SBIR Phase I: A New Pseude Amorphous High Temperature Oxide Material

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate a new class of highly disordered materials that possess unique chemical, physical, and high temperature properties. The disorder appears to be stable over a range of temperatures, raising the possibility of use as high temperature ceramic materials with unique properties. Based on preliminary evaluation, it appears that the materials may be useful as coatings for many applications. The materials are synthesized using specially prepared precursor solutions that allow for intimate molecular mixing. The decomposition behavior of the precursor to form this class of inorganic materials appears to be important. The proposed work involves determination of some basic properties of the materials, processing of the material in bulk and coating forms, and modeling/simulation experiments to understand the nature and stability of the disorder. High temperature applications including ceramic matrix composites, protective coatings on metals and ceramics, and thermal insulation