Non-destructive Exfoliation and Drying of Anisotropic Nanomaterials

The overall goal of this proposed Army STTR is to demonstrate low-cost, non-destructive methodologies for non-agglomerating drying of anisotropic nanomaterials. NanoSonic and Virginia Tech will work in tandem to demonstrate novel approaches involving both high performance coatings and CO2 processing that facilitate gentle, simultaneous drying and exfoliation of nanoparticles, preventing agglomeration and rendering the nanoparticles in a suitable state for subsequent use in high performance bi-spectral obscurants. NanoSonic will incorporate portions of its conformal self-assembled coating technologies to minimize particulate agglomeration over extended time periods via precise control of surface energy and interparticulate interaction. The proposed materials and technologies have been demonstrated with multiple anisotropic nanomaterials, and are expected to provide an excellent, scalable, low-cost method for non-agglomerating drying of anisotropic nanomaterials for obscurants.