This project is funded as a part of the EEC initiative on Research Centers - Small Firms Collaborative R&D. The cooperating partners are the Center for Micro-Engineered Materials at the University of New Mexico and Advanced Ceramics Corp. (ACC), a small firm located in Cleveland, Ohio. The Co-PI's at CMEM and ACC recently discovered a new spherical morphology powder form of boron nitride (BN), and they have shown that it has enhanced processability in organic polymers. Based upon these findings, the UNM-CMEM/ ACC team will engage jointly in comprehensive studies of the synthesis of BN microspheres and their processing and utilization in thermal management applications. In particular, the team will:
- study the aerosol assisted vapor-phase synthesis (AAVS) parameters that affect BN particle purity, size, size distribution, surface area and porosity; - optimize the AAVS process yield as a function of chemical feedstocks and process parameters; - characterize the nitridation chemistry and kinetics of the BN particles; - determine the conditions required for process scale-up to pilot plant scale; - chararterize spherical BN powder loading in epoxy polymers; - evaluate the flow characteristics and thermal conductivity of the composites, and complete the necessary financial analyses for pilot plant scale-up.
