NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. THE TECHNOLOGY: Polyimides are the most popular high performance polymer because they provide a unique combination of mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties. Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed polyimides with properties that can be tailored through proportions of dianhydrides and APB. These imide copolymers contain 1,3-bis (3- aminophenoxy) benzene (APB) and other diamines and dianhydrides and are terminated with appropriate amounts of reactive end caps. Homopolymers that contain only other diamines and dianhydrides and that are not processable under conditions reported previously are made processable by this invention by incorporating various amounts of APB. By choosing the ratio between the amount of APB and the amount of the other diamine in the polyimide backbone, one can obtain a material that has a unique combination of solubility, glass-transition temperature, melting temperature, melt viscosity, toughness, and high-temperature mechanical properties. The reactive end caps investigated thus far include 4-phenylethynyl phthalic anhydride (PEPA), 3-amino- phenoxy-4'- phenylethynyl benzophenone (3-APEB), maleic anhydride (MA), and 5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride [also known as nadic anhydride (NA)]. The advantage of these copolyimides terminated with reactive groups, relative to other polyimides terminated with reactive groups, is a combination of (1) higher values of desired mechanical-property parameters and (2) greater ease of processing into useful parts. Such polyimides can also be tailored for different applications. These copolyimides exhibit high degrees of resistance to solvents, high glass-transition temperatures, and high moduli of elasticity, but are processable at low pressures [200 psi (1.38 MPa)], when the appropriate amounts of APB are utilized. In addition, when these copolymers are terminated with phenylethynyl groups, they exhibit long-term melt stability (several hours at temperatures approaching 300 C). These materials have applications as coatings, prepreg resins, films, fibers, and moldings. NASA is seeking to license this technology commercially in the United States. US Patents 6,288,209; 6,133,401. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to
[email protected] with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information. Please also provide how you foresee using the technology along with a brief background of your company. Additionally, please identify any non-US interests/subsidiaries in your company as well. For more information about licensing other NASA Langley-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Langley’s Technology Gateway at https://technologygateway.nasa.gov/ These responses are provided to members of NASA Langley’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Business Development “OSACB” for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, OSACB will follow the required formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.