This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to develop a manufacturing process that can coat a variety of substrates with uniform thin films of inherently conducting polymer (ICP) nanofibers over a large area. Traditionally, these nanostructured organic materials are difficult to process into thin films covering a large area, which has limited the commercial applicability of ICP. In this project, large area conductive coatings will be developed by utilizing a technique in which the organic material is deposited onto virtually any substrate with little waste generated and high energy efficiency.
The broader/commercial impact of this project will be the potential to substantially extend the applicability and market size of ICPs by overcoming one of the key challenges associated with these materials. ICP is relatively new area of electroactive polymer industry which is an approximately $1.6 billion market. Electroactive polymers are useful in electrostatic materials, conducting adhesives, and various types of electronics. In addition to its commercial potential, this project will also improve the fundamental understanding of dispersion properties and the processing of one-dimensional nanostructures.
Nanostructures of inherently conducting polymers (ICPs) are multifunctional materials that possess many unique properties that make them useful for a wide variety of applications and markets. Although ICP nanostructures have been demonstrated in a number of applications, their widespread adoption into consumer products has been partially hampered by the inability to generate large films or coatings of these materials onto a variety of substrates. This Phase I study focuses on developing scalable, reliable, and high-quality thin films and coatings of ICP nanostructures using a unique process called the Marangoni film deposition. The goal is commercially relevant within the field and also broadly addresses thin film processing of all types of nanostructured materials. This Phase I study details the progress, technical results, and key challenges encountered by Fibron during the execution of the key technical objectives of the study. The results show that using the Marangoni film deposition technique, large and high-quality thin films of ICP nanostructures can rapidly be produced onto virtually any substrate. The process is simple, affordable, and does not result in any product loss. Furthermore, Fibron demonstrated that a film produced using this method can be used as a proof of concept electrochromic "smart window." In addition to this Phase I final report, Fibron has published a part of this research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The broader impact of this study is the potential widespread commercialization of ICPs into end consumer products such as electrostatic discharge materials, photovoltaics, and electroless deposition templates.
