I-Corps: Scalable Development of Multifunctional Hexagonal Boron Nitride Protective Coatings

I-Corps：多功能六方氮化硼防护涂层的可扩展开发

• 批准号: 2325675
• 负责人: Jun Lou
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: William Marsh Rice University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2024-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2325675&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Scalable; Development; Multifunctional; Hexagonal

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a protective coating for energy conservation and emission reduction. Multifunctional protective coating materials and processes are urgently needed to alleviate the problem of ineffective coating technologies. For example, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems costs can represent more than 50% percent of a building’s energy consumption, yet the high cost of maintenance and corrosion of commercial HVAC units are often overlooked. Humidity and exposure to pollutants like hydrocarbons are major causes of corrosion, commonly observed on the heat exchanger coils from HVAC systems. When corrosion sets in, the operating efficiency can soon be reduced by 50-70%, and unit life halved. This will progressively increase energy bills, discharge of CO2, and health risks for occupants. Current epoxy-based coatings are thick polymers with low thermal conductivity, which commonly act as an insulating layer and inevitably reduce the heat exchange efficiency by up to 15%. Moreover, epoxy coatings are neither flexible nor UV resistant. Eventually, they tend to peel off or disintegrate, which leaves the coils unprotected from corrosion damage. The proposed hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) protective coating may increase heat exchange by 70%, and add elevated anti-corrosion, anti-abrasion properties to HVAC systems to survive harsh working environments reducing energy costs and emissions. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a scalable chemical-assisted ball-mill process for large-scale production of ultra-fine hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanosheets. The hBN nanosheet is an electrically insulating and thermally conductive layered material with excellent thermal and chemical stabilities making it a promising anti-corrosion, anti-oxidation, anti-wear, as well as anti-erosion coating additive. The manufacturing process starts with HBN powder, the polymer deformation and sheer force resulting from collision facilitate the exfoliation of commercial bulk hBN. The process has the additional advantage of being able to integrate optional chemicals during ball-milling, which could provide hBN with designated chemical functionalities. In addition, thin hBN flakes may be further integrated into continuous film on various industrial substrates using existing coating techniques, such as vapor deposition and spray coating. Successful development of the proposed technology may significantly improve coating performance and provide a process for integrating materials into a protective coating on different industrial substrates.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.

该I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种用于节能减排的保护涂层，迫切需要解决加热、通风等无效涂层技术的问题。空调 (HVAC) 系统成本占建筑物能耗的 50% 以上，但商业 HVAC 装置的高昂维护成本和腐蚀却常常被忽视。湿度和接触碳氢化合物等污染物是造成这种情况的主要原因。腐蚀，常见于暖通空调系统的热交换器盘管。腐蚀发生后，运行效率很快就会降低 50-70%，装置寿命减半，这将逐渐增加能源费用、二氧化碳排放和健康风险。目前的环氧涂层是低导热率的厚聚合物，通常充当绝缘层，不可避免地会降低高达 15% 的热交换效率，而且环氧涂层既不柔韧，也不耐用。最终，它们会剥落或崩解，从而使线圈不受腐蚀损坏。所提出的六方氮化硼 (hBN) 保护涂层可将热交换提高 70%，并提高抗腐蚀、抗磨损性能。该 I-Corps 项目基于开发用于大规模生产的可扩展化学辅助球磨工艺。超细六方氮化硼（hBN）纳米片是一种电绝缘导热层状材料，具有优异的热稳定性和化学稳定性，使其成为一种有前途的防腐、抗氧化、抗磨损和抗腐蚀材料。制造过程从六方氮化硼粉末开始，碰撞产生的聚合物变形和剪切力有利于商业散装六方氮化硼的剥离。能够在球磨过程中整合可选的化学品，从而为六方氮化硼提供指定的化学功能。此外，利用现有的涂层技术，如气相沉积和喷涂，可以将薄六方氮化硼薄片进一步整合成连续薄膜。所提议技术的开发可以显着提高涂层性能，并提供一种将材料集成到不同工业基材上的保护涂层中的工艺。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持标准。