Nanotechnology

High Definition Glass

Country: USA
With a unique nano film layer-by-layer coating technology from MIT, High Definition Glass will be the first to provide environmental friendly energy saving windows with advanced functionalities to large buildings at an economically viable price.

MMCnext

Country: Austria
For many electronic applications thermal management is a “hot” topic. Due to an increase in packaging density integrated circuits need efficient and reliable cooling. Materials which are used as heat sinks should exhibit high thermal conductivity and in many cases a low coefficient of thermal expansion. To fulfill such material requirements a combination of a metal matrix (Cu, Al, Ag) with diamond particles is the optimal solution. Nevertheless in order realise a high thermal conductivity (up to 650 W/mK) with a Coefficient of thermal expansion in the range of 6 to 12 ppm/K it is necessary to design the interface between both constituents in a proper way. This is done by coating the diamond particles with appropriate layers (with thickness in the range of some nanometers) before embedding them in the matrix. The coatings are done by means of physical vapor deposition methods or thermodiffusion processes. Markets and applications for those materials are found in the field of heat spreaders for processors, base plates in power electronics, heat sinks in laser or optoelectronic devices or high power LEDs.

NanoDiax

Country: USA
NanoDiax is a nanotechnology company created to commercialize two patent pending technologies developed at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for the production of nanodiamond materials. Nanodiamonds are currently produced by TNT detonation, a slow and expensive process that requires an enormous amount of energy. The methods developed by NanoDiax co-founder
will cut the costs of nanodiamond production by 50%, allowing new applications that were not possible before. NanoDiax will market two distinct products: single-crystal nanodiamonds for lubricant and drug delivery systems, and nanodiamond fibers, which have the potential to replace fiberglass composites and they can be suited for aerospace applications

NanoThread Inc.

Country: USA
A uniqe and revolutionary new approach to the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) will be developed. The process is capable of preparing CNTs of any desired length, from centimeters to meters and longer. These products are unique in that current processes result in CNTs generally less than 50 microns in length. While there are reports of millimeter to centimeter CNTs in the literature, the processes are not practical for industrial-scale preparation. Long CNTs will have many advantages over the current materials, especially in applications such as penetration-proof cloths and strong panelling for aircraft, spacecraft and automotive applications. The process has the added advantage of being cost effective since the nanotubes prepared do not require extensive and expensive purification. This will allow NanoThread to offer a lower-cost product while maintaining attractive profit margins. The process is patented and several other patent applications are being planned. All the patents will be available for use by a company established in Veneto in the event NanoThread wins the competition.

NanoWebFun

Country: Italy
The business idea of NanoWebFun arose from the production of multistructured membranes based on nanofiber and nanoparticles which are arranged in such a way for obtaining a multilayers structure with high technological performance for advanced textile technology. In order to have a better understanding of what we are talking about, let’s think to a “sandwich” where very thin fibers, with a mean diameter of a millionth of a millimetre, support small particles well distributed and fixed over their surface. The resulting multifunctional nanomaterials will add value, improve performance and cost in various applications. The innovative character of Nanowebfun’s project can be depicted on the versatility of the multifunctional structures which can be designed according to the specific requirements of the target. Brethability, waterproof, selective permeability, antibacterial, antiodor activities, and the ability to oxidize volatile organic compounds are just few properties that be tailored on the developed lightweight fabrics. Moreover the manufacturing process, based on electro-dynamic technologies (electrospinning, electrospray) coupled to plasma treatments, represents a versatile tool for obtaining different membranes assemblies and then it results on a final product which exploits the synergic properties of both nanofibers and nanoparticles. The use of nanofiber produces porous and high surface area for gas transport while electrospray technique and chemical modification of the electrospun fibers also by plasma treatment, have exploited for deposit the nanoparticles on the surface of nanofiber membrane and for preventing leaching during practical use, respectively. To achieve this goal, equipment with proper design has been developed and the scaling up to industrial production as well as the laboratory tests are in progress at the Department of Chemical Process Engineering, University of Padua, Italy. Further investigations are ongoing thanks to the dynamic cooperation with two Italian companies which have shown their concrete interest in our products.

NANTO PAINT

Country: Italy
Nanto technology is based on nanocomposites which are currently generating a great deal of interest due to their potential cost effective advantages in barrier properties. Millions of dollars are lost each year because of corrosion. Much of this loss is due to the corrosion of iron and steel. The heavy and marine industries have inherent corrosion problems which require premium solutions which have to deal with a wide and unique corrosive environment range. Nanto Paint has created coating solutions designed specifically to meet these characteristic challenges. Paints and coatings serve as one of the key methods for protecting metal surfaces from corrosion and one of the most used strategies to provide corrosion protection is to prevent oxygen and water from getting to the surface through a barrier effect. The patented Nanto Paint technology develops the effectiveness of these nanocomposites as barrier elements to corrosion in order to obtain anti-corrosion coatings which show an higher barrier effect and a lower concentration of traditional chemical compounds and heavy atoms. The innovative nanocomposites are the results of years of R&D activity which leads to the application of modified nanoparticles within thermoset plastics. The main focus of the technology is the development of protective coatings for marine and industrial applications such as infrastructures, lifting equipments, transport systems and external pipes. Nanto Paint team is developing a number of prototypes including epoxy based coatings such as primers, intermediates and polyurethane finish paints. These prototypes have been designed and tested accordingly the international ISO standards and are environmentally friendly because of their low content of Volatile organic compounds.