Advancements in Nanomaterials

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

BENEFITS

Materials and Coatings

Advancements in
Nanomaterials
New materials and methods to make nanomaterials
versatile, reliable, and effective
Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a
number of materials and methods to optimize the performance of
nanomaterials by making them tougher, more resistant, and easier to
process. Glenn's scientists are generating critical improvements at all
stages of nanomaterial production, from finding new ways to produce
nanomaterials, to purifying them to work more effectively with
advanced composites, to devising innovative techniques to
incorporate them into matrices, veils, and coatings. These advances
can be used to deposit protective coatings for textile-based
composite materials, layer carbon nanotubes to add reinforcement,
upgrade the properties of carbon ceramic matrix composites (CMCs),
and integrate nanomaterial fibers into polymer matrix composites
(PMCs). The field of nanomaterials is expanding rapidly, and NASA's
Glenn Research Center is just as rapidly creating newer and better
ways to deploy nanomaterials in industry and research.

Purification: New processes

remove residue impurities
in nanomaterials that
cannot be taken out by
conventional processes,
resulting in more reliable
and predictable composites.
Processability:
Groundbreaking techniques
such as electrospinning
make composites tougher
without interfering with
other composite processing
characteristics or reducing
performance.
Versatility: Advances such
as "fuzzy veil" construction
can be functionalized either
to enhance bonding with
the matrix or to alter its
electrical and/or thermal
conductivity.

technology solution

Durability: Nanomaterials
can be processed with
thermoplastic tougheners to
improve strength, ductility,
glass transition temperature
(Tg), and/or conductivity.

NASA Technology Transfer Program

Bringing NASA Technology Down to Earth

THE TECHNOLOGY

APPLICATIONS

Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a suite of technologies that
make nanomaterials more accessible, versatile, and effective. In one patented
technology, NASA researchers invented a process in which the exfoliation of hexagonal
boron nitride (useful as a lubricant and found in substances from cosmetics to pencil
lead) is facilitated by converting a set of chemicals into a set of oxide nanoparticles.
Another technological leap occurred when NASA scientists discovered a novel method
to purify nanomaterials by dissolving excess reactants and catalysts in a metal chloride
salt. Eliminating these residual impurities allows these nanomaterials to be more reliable
and predictable, particularly in the production of boron nitride nanomaterials and
nanomaterial-based polymer and ceramic composites.

The technology has several potential

applications:
Carbon nanotubes (aircraft, electronics)
Graphene (ultracapacitors, electronic
sensors)
Nanocomposites (batteries, windmill
blades)
Nanofibers (textiles, furniture)
Nanoparticles (fuel cells, solar cells)

In addition to advances in nanomaterial production, NASA's Glenn Research Center has

developed new ways to use nanomaterials in fabrication. One technique involves
selectively placing organically modified clays into an aromatic/alkoxy blended resin to
create a nanocomposite that has increased strength and stiffness without sacrificing
toughness in the cured epoxy. Another patented technology centers on a new method of
coating, which uses a cylindrical (or other) array of electrospinning needles to
continuously apply a coating of nanofiber material to the surface of a composite
precursor material. For those who are interested in ways of upgrading polymer matrix
composites (PMCs), Glenn's innovators have invented a method for incorporating fibers
into a PMC structure. The applications for nanomaterials are proliferating, and NASA's
Glenn Research Center has many new approaches to take advantage of this technology.

Applying nanomaterials ups the performance

of composites for uses such as windmill
blades

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Technology Transfer Office
Glenn Research Center
21000 Brookpark Road
Cleveland, OH 44135
216-433-3484
ttp@grc.nasa.gov

Atomic scale illustration of a graphene

nanostructure sheet

NASA's Technology Transfer Program

pursues the widest possible applications
of agency technology to benefit US
citizens. Through partnerships and
licensing agreements with industry, the
program ensures that NASA's investments
in pioneering research find secondary
uses that benefit the economy, create
jobs, and improve quality of life.

http://technology.nasa.gov/
LEW-18474-1, LEW-18615-1, LEW-18844-1, LEW-

www.nasa.gov
NP-2015-04-1519-HQ

18844-2, LEW-19077-1, LEW-18970-1

Nanowires (solar cells, race track

memory for computers)

PUBLICATIONS
Patent No: 8,609,750; 8,734,748; 8,932,683
Patent Pending