ongoing collaboration with both the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and the inventor.”

Good electrical conductivity and/or strength are important for materials that are used in everything from airplanes to batteries to fuel cells. The Air Force invented the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction technology specifically for carbon nanofibers and for application in engineered polymers for the aerospace industry. Applied Sciences recognized the potential of the technology for reducing the cost of removing manufacturing byproducts from its carbon nanofibers. The company is providing the technology to its manufacturing affiliate, Pyrograf Products, Inc, which is one of a few producers of carbon nanofibers in the U.S.

Some manufacturing byproducts, especially condensed hydrocarbons and iron sulfide, are difficult to remove from the surface of carbon nanofibers. These materials have many similarities to the more expensive carbon nanotubes, which are choice materials because of their high electrical conductivity, light weight, and high strength. The new byproduct removal method under development by Applied Sciences even further reduces the cost difference between carbon nanofibers and carbon nanotubes, making it more likely that carbon nanofibers will be widely adapted for a variety of uses.

Key to the licensing of this technology by Applied Sciences was assistance by the TechLink center, a Department of Defense partnership intermediary located in Bozeman, Mont. Techlink helped the company and the Air Force to enter into and complete the licensing process.

About Applied Sciences, Inc.

Applied Sciences was founded twenty years ago to conduct research and development in carbon based nanomaterials. The company commercialized carbon nanofibers (called Pyrograf-III) and licensed this technology to our manufacturing affiliate, Pyrograf Products, Inc. Currently, Pyrograf Products operates a 70,000-pound per year manufacturing plant in Cedarville, Ohio.

CONTACTS:

John Dennis
TechLink
(406) 994-7707
jdennis@montana.edu

Tom Hughes, General Manager
Applied Sciences, Inc.
(937) 766-4868
twhughes@apsci.com

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