ASM Materials Solutions 2001
Nanomaterials

Description of Session

The purpose of the session is for senior representatives from government (Mike Roco, Chair of NSET), academia (Martha Krebs, Director of CNSI and Bernard Kear, Director of Rutgers Center for Nanomaterials Research), a national research lab (Terry Michalske, institutional leader of nanomaterials at Sandia), and industry (Terry Lowe, CEO of Technanogy) to offer their perspectives on present status of nanomaterials and the prospects for their near term to intermediate term development.

Invited:
1. Challenges on the path from discovery to nanotechnology Dr. M. C. Roco, Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology, National Science Foundation (NSF), and Chair, National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET), ENG/CTS, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 525, Arlington, VA 22230, Phone: 703-292-8371 mroco@nsf.gov

The presentation will focus on technological and societal challenges of development of nanotechnology. Recent scientific breakthroughs and prospects for future applications will be outlined in the context of the U.S. national nanotechnology program (http://nano.gov). Besides fundamental research and development of a balanced and flexible infrastructure, nine technological grand challenges for various areas of application have been advanced. A synopsis of the worldwide developments in nanotechnology and a strategy for the future including evolution of nanostrucured materials will be discussed.

Invited:
2. Nanotechnology: Building the Environment for Industry-University Collaborations Dr. Martha Krebs, Director, California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of California Los Angeles, 1312 Murphy Hall, Box 951438, Los Angeles, CA 90025-1438, Phone:(310)825-1042, Fax:(310) 825-9368, Email: marthak@cnsi.ucla.edu

The California NanoSystems Institute was established on December 7, 2000 by Gov. Gray Davis as one of three California Institutes for Science and Innovation (CISI). These Institutes are intended to sustain and advance California's economy by educating its next generation of scientists and engineers across disciplines and moving new knowledge quickly into the marketplace through early collaboration between academic and industrial researchers. The presentation will discuss the research and educational agenda of the California NanoSystems Institute relevant to the materials, medical, and information technology sectors. It will also discuss our efforts to engage the general public and broad university scholarship to consider societal impacts of future nanotechnology applications.

Invited:
3. Nanomaterials Integration: The Next Challenge Terry Michalske, Senior Manager, Biomolecular Materials and Interfaces, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, MS 1413, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1413, Phone (505)844-5829, FAX (505)844-5470, E-mail: tamicha@sandia.gov

The ability to tailor structures on the nanometer scale is yielding new materials and composites with extraordinary electronic, optical, mechanical, and chemical properties. The enhanced functionality of these materials has important implications for principal missions of the Department of Energy in areas of Energy, Defense and Environment. For example, nanoscale synthesis and assembly methods will result in significant improvements in solar energy conversion; more energy-efficient lighting; stronger, lighter materials that will improve efficiency in transportation; greatly improved chemical and biological sensing and environmental remediation and restoration. Realizing the benefits of this new functionality will, in many cases, require the integration of nanomaterials within micro- and macroscale devices and components. For this reason, integration of nanomaterials with the micro and macro worlds is a key scientific and technological challenge. This presentation will provide examples showing how nanomaterials integration can significantly enhance the performance of microscale devices with applications ranging from optoelectronic to mechanical to chem/bio sensing. It will also identify some of the key scientific challenges to nanomaterials integration and discuss the role of National Laboratories in addressing these challenges.

Invited:
4. The Revolution in Nanometals Dr. Terry .C. Lowe, Chief Executive Officer, Metallicum, LLC, 1207 Callejon Arias, Santa Fe, NM 87501, Phone: 505-983-6852, Fax: 505-983-6495 Email: tlowe@metallicum.com

The promise of nanotechnology is increasingly being realized as government, universities, national laboratories, and the private sector devote resources to this emerging area. A substantial portion of nanotechnology depends upon the development and commercialization of nanostructured metals. In this presentation, the current progress toward commercializing nanostructured metals is overviewed. Current successes are highlighted. Special focus will also be given to near term and long term opportunities to develop new nanometal products. Finally, the importance of nanometals as enablers of new markets and metal-based technologies will be highlighted.

Invited:
5. "Nanostructures: The Next Generation of High Performance Bulk Materials and Coatings Bernard H. Kear, Director, Center for Nanomaterials Research, Rutgers University, 607 Taylor Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8065, Phone 732-445-2245, FAX 732-445-5977, E-mail: bkear@rci.rutgers.edu

Over the past decade, Rutgers' Center for Nanomaterials Research has been conducting multidisciplinary research in the synthesis and processing of nanostructured materials. Examples of recent research with potential industrial impact are: (1) aqueous solution synthesis of nanofibrous metal-doped MnO2 for batteries, molecular sieves, and air filtration units, (2) chemical vapor synthesis of oxide-ceramic nanopowders for polishing media and catalyst supports, (3) high pressure consolidation of ceramic nanopowders for infrared windows and structural components, (4) thermal sprayed nanophase WC/Co-base coatings for abrasive and corrosive wear resistance, and (5) ultra-high pressure consolidation of fullerenes and functionally-graded WC/Co/diamond nanocomposites for machine tools and drill bits.

This talk will describe highlights of this work, with the emphasis on methods for the preparation and consolidation of nanopowders to make nanostructured bulk materials and coatings. Examples will be given to illustrate the performance advantages to be gained by substituting "nanograined" materials for conventional "micrograined" materials in specific applications. In addition, a brief description will be given of Rutgers' methodology for rapid transfer of university research into industrial applications via an array of start-up companies, each with its own technology focus, application goals and leadership.

Description of Session

The purpose of this session is to provide the ASM materials community with relevant information on current progress in carbon nanotubes, specifically regarding the commercial availability of and applications for this novel material. Carbon nanotubes have high electrical and thermal conductivities along their primary axis (greater than copper), have very high stiffness for a fibrous material, and have the tensile strength of diamond. Their carbon structure allows the potential for using the methods of organic chemistry to functionalize portions of their surface for new uses.

Invited:
1. Applications of Carbon Nanotubes as Robust Electron Field Emitters Otto Zhou, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Physics, Director, North Carolina Center for Nanoscale Materials, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Curriculum in Applied and Material Sciences, CB 3255 Phillips Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599. Office (919) 962-3297, Lab (919) 962-3525, FAX (919) 962-0480. zhou@physics.unc.edu

Zhou Abstract

Invited:
2. Production and Applications of nanotubes—Practical Approach Raouf O. Loutfy, President, Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation, 7960 South Kolb Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706, Phone: 520-574-1980 Fax: 520-574-1983, rloutfy@mercorp.com

It has been slightly over ten years, since the development of a way to produce macroscopic quantities of fullerene, and the related discovery of fullerene nanotubes. As a result over 2000 worldwide patents have been filed for the production and applications of these new materials. MER Corporation in Tucson, Arizona joined the ranks of fullerene enthusiasts at the beginning of its discovery by immediately licensing the Huffman-Krätschmer patents. While we are widely recognized as a producer of fullerene and nanotubes, MER has also been active at developing applications for fullerenes and nanotubes. The different applications of nanotubes investigated by MER and their rationale will be reviewed. The key technical results and their impact on potential applications will be presented and discussed. This will include our work on: Batteries (Li-ion, Zn/NiO₂), gas storage, (hydrogen, oxygen, CO₂, Tritium), electrochemical systems (sensors, electrode materials, supercapacitors), flame retardant additives, polymer and metal composites, cold cathodes for electron field emission, and filter materials for liquids and gases. An overall assessment of near term promising applications in terms of technical performance, and remaining barrier to market entry will be discussed. The overriding factor for the success of any of these applications is the price of nanotubes. However, the price cannot come down markedly until large-scale applications are found. To introduce the first large-scale application an organization had to take a leap of faith and initiate the large-scale low cost production. Mitsubishi Corporation has been a leader and pioneer in recognizing the need to support large-scale production effort to realize the fullerene and nano-technology commercialization dream. It is now our opportunity to realize the commercial applications. The present status of the scale-up production effort will also be presented.

Invited:
3. Carbon Nanotubes as Electron Sources for Large Area Displays Ken Dean, Motorola Labs, Physical Sciences Research Laboratory, ML22, 7700 S. River Parkway, Tempe, AZ 85284, phone: 480-755-5275 Fax: 480-755-5066, ken.dean@motorola.com

The electron field emission properties of carbon nanotubes are comparable or superior to those of metal tip field emitters which are currently being used as electron sources in field emission displays (FEDs). Carbon nanotubes possessing the nano-scale geometrical features needed for electron field emission are readily produced without the use of fine photolithography or semiconductor processing tools. Consequently, replacing the metal tip FED cathode with a carbon nanotube-based cathode results in substantially reduced manufacturing costs, better device performance, and large area process scalability. For these reasons, we are employing carbon nanotubes as electron sources in a new generation of field emission displays. In this presentation, we describe field emission display technology and the role that nanotubes play in the next generation of devices. We will present our measurements of the fundamental properties of nanotubes as electron emitters, and we will discuss recent progress towards a low-cost, nanotube-based field emission triode for flat panel displays.

Invited:
4. Commercial Outlook for Single-wall Carbon Nanotubes Ken Smith, Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc., 16200 Park Row, Houston, TX 77084-5195. Phone (281) 492-5715, Fax (713) 529-7266, smith@cnanotech.com

Single-wall carbon nanotubes SWNT have been a laboratory curiosity for almost a decade, but in the last few months, real commercial applications are beginning to emerge. This commercialization process depends both on new laboratory findings in the areas of composites and fibers and on the likelihood that commercially-useful quantities of high-quality SWNT will become available in the near future. New results in both these areas will be presented, with a focus on the status of SWNT production development at Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc.

Invited:
5. Synthesis and Applications of Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Zhifeng Ren, Associate Professor, Dept. of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167. Office (617) 552-2832. renzh@bc.edu

Synthesis of large arrays of well-aligned carbon nanotubes on a variety of substrates such as glass, silicon, nickel, titanium, chromium, tungsten, molybdenum, etc. by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at temperatures below 650(C has been achieved (see the attached SEM image). Acetylene and ammonia gases were used for carbon source and catalyst respectively. Nanotubes with diameters ranging from 4 - 200 nanometers and lengths from 0.1 to 100 micrometers were obtained. The perfect growth orientation is due to the plasma direction. A variety of possible applications such as field-emission flat panel displays, AFM and STM microscopic tips, polymer composite for EMI shielding, smart windows, one-dimensional thermal conductivity, high dielectric constant, carbide arrays, etc. will be presented. The success on synthesis and characterizations of arrays of carbon nanotubes with controlled spacing and diameters will also be presented. At last, I will also discuss the scale-up large quantity production of carbon nanotubes from my start-up company: NanoLab, Inc. (www.nano-lab.com).

This work is funded partially by US Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, DoE, NSF, ARO

SEM image of large arrays of well-aligned carbon nanotubes.	SEM image of arrays with controlled spacing of 1 and 2 micrometers.

Invited:
6. Graphite Nanofibers—Architecture of Materials at the Atomic Level Dr. R. Terry K. Baker, Vice President, Catalytic Materials Ltd., Holliston, MA phone 508-893-9560, baker@catalyticmaterials.com

The Notion of using nano-technology to generate structures atom by atom was initially expounded by Drexler in 1986, who declared that these molecular building blocks could be organized in different arrangements to produce a variety of materials and devices. A classic example of this concept is the creation of graphite nanofibers (GNF). which are produced from the metal catalyzed decomposition of certain hydrocarbons and/or CO at temperatures over the range 500 to 700°C. The architecture of these materials is controlled by various factors, including the nature of the catalytic entity, the reactant gas composition and the temperature. Unlike conventional graphite and nanotubes where the basal plane is exposed, the structure of GNF is one where only edge regions are revealed. These sites are therefore readily available for chemical and physical interactions. The unique properties of GNF have generated intense interest in the application of these new carbon materials for a variety of applications including selective adsorption, energy storage, polymer reinforcement and catalyst supports. By using GNF it has been possible to produce catalysts that are more efficient and offer higher selectivities than traditional systems. In this talk the emphasis will be placed on the fundamental growth aspects and the use of different types of GNF structures as electrodes for fuel cells and lithium ion batteries.

Description of Session

The purpose of this session is to highlight the ways in which nanomaterials are applied in commercial environments. Because of their small characteristic dimension, high surface area, and microstructural considerations, nanomaterials can provide unique mechanical, optical, electronic, magnetic, and chemical properties for a wide variety of materials applications.

Invited:
1. New Directions in Magnetism: Magnetic Nanocomposites Dr. Robert D. Shull, Group Leader, Magnetic Materials Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bldg. 223, Rm. B 152, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, Telephone (301) 975-6035, Fax (301) 975-4553. shull@nist.gov

Nanocrystalline materials can possess bulk properties quite different from those commonly associated with conventional large-grained materials. Nanocomposites, a subset of nanocrystalline materials, in addition have been found to possess magnetic properties which are similar to, but different from, the properties of the individual constituents. New magnetic phenomena, unusual property combinations, and both enhanced and diminished magnetic property values are just some of the changes observed in magnetic nanocomposites from conventional magnetic materials. Here, a description will be presented of some of the exciting magnetic properties these new materials possess, the origin of these properties, and the applications envisioned for them. Particular attention will be devoted to three world-leading activities in this area at NIST being pursued in the Magnetic Materials Group: (1) the preparation of GMR spin valves having the worldâs highest Magnetoresistance values with the smallest switching fields, (2) the prediction and discovery of the "Enhanced Magnetocaloric Effect" in magnetic nanocomposites, and (3) direct observations of magnetic domain motion in magnetic nanocomposite devices using the magneto-optic indicator film (MOIF) technique developed at NIST. These activities are assisting the rapid development of ultra-high density magnetic recording media, high temperature magnetic refrigerators, and controllable magnetic switches.

Zinc is a relatively low melting temperature metal such that room temperature is 0.42 of its melting point. Since it has been predicted that superplastic behavior will be observed at lower temperatures as grain size is decreased to the nanoscale, Zn is an interesting metal to study in this regard. This talk will present the results of a study of nanocrystalline Zn made by : 1. mechanical attrition and consolidation of powders, 2. laser ablation to form thin films, and 3. electrodeposition of thick films. In all cases, artifact free samples were sought. The structure was analysed by TEM and HRTEM. The average grain size as well as the grain size distribution was determined by TEM. X-ray diffraction line broadening analysis was carried out to provide estimates of average grain size and lattice strain. Differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, provided information on the microstructural stability. The formation of the nanocrystalline structure in Zn prepared by mechanical attrition was also studied by DSC. Microhardness and nanoindentation measurements were carried out as a function of grain size. One of the few artifact free examples of an inverse Hall-Petch effect was observed for Zn with grain sizes less than 11 nm.

Increased awareness of the benefits of nanotechnology is driving demand for high quality nanomaterials in quantities and economics useful to industry. Examples of applications benefiting from the unique properties of nanomaterials include applications designed to take advantage of the unique combination of transparency and additional function, i.e., abrasion-resistance, static-protecting or UV-protecting coatings, to provide useful and practical means of solving important industrial problems. Additional applications, such as environmental catalysts, take advantage of the unique surface properties of nanocrystalline particulates, and yet others, for example plasma sprayed ceramics depend on the ability to form dense, impervious wear-resistant coatings. Because these applications and products, are commonplace uses of advanced materials, large quantities are required to serve customers' needs and it seems clear today that engineering nanoparticulates has an increasingly important role in solving scientific and technological problem on a commercial scale.

Nanomaterials exhibit improved properties compared to those of their micron-sized counterparts. Use of nanomaterials for applications as high-strength structural material, hydrogen storage, additives and fillers, and biomaterials has attracted considerable attention in recent times. Nanomat, Inc. carries out research and development and manufactures different materials for those applications. Various techniques employed to produce and process these nanomaterials, along with their properties and applications will be discussed.

Nanocrystalline (nc) materials are crystalline materials with the grain size in the region below 100 nanometers. Recently, these materials have attracted great research interest because they exhibit properties different from their conventional-grained counterparts. In this talk, the state-of-the-art progress in research on novel mechanical properties of nc materials is reviewed. There is evidence showing that the relation between the strength of nc materials and grain size does not observe the classic Hall-Petch plot. Low-temperature and high-strain-rate superplasticity has been found in some nc materials. Experimental data also seem to show novel mechanical properties like the asymmetry of compression and tension, elastic-perfectly plastic behavior, and shear-band forming. Mechanisms leading to these new behaviors are not clear yet. Different mechanical models from the literature are discussed. Application examples making use of novel mechanical properties of nc materials are presented. Acknowledgements: We very much appreciate the financial support of the Center for Materials Processing at the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) Program, under DGE-9987548, to UT.

The Larger Event

Materials Solutions 2001, the ASM Fall Meeting, is ASM's largest annual event. The meeting will be held in Indianapolis, IN, 5-8 Nov. 2001 and will include the following topics:

Nanomaterials (our sessions)

International Symposium on Superplasticity & Superplastic Forming Technology

Practical Failure Analysis Symposium

Process & Fabrication of Advanced Mat'l

Energy Utilities

Heavy Equipment, Machinery, and Durable Goods

Texture Analysis for Process and Quality Control

Materials and Process Selection in Design

Honorary Symposium on Al Alloys

Joining

TMS Convention

Materials Advancement in Diesel Engine Technology

Best of Aeromat

International Conference on Surface Modification Technology

International Symposium on Laser / Beam Processing Technology

Powder Injection

Corrosion of Materials

Casting Process Metallurgy

Material Challenges & Solutions for the Automotive Industry

Thermal Spray

Fireside Corrosion & Erosion/Corrosion

John Stringer Symposium on High Temperature corrosion

Material Challenges in Stationary and Automotive Fuel Cell Systems

There will be on the order of 1200 people registered directly for ASM Materials Solutions 2001. ASM attendees are largely characterized by a strong industry representation, and are from Fortune 500 companies, including the big 3 automakers, metal producers, aerospace companies, and all the government labs will be represented. Attendees include decision-makers such as research managers, as well as engineers.

For further information, contact:

Materials Solutions 2001 Website

Registration info

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