Solvent Free Production of Alkaline Earth Metal Titanates for Electronics Applications

The objectives of this Phase II research project are to: (1) develop and optimize a continuous, easily scalable, and economical green manufacturing process for production of barium titanate (BaTiO3); (2) characterize and control physical and chemical properties of the titanate material for improved electronic properties; and (3) develop a commercially viable product including establishment of associated procedures and processes per an ISO 9001-2000 quality system. This effort is critically needed to develop commercially viable nanocrystalline BaTiO3 for applications in an increasing electronics market. The synthetic methods utilize a small amount of solvent, but allow for precise control over the crystal properties of the titanate product. Based on cost and performance, one of these two methods will be selected for development of a commercial BaTiO3 product. The commercial application of the BaTiO3 is broad and spans a number of significant markets, including multilayer ceramic capacitors, electro-optic devices, capacitor material in small portable machines and dynamic random access memory, thermistor, military uses, and medical applications. These market applications, representing an initial subset of the ever-expanding market opportunities for titanate materials, currently are being evaluated. Those that are most promising will be pursued by NanoScale Materials, Inc., and its collaborative industry partners.