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: NEEDS MORE INFO ON THIS APPLICATION FIELD Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center, Jefferson Laboratory, and the National Institute of Aerospace have jointly developed a new method for manufacturing boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) which can be used to create piezoelectric devices that can be used for energy harvesting applications. BNNTs are a direct analog of carbon nanotubes, with superior properties for many applications. They are as strong as carbon nanotubes (within a few percentage points) and are good thermal conductors. However, they have a much higher service temperature, are highly electroactive, shield neutron radiation, have a more active surface chemistry, are non-cytotoxic (in tests on human cells), and are naturally white (can be dyed). BNNTs produced by this method have far superior morphology than those previously available. The new tubes have a nearly perfect crystalline structure with one wall to just a few, and are extremely long. Because of the length of the tubes and the white color, the raw material produced by the new method has the physical appearance of cotton. The new synthesis method, called the pressurized vapor/condenser (PVC) technique, is described in Very long single- and few-walled boron nitride nanotubes via the pressurized vapor/condenser method (M. W. Smith et al., Nanotechnology, 20, 505604, 2009). The technique involves high-power laser heating of a boron-containing target under high-pressure nitrogen. A proof-of-concept pilot facility has been constructed to demonstrate the method. Typical rates for the synthesis of raw material are between 20 and 100 mg/hour. The purity of the raw material is estimated to be between 25% and 40% by mass, the primary contaminants being particles of boron nitride and boron. No catalysts are used in the synthesis process. The only reactants are boron and nitrogen, which are both nontoxic. The long BNNTs in PVC-grown raw material can be spun directly into yarns or threads, although mechanically strong yarns will require purification prior to processing. U.S. patents 8,206,674 and 8,753,578. 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 Langleys 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.