Technology Transfer

Patented Polymers Technique Commercialized

An Ohio company is commercializing a NASA-patented technique to produce superior corrosion control coatings under a license agreement with Kennedy Space Center's Technology Programs and Commercialization Office. GeoTech Chemical Company of Tallmadge, Ohio, plans to market products under the Catize™ name, beginning sometime after January, according to Vice President Christopher Geer.

GeoTech plans to merge their patented corrosion control system with the NASA/KSC Ligno Sulfonic Acid Doped Polyaniline (Ligno-Pani) technology, an Inherently Conductive Polymer (ICP) also referred to as a synthetic metal. Products will be available to the entire coatings industry in the form of an additive.

The GeoTech facility where Ligno-Pani production is being executed will require some capital equipment expenditures, as well as increased numbers of technical and production personnel on staff. A new facility requiring further capital equipment is necessary to manufacture the coatings additive.

Cost effective manufacturing of Ligno-Pani is a key competitive advantage. Its compatibility with other chemistries, versus other ICPs, will provide a wider potential for products and applications to target. Identifying Ligno-Pani's potential in numerous electronic products and applications is underway, with anticipated results of several new applications later this year.

Conductive polymers work has been part of NASA’s corrosion control for many years. In 1997, KSC’s Material Science Laboratory (MSL) entered into a grant contract with Dr. Tito Viswanathan of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for antistatic coatings for clean room garments in hazardous atmospheres. The antistatic coating ensures that there is no potential for sparking and igniting a combustible atmosphere. Sample clothing coated with the chemical retained its conductivity after 50 washes, according to KSC technical lead Coleman Bryan.

'This inexpensive and environmentally safe technology and this developed method increases the solubility and processability of electrically conducting polymers. The resulting polymers can be used in applications such as electronics, antistatic coatings, corrosion prevention, photolithography and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.

The technology offers several advantages, including the use of inexpensive materials, such as aniline and lignin. Lignin is a paper and pulp manufacturing waste product. Unlike existing coatings and systems used for corrosion prevention, Ligno-Pani does not utilize ozone-depleting, volatile, organic compounds or heavy metals that pollute the water supply.

Many existing products may be improved by using Ligno-Pani, according to GeoTech. Ligno-Pani can reduce the cost and extend the life cycle of many household items, such as computers, televisions and cellular phones. Its ability to extend the life cycle of structural steel used in buildings, bridges, and marine equipment will have a dramatic economic impact in every society. An example is the use of the ICP in coatings for corrosion control, since corrosion costs are estimated at $200 billion annually, 4.2 percent of the U.S. Gross National Product.

"The possibilities are exciting and endless and I am confident to say that Ligno-Pani will have an impact on the world as we know it today," Geer stated. He also pointed out other potential uses, including conductive inks, pH and moisture sensors, nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, stealth technology (radar invisible coatings), electrostatic dissipation (ESD) in packaging application, high temperature conducting adhesives, smart windows, radar/microwave absorption, batteries, capacitors, redox actuators, light emitting diodes (LED’s), transistors, sensors and drug delivery systems.

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New Educational Partnership With Industry

Ames Research Center (ARC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lockheed Martin Space Operations, the first of its kind with industry that forms a planning partnership to conduct joint research in cutting-edge technologies and to develop new ideas to improve the nation's education infrastructure.

"This is the first time that a government agency and a national aerospace

corporation have agreed to work together as part of the development of a world-class, shared use R&D campus like the NASA Research Park," said Ames Research Center Director Dr. Henry McDonald.

"This partnership with Ames is an important first step in our new approach to commerce in the next century, and we hope to develop collaborations with other NASA Research Park partners," said Lockheed Martin President Jay Honeycutt.

"Our first opportunity will be to work with NASA on a variety of critical R&D initiatives, with an emphasis on Astrobiology," Honeycutt said. "We also plan to focus on life and microgravity sciences, biotechnology, aeronautical and space technology development, education and workforce development, technology commercialization, and information technology research."

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global

enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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For more information, contact Michael Mewhinney at Ames Research Center, phone 650/604-3937, 650/604-9000, e-mail mmewhinney@mail.arc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.