TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY -- High Performance Thermoelectric Material: LAR-17923-1

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: Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed a novel thermoelectric material utilizing micro-scale silver telluride grains covered with bismuth nanoparticles exhibiting high performance energy conversion. Thermoelectric (TE) materials have unique advantages in directly converting any level of thermal energy into electrical power and solid-state cooling by a reverse mode. Although thermoelectric devices are regarded advantageously with their high reliability, their lack of moving parts, and their ability to scale to any sizes; the devices energy conversion efficiency remains generally poor. NASA Langley’s high performance energy conversion material is created by surrounding crystalline semiconductors with nanoparticles. This is accomplished by contacting a bismuth telluride material with a silver salt under a substantially inert atmosphere and a temperature approximately near the silver salt decomposition temperature and recovering a metallic bismuth decorated material comprising silver telluride crystal grains. The materials performance has been validated in the lab and manufacturing should be straightforward. NASA is seeking to license this technology commercially. US Patent 8,691,612. 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 the nature of your interest in the technology along with a brief background of your company. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at http://technology.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.