Carbon nanomaterials (e.g., carbon nanotubes and graphene) have attracted significant attention in the research community due to their superlative electronic, optical, mechanical, and chemical properties. However, efforts to realize reliable and reproducible applications based on carbon nanomaterials have been hindered by inhomogeneity in the physical and electronic structure of the as-synthesized raw material. This polydispersity problem is particularly problematic for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) where atomic level variations in the SWCNT chiral vector can lead to discontinuous changes in electronic properties. In 2006, our research group developed a post-synthetic method for sorting SWCNTs by their diameter and electronic type (i.e., metal versus semiconducting) based on density gradient ultracentrifugation (DGU) [1]. Within one month of publishing this method, we were inundated with over 100 requests for monodisperse SWCNT samples by researchers and application developers globally. To meet this significant demand, NanoIntegris was spun out of Northwestern University in January, 2007 [2]. Within 2 years, NanoIntegris scaled up the DGU process by 10,000-fold, allowing the release of multiple SWCNT products to the market. In 2009, DGU was adapted to enable sorting of solution-processed graphene by thickness [3], leading to additional graphene products at NanoIntegris. By early 2012, NanoIntegris had sold products to ~500 customers in 40+ countries. In addition to delineating this commercialization trajectory, this talk will provide examples of the utilization of monodisperse carbon nanomaterials in technologically significant applications including transistors [4-7], digital circuits [8], optoelectronic devices [9,10], sensors [11], transparent conductors [12], catalysts [13], and photovoltaics [14]. [1] M. S. Arnold, et al., Nature Nanotechnology, 1, 60 (2006). [2] http://www.nanointegris.com/ [3] A. A. Green and M. C. Hersam, Nano Letters, 9, 4031 (2009). [4] M. Engel, et al., ACS Nano, 2, 2445 (2008). [5] L. Nougaret, et al., Applied Physics Letters, 94, 243505 (2009). [6] M. Ganzhorn, et al., Advanced Materials, 23, 1734 (2011). [7] C. Sire, et al., Nano Letters, 12, 1184 (2012). [8] M. Ha, et al., ACS Nano, 4, 4388 (2010). [9] M. Kinoshita, et al., Optics Express, 18, 25738 (2010). [10] S. Essig, et al., Nano Letters, 10, 1589 (2010). [11] M. Ganzhorn, et al., ACS Nano, 5, 1670 (2011). [12] A. A. Green and M. C. Hersam, Nano Letters, 8, 1417 (2008). [13] Y. T. Liang, et al., Nano Letters, 11, 2865 (2011). [14] T. P. Tyler, et al., Advanced Energy Materials, 1, 785 (2011).

The ever increasing production rate of nanomaterials (NMs) and potential property damage, business interruption [1] and safety hazards [2, 3] due to accidental release or gradual accumulation of NMs in the work space have created the interest for developing removal techniques from contaminated surfaces. Taking into account the diversity of physical and chemical properties of different NMs (such as their solubility, aggregation/agglomeration, and surface reactivity), there is a need to establish reliable NM-specific decontamination methods. In this article, we propose and experimentally investigate a potential method for decontaminating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from surfaces using solvent cleaning and wipes. In order to take into account the effect of surface topology on removal efficiency, we performed experiments to assess ability of surfactants to remove CNTs from silicon substrates featured with nano and micro scaled patterns. The results show that the removal efficiency of multi-walled carbon nanotubes from silicon wafers using two different solvents through wiping is greater than 95%. The need for further studies to understand the mechanisms of NM removal from surfaces and development of standard techniques for surface decontamination of NMs is highlighted. 1. Global, F., Small Wonder: The rising study of nanotechnology. FM Global publications, 2010. 2. Afsset. Nanomaterials and occupational safety 2008. 3. US Department of Energy, Approaches to Nanomaterial ES&H. Department of Energy, Nanoscale Science Centers., 2008.

We have investigated practical aspects of overcharge protection and charge balancing for high-power cylindrical cells based on the Nanophosphatetrade;-graphite system by two related redox shuttle compounds, 2,5-di-tert-1,4-dimethoxybenzene (RS1)1 and 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-bis(ethoxy-2-methoxybenze) (RS2)2. In particular, we have studied the effect of i) initial shuttle concentration, up to the saturation point at room temperature, and ii) initial cell temperature on the value of the maximum overcharge current that the redox shuttle can carry before either of the two limiting conditions are reached: the maximum cell voltage or the maximum cell temperature. We show that, as designed, compound RS2 exhibits higher solubility in practical Li-ion electrolyte compositions, i.e., carbonate ester-based solvent mixtures with a LiPF6 concentration >0.8 M than compound RS1 which was developed earlier. While at room and elevated initial cell temperatures the advantage provided by the higher solubility of RS2 on the maximum overcharge current is moderate, the effect is significant at sub-ambient temperatures, down to -20oC. We show that the advantage of higher solubility of the RS2 shuttle is mostly limited by the previously reported effect of Joule heating of the cell during a continuous overcharge. Thus, the cell skin temperature reaches +85oC during a continuous overcharge at a 0.7C (1.75 A) after 25 minutes, which is equivalent to only 1/3 of its capacity even though the cell voltage never exceeds +3.85 V. We estimate that in the case of a well air-cooled free standing cell, to maintain the cell temperature within acceptable safety limits, the continuous charge current cannot exceed ca. 0.5C, which is significantly below the current carrying capability of such a composition. We found that under optimum conditions, the RS2 shuttle is capable of providing an overcharge protection at a 0.4C rate at temperatures as low as -10oC, but this value is less than 0.1C at -20oC . To understand the thermal limitations imposed by the ohmic heating of the cell during a continuous overcharge, we have modeled temperature evolution in larger battery packs and explored several scenarios to alleviate the problem. We conclude that the otherwise long-lived and effective redox shuttle compounds may find practical application in cell-balancing applications, rather than for high-current overcharge protection, where electronic protection circuits will continue playing a major role. Acknowledgement: The authors thank Dr. Khalil Amine, Argonne NL, Argonne, IL, for providing the RS2 compound and for helpful discussions. 1. J. Chen, C. Buhrmester and J. R. Dahn, Electrochem. Solid-St. Lett., 8, A59 (2005) 2. US Pat. App 2011/0294003 (Dec. 1, 2011), Zh. Zhang, L. Zhang and K. Amine, inventors

In order to both sustain innovation and preserve human health and the environment, the assessment of “nanoproducts” of all kinds should be based on harmonized characterization. In the case of nanoparticles, new characteristics specific to the nanometer scale should be measured, thus implying the identification of the relevant measurands and of the measurement techniques capable to obtain the required information with sufficient reliability. The commercial impact is not negligible as the market for analytical instruments for nanoscale characterization actually exceeded US$ 3 billion in 2009 [ref.]. Amongst the list of the measurands specific to nanoparticles, size and shape definitely matter but surface chemistry as well is often cited, especially with regard to cosmetics and biomedical applications. While it is now largely recognized that surface composition, structure and reactivity are perhaps the dominant parameters controlling properties of nanoparticles, we have been perseveringly emphasizing already since the mid-1990&’s, that surface chemistry is one of the key characteristics of nanoparticles to be evaluated for successful commercial applications. Working groups in international organizations (such as ISO, BIPM or CEN) that are currently examining the characterization needs for nanoparticles with regard to standardization have indeed identified surface chemistry as one of the areas where appropriate characterization is lacking. The usual techniques for surface analysis of materials seldom allow adequate characterization of the very first atomic layers of nanoparticles. Those techniques often require ultra-high vacuum conditions and because the surface chemical composition and reactivity are dependent on the environmental conditions, the results cannot be extrapolated to nanoparticles in ambient atmosphere or dispersed in liquids. Moreover, physical parameters (e.g. depth of analysis) inherent to the characterization techniques are in the same range of dimensions as the whole nanoparticle itself. Adding to the complexity, different synthesis processes and/or storage conditions lead to different surface chemistry, thus preventing any generic statement on surface chemistry of nanoparticles. Therefore, industry (synthesis, formulation, processing of nanoparticles) needs standards and reliable surface chemistry characterization tools. After a brief nanotechnology market analysis, this talk will present an overview of the usual techniques for surface studies and the challenging performance required from the analytical instruments for nanoscale characterization. Then, the performance of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to investigate surface chemical composition, surface reactivity and surface functionalization of nanoparticles will be introduced and illustrated with examples in different fields of applications and different devices. Ref.: Seeing more clearly at the nanoscale, MRS Bulletin 2011, 36(11), pp. 855-857.

Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD) is an extraordinary material developed in thin film form and patented, which exhibit exceptional mulifunctionalities, including tunable electrical and thermal conductivity, extremely low wear and coefficient of friction, extremely low electric field for electron emission, high resistance to chemical attach by industrial and human body fluids, bio-inertness and extremely good biocompatibility. UNCD films are synthesized by a novel microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition technique using an Ar-rich/CH4 chemistry that produces films with 2-5 nm grains, thus the name UNCD to distinguish them from nanocrystalline diamond films with 30-100 nm grains. UNCD coatings are commercialized in industrial components and devices by Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT), a start-up company co-founded by O. Auciello and J.A. Carlisle and spun-off from ANL in 2003. Industrial products discussed will include: a) UNCD-coated mechanical pump seals for many industries (shipping to market); b) UNCD-coated bearings for mixers for the pharmaceutical industry (shipping to market); c) UNCD electrodes for water purification systems, which outperform all other electrodes in the market today (shipping to market); d) UNCD-AFM tips (shipping to market); e) RF-MEMS switches integrated with CMOS driving devices for next generation radars and mobile communications (prototype demonstrated); f) UNCD-based MEMS biosensors and energy harvesting devices (R&D) g) NEMS switch-based logic (R&D). Auciello started a second company in 2011, named “Original Biomedical Implants (OBI),” to develop and commercialize a new generation of biomedical devices based on UNCD films and new UNCD/polymer composites. Products under development include: a) UNCD encapsulated Si microchip implantable in the retina to restore sight to people blinded by photoreceptors degeneration (31 blind people received microchip implants in 5 countries and are reading letters and recognizing objects and walking through doors without aid); b) UNCD-coated heart valves (ADT); c) UNCD-coated eye liquid draining devices for treatment of glaucoma; d) UNCD-coated magnets located outside to attract superparamagnetic nanoparticles injected in the eye to push detached retina back into place; e) UNCD-coated stents; f) UNCD-coated artificial joints (hips, knees); g) UNCD-based implantable MEMS drug delivery devices; h) UNCD surface used as a unique developmental biology platform for growing stem cells and induce differentiation into various cells of the human body. This talk will include a discussion of steps taken to start ADT and OBI, including negotiations with DOE to approve that National Laboratory scientists could hold equity in a company spun-off from a National Laboratory, and negotiation with Angel investors for start-up funding. This work was supported by US Department of Energy, Biomedical Engineering Research, under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357 and DARPA under contract MIPR 06-W238

Explosive growth in funding and research in nanotechnology has given an extraordinary opportunity to University researchers to experiment and experience new venture creation. In order to best equip University researchers and policy makers make use of this unprecedented opportunity we started this research with three fundamental questions: 1. What way nanotechnology entrepreneurship is different from new venture creation in other disciplines? 2. How best can students, researchers and policy makers benefit from this extraordinary opportunity? 3. What can scholars, researchers and teachers in the area of science and technology entrepreneurship learn from the current surge in nanotechnology entrepreneurship? For answering these questions a detailed three-dimensional framework to understand the uniqueness of nanotechnology entrepreneurship was developed based on the following three dimensions: interdisciplinarity, funding directionality and the aspects of fashion, fad and framability of the technology. Using this framework several entrepreneuring strategies were proposed for successful new venture creation. It is shown that nanotechnology as a discipline is more interdisciplinary in its potential applications than any other known technology. This also means that multidisciplinary networking is one of the key success factors for nanotechnology ventures. Another important distinction is in the way funds are allocated for nanotechnology research. There is an increasing proportion of research grant set aside for research leading to commercialization. Finally, due to the inherent nature of these atomic / molecular level technologies, it is hard to draw boundaries separating nano, micro and macro materials, devices and systems. This poses special challenges in the context of public awareness and regulatory regimes. This paper will pay special attention to helping young researchers aspiring to become entrepreneurs in the area of nanotechnology.

We describe our journey from a DOE funded program at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the area of superconductor wire to a startup company based on technologies developed in the course of the program. We formed a company called iBeam Materials that intends to commercialize crystal-aligned templates based on ion-beam assisted deposition texturing of MgO. iBeam Materials has arranged a loan of DOE-owned thin film deposition equipment from LANL to the company. The company has a three phase plan for operation and is currently basing its business on sales of materials to an R&D market. In its second phase the company will pursue new R&D in order to identify a new application of this technology. In the future when a new application is demonstrated we will try to attract investor money for a scale up.

In this talk, an overview of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships within the National Science Foundation's Engineering Directorate (ENG) will be presented. The Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) houses five research partnership programs: 1) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 2) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program 3) Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) 4) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) 5) Partnerships for Innovation (PFI). Additionally, IIP division also supports Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program.

In 2011 the National Science Foundation (NSF) in conjunction with the Kaufmann foundation began a new program, "Innovation Corps" (I-Corps), focused on transitioning commercially promising technology out of universities into the marketplace. Under a previous NSF grant, our group had developed methods for making extremely high surface area, hierarchically porous carbons and metal oxides. Such materials are of considerable interest as catalyst supports. Based on informal feedback from potential end users we submitted and won an I-Corps award to assess the potential for commercialization of our materials as nanostructured catalysts. This presentation will (1) summarize the lessons learned during our time in the I-Corps program, as our team developed a viable business model and tested the model by explored the heterogeneous catalysis market (2) discuss what constitutes a "minimum viable product" in our market (3) report on scale up, company formation and our plans going forward.

Europe is faced with difficulties to transform good research into good market opportunities. Nanotechnology is confronted not only with this general problem but also with specific issues which require action at both levels. Awareness is growing among industry and decision makers that we have to combine efforts to address those bottlenecks in order to take full advantage of the promises offered by recent advances in nanotechnologies. 1. First , there is indeed increased concern that Europe is losing ground as regards the exploitation of research results. Scientific excellence remains high and has even increased since 2000. However growth rates of PCT patent applications or the number of EPO patent relative to the GDP has decreased in the EU over the last years. Five main reasons contribute to explain this situation and need to be addressed on a general basis , taking also into account the wide diversity of situations between the 27 Member States : -insufficient relationship between academic research and industry -lack of exploitation culture among researchers -cost of patenting - missing or overlooked links between research and the market - difficulties to find adequate finance from banks and venture capital . THE EU, together with its 27 Member States , has therefore decided to place innovation at the heart of its Europe 2020 strategy . The objective is to improve the conditions and access to finance for research and innovation and to ensure that novel ideas can be translated into new products and services. 2.Crosscutting initiatives supporting innovation are underway through: -creation of a single European patent ( whatever its name) by 2013 - increased efforts to include innovation- related aspects in research activities ,such as standardisation , validation ,upscaling, enhanced dissemination -strengthening the exploitation culture among researchers and academia - measures to facilitate access to finance for innovation and risk financing. 3. Beside those general bottlenecks, special attention must be paid to specific gaps which may hinder the business of nanotechnologies. They relate to: -the need to consolidate our scientific knowledge regarding the ability to establish convergence and integration of nanotech with other technologies ( esp bio and ICT ) , in order to develop new products and services.. - the importance of managing the potential impacts on health , safety and the environment , both for workers and consumers Possible guidelines , regulations , labels must be based on sound science and dialogue to create confidence and avoid future mistrust or reluctance from the market. At EU level 15 to 20% of the research budget in nanos goes to projects dealing with HSE aspects, with excellent cooperation with US teams in many of those. 4. What did we do so far? We have combined a double approach: - creating a stronger exploitation culture throughout the research chain : early awareness raising about IPR analysis of possible risk factors and of potential to transform research results into exploitable results , patent mapping , support to prepare business plans etc -looking in depth at the obstacles as well as to the success factors to bring nanotechnology to the market ( such as the importance of defining sound business models , of considering the whole value chain ,of starting not from the technology angle but from the solution envisaged ) . This approach seems to bear fruit when considering: - the very good record in patenting from nano projects showing the way towards promising applications able to hit the market place in the near future - the use of the new financial risk sharing mechanisms created at EU level - the progress towards global governance of nanotechnology . One of the objectives of this round table is to learn more from other experiences and practices , in order to speed up the uptake of nanotechnology .

The past decade has experienced tremendous level of global research and development in fundamental nano-science and nano-technology. The goal of nano-science research is to explore and understand the unique properties that nano-scale materials offer compared to their bulk counterparts. Simultaneously, researchers exploit fundamental physics, chemistry and biology of matter to predict and create new functionalities using nano-scale materials. While there has been abundance of new knowledge created as a result of such intense and wide-spread research activities, translation of fundamental discovery to real world products has been limited and slow to materialize. Only a handful of commercial success stories have emerged from the vast research and development in nanotechnology. Over the last few years, there has been a realization amongst the technology and business communities about the real potential of nanotechnology. New product paradigms could take significantly more time for maturity and for market adoption for various reasons such as consumer psychology, cost, environmental factors, reliability, competition from existing technologies, etc. In the meant time, the biggest short term return on investment in nanotechnology research could be in the area of advanced manufacturing resulting from unique processes developed for nano-scale materials and devices. A sub-set of unit nano-scale processes could be translated and adopted into existing manufacturing platforms to create greener, cleaner, sustainable and economical pathways for deriving currently established products or products of high impact that were previously unable to meet the commercial specifications and feasibility. In this presentation, I will share some of my personal entrepreneurial experiences related to evolution of nano-scale research to manufacturing of chemical catalysts and solid state luminescence (lighting) materials.

nGimat has commercialized a number of nanotech applications based on its core competence of creating low cost high quality nanomaterials. It offers a wide range of compositions as thin films and in both nanopowder and dispersion forms. While being successful in obtaining government R&D funding, nGimat has more than half of revenues from its private industry customers and is profitable. As an example, based on the DOE and DOD SBIR funding, nGimat has successfully developed high performance superhydrophobic coatings on various substrates, including glass, ceramics, metals, and plastics. Superhydrophobic self-cleaning surfaces have wide applications in architectural and automotive windows and solar panels, etc. Many existing hydrophobic coatings either have low transmittance which is not suitable for windows or not as hydrophobic as lotus leaves. nGimat&’s superhydrophobic coatings show many advantages such as high transparency and high durability over existing coatings. Due to the excellent performance, nGimat, by collaboration with Honda R&D, is conducting further R&D investigating on the superhydrophobic coatings for automobile applications. In the meanwhile, the nanostructured coatings show anti-fogging and anti-reflection multiple functionalities. In the joint work, the superhydrophobic coatings were deposited by either Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) technique or the combination of Combustion Chemical Vapor Condensation (CCVC) and Wide Range Injection Nozzle (WRIN), which is designed and manufactured by collaboration between nGimat and Honda R&D. While keeping high transparency and high hydrophobicity, the WRIN device deposited coatings show high durability, which is important for practical applications. Abrasion test was conducted using a standard automobile wiper. After 60,000 wipes, the contact angle of these coatings was 140^o, which is the highest durability compared with the old processing method. A few of other applications will be covered as examples including various nanopowders (including Li-battery based), high temperature thin wire coatings, and optical sensors. The CCVD can be easily scaled up to large substrates and integrated into an existing production line, thus enabling a license business model. The CCVC process is at over 20kg/day capability and is readily scalable to ton production rates. A manufacturing business model is being used for these nanopowder based products and should be internationally competitive even when made in the USA as the market matures. An overview of the company business model, intellectual property, and a look at its future will be presented.

Nanotechnology today is used in products in global markets such as semiconductor-based logic and memory (~US$300B in 2011), photovoltaic modules (~US$33B in 2011), and flat-panel displays (~US$95B in 2011). Common to all leading-edge products in these markets are nano-scale device structures, whereby efficient product development cannot be easily achieved using conventional “thin-film” materials R&D approaches. Nano-scale materials properties diverge from micron-scale thin-film properties, due to an inherently greater influence of surfaces, interfaces,and increased sensitivities to intrinsic and extrinsic variables from the manufacturing process. Advanced contacts and gate stacks consisting of engineered thin films are examples. Theory to explain the relationship between structure, process, materials and their resulting (device) properties often lags the results of practice, such that systematic experimentation providing mechanistic understanding is a necessity. The interdependence of materials properties within nano-devices means that an optimum final device can only be created through simultaneous co-optimization of the components. Examples of copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGSe) photovoltaic cells show the interdependent effects of 10-50nm thin films on final device properties. The complexity of simultaneous materials co-optimization for a target device design can be managed by using combinatorial workflows. Intermolecular has developed a unique High Productivity Combinatorial (HPCtrade;) platform, including process tools, throughput-matched characterization, and a web-based information management system to allow for R&D learning 10-100x faster than traditional methods. With this HPC platform, in less than a year we demonstrated a world-class 17.7% active-area efficiency CIGS PV cell using a two-step sulfur-free process flow. Transferring a device from a lab to a manufacturing fab requires better understanding of the inter-relationships between materials, process, and structure to effect better control of key process variables within fab tools. Using combinatorial approaches to accelerate learning, both device performance and manufacturing yield can be efficiently improved. For example, leading-edge semiconductor memory chips today use dielectrics and metal electrode layers that are only 1-10 nm thick, and HPC technology has accelerated R&D learning-cycles for our customers producing such memory chips. The economics of development often limits the ability to commercialize new ideas. Intermolecular&’s HPC platform is purpose-built for the R&D of devices on substrates—such as silicon wafers for ICs and glass for PV cells—and is used in collaborative development programs with customers. The combinatorial R&D infrastructure enables a more cost-effect means of development for customers, each of whom derives control over unique intellectual property (IP) to support their differentiated products.

Silicon is a promising candidate as a component for anode material in lithium ion batteries because of its high theoretical storage capacity of 4.2 Ahg^-1 (10-fold increase to the state-of-the-art material graphite). Unfortunately, silicon degrades rapidly during charging and discharging due to extreme mechanical stress originating from volume change during charging and discharging. This degradation can be overcome by decreasing the particle size of silicon and the utilization of nanosized silicon is expected to be the most promising way towards cheap and high capacity anodes for lithium ion batteries with sufficient long-term stability [1]. A reasonable addition of up to 25 wt% of silicon to carbon-based anodes increases their capacity from about 0.3 to more than 1.2 Ahg^-1. Additionally, anodes prepared from these materials show in comparison to micron-sized silicon an essential increase in cycling stability without any degradation for more than 100 charge/discharge cycles. However, to reach this capacity and cycling stability, it is critical to provide raw material with well-controlled nanoparticle morphology [2]. In this work we demonstrate the synthesis of highly specific silicon nanomaterial by homogeneous gas-phase reactions on the pilot-plant scale from thermal decomposition of monosilane, SiH₄ with a production capacity on the kg/h scale [3]. Typical SiH₄ precursor flow rates are in the 5-30 slm range with a precursor concentration of 4-20 Vol% in N₂/H₂. The properties of the produced silicon nanoparticles (e.g., crystallite size, specific surface area, agglomerate size) can be varied by adjusting the process pressure and precursor concentration. The crystallite size determined from X-ray diffraction is in the 12-40 nm range for reaction temperatures between 800 and 1100°C. Electron microscopy investigations of the nanomaterial reveal agglomerate sizes smaller than 1 µm which is supported by measurements of the specific surface area by nitrogen adsorption (BET). The BET surface area and therefore the respective agglomerate size is adjustable from 15 to 30 m²/g at corresponding process pressures between 15 and 100 kPa. Furthermore, BET investigations reveal a constant specific surface area for process times of up to 30 h and, therefore, proof the ability to produce highly specific silicon on the pilot plant scale with constant material properties. The electrical energy required to produce one kg of nanosilicon powder from monosilane (SiH₄) in our system was determined to be in the 1.4 kWh range, depending on the process conditions. [1] Kasavajjula, U. et al., J. Power Sources, 2007, 163(2): pp. 1003; [2] Braun, P.V. et al., Curr Opin Solid State Mater Sci, 2012, DOI: 10.1016/j.cossms.2012.05.002; [3] Huelser et al., KONA Powder and Particle Journal, 2011, 29 (2011), pp. 191

Microreactors are a near ideal tool for the reproducible, controlled synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals.[1] A wide range of nanocrystals materials have been successfully synthesised in microreactors (including noble metals, metal oxides, compound semiconductors) and in virtually all cases significant advantages have been reported over equivalent bulk batch reactions in terms of improved control and reproducibility.[2] To date however the small channel sizes and reactor volumes have limited materials throughput to grams per day at most. The notion of “scaling-out” - running multiple identical microreactors in parallel - offers an attractive approach to increasing throughput that requires no changes to the underlying process chemistry and, in principle, retaining all of the advantages of microscale chemistry, while yielding industrially relevant quantities of material. In practice, however, scaling-out presents significant technical challenges and there are only a very few examples in the literature of its successful application. Here we describe a microreactor system, based upon a scaled-out droplet-flow reactor, which is capable of producing over a hundred grams of colloidal quantum dots per day with exceptional levels of process control and stability. The method is successfully applied to alloyed and unalloyed II-VI quantum dots and provides a viable route for the quality-assured production of high grade nanomaterials in industrially relevant quantities. [1]. deMello, J.; deMello, A., Microscale reactors: nanoscale products. Lab on a Chip 2004, 4 (2), 11N-15N. [2]. (a) Marre, S.; Jensen, K. F., Synthesis of micro and nanostructures in microfluidic systems. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2010, 39 (3), 1183-1202; (b) Nightingale, A. M.; de Mello, J. C., Microscale synthesis of quantum dots. Journal of Materials Chemistry 2010, 20 (39), 8454-8463.

Like many other platform technologies, ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) has faced many hurdles on its way from the laboratory into products. In this talk I will highlight our efforts over the past several years to transfer the technology out of Argonne National Laboratory and into the real world. UNCD®, ADT's trademarked technology, spans a family of diamond materials that all share two attributes: THIN and SMOOTH. The critical value building exercise of developing and implementing a set of reproducible production processes to make UNCD films has resulted in ADT being able to launch three separate product lines (wafers, mechanical seals, and NaDiaProbes® in the past 1-2 years into three very different markets. NaDiaProbes, which are all-diamond AFM probes used for metrology and nano-manufacturing, received the 2009 R&D 100 award and are the first example of a commercially available diamond MEMS device. How ADT looks at wafer-scale production of UNCD-based MEMS devices going forward as well as our technology roadmap for UNCD-enabled products under development will be reviewed. Particular emphasis will be placed on the development of UNCD coatings and MEMS devices for RF and chem/bio-sensing related applications.

This talk will describe some recent efforts in commercializing nanomaterials technologies in areas ranging from athletic monitors, to surgical instruments and grid-scale photovoltaics. For each case, I will discuss the research and development timelines, starting with the initial ideas in materials/assembly and terminating with launch of commercial products.

We report on the design, fabrication and performance of novel polymer thin film based dosimeters for improving safety for patients under radiation therapy. The detector consists of an inexpensive organic device that is irreversibly color changing from red, to yellow, to green and measures the delivered dose from the radiation source. The effect of radiation on the optical properties of thin polymer films was described, and a series of tests was conducted on the performance of the organic detector in measuring depth-dose distribution of photon beams in a water phantom. Statistical data analysis confirmed that the device has the capacity to recognize x-ray dose from 0 to 40 Gy with total accuracy of 95%. These results have enabled the qualitative and quantitative analysis of how the radiation instability of optical properties of luminescent polymers can be used to develop an innovative organic device for radiation therapy. This work was sponsored by Capes, CNPq and Fapemig.

A case study for the development of resist technology for EUVL will be presented. This study is based on interactions with industry/consortiums as well as startups: Nanoresist Technologies etc Rapid transition of resist technology from chemically amplified (CA) to non chemically amplified and negative resist technology will be the focus. A significant development in hybrid organic-inorganic resists will be outlined. Global impact of these resist innovations will be discussed.

Materials have marked almost every milestone of civilization. One speaks of human history by delineating the main material of the age. Thus, one speaks of the bronze age, the iron age, and all other ages. In the 20th century, Materials Science became a specialized field that in an interdisciplinary manner utilized knowledge in Chemistry, Physics and Engineering to synthesize, analyze and provide to society as a whole new materials, processes and applications to the development of a new generation of devices and systems that revolutionized human life (e.g., transistor, microchip, batteries and much more) . There have been many examples in the fundamental sciences of entrepreneurial scientists. One example in Chemistry was Lavoisier, who sold licenses for his many discoveries. Another was Lord Kelvin, who became a wealthy scientist with many of his inventions. Even Albert Einstein patented a new type of refrigerator, which unfortunately was not a successful venture. As we enter the 21st century, there has been societal pressure for scientists to create the new technologies that can create jobs, be sensitive to the environment, and indeed, re-invent a new world, or a new age of materials. It is necessary, especially for the young scientists to know when and how a discovery should be exploited commercially without fundamentally changing the quality of research and the very essence of what initially motivates one to become a scientist. This paper explores the delicate balance of science and commercially relevant discoveries. It tries to show the incentives and the forbidden zones that one must avoid when taking an application of new materials or processes of commercial value out of the lab. It also shows that not every one is right to follow this path, and that it is also best done as a team effort well led by a knowledgeable scientist with a sense of the business world. We call this world-view, so common in our times, a “New Tao of Applied Research” for a very specific reason: entrepreneurial activity should not kill a career in research, but rather enhance it. Examples that will be discussed include the translation of the materials science from the laboratory into the market in non-volatile ferroelectric memories, now in smart cards helping people to pay for transportation, enter buildings and events, and much more; high-dielectric constant capacitors for high frequency devices that impact mobile communications systems; and the coming new generation of Gb to Tb resistive change non-volatile memories named correlated electron resistive random memories (CeRAMs), developed by Symetrix Corporation, based on correlated electron-induced Mott transition.

A retrospective look at the recent scientific discoveries that have revolutionized our lives shows that giant magnetoresistance stands as one of the most important - it is this that provides the ever increasing data storage capabilities that fuel many other areas of research areas. Inspired by this nanoscale milestone, we can now apply the same knowledge to a truly human-scale application. First, we flip the approach used in spintronics to read hard-disk heads: we don&’t use a compass-like needle travelling on a magnetic surface populated with 1&’s and 0&’s. Instead, we concatenate a near infinite amount of such compass-like objects embedded into an extremely robust, rugged and flexible waterproof wire. This is then placed 1 cm below the asphalt, grass or any surface and connected to an electric supply and the internet anywhere along the wire. With the same device, patent pending, which currently being used to manage free parking space in Spain, we now implement an intrusion detection solution: on top of our wires or meshes of sensors, it is now possible for anything to move without being detected if its magnetic permeability is different to the air. Our devices can be upgraded with customizable RFID or proximity cards thus allowing a virtually infinite amount of possibilities.

Nanowires have emerged as potential building blocks for future electronic, optoelectronic and sensing devices [1]. However, significant requirements arise from the use of elements with dimensions in the nanometer range: large scale synthesis of structures with homogeneous properties and reliable, affordable and fast contact fabrication, among others. The benefits of such nanostructures, however, are enormous, especially the large surface-to-volume ratio for those application in which the mechanisms take place at the surface and the very low power dissipation due to the reduced dimensions when using a reduced number of nanomawires. In this work, different methodologies for the fabrication of gas sensors based on individual metal oxide nanowires (NWs) as sensing elements onto microhotplates for low power consumption and fast operation is presented. Single crystalline, dislocation free SnO2 nanowires with radii in the range 20-200 nm were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of a molecular precursor [Sn(OtBu)4] as described elsewhere [2]. Different suspended microhotplates with integrated heater and interdigitated microelectrodes have been employed as substrate for the fabrication of the devices. Nanowires, removed from the substrate on which they grew, were dispersed in different solvent, and a droplet was spread onto the suspended substrates. Contact fabrication between the individual nanowires and the interdigitated microelectrodes has been carried out by Focused Electron Beam Assisted Deposition inside a FEI Strata 235 dual beam instrument equipped with an injector to deposit Pt, as described in detail elsewhere [3]. Two different low-power operation modes are identified according to the heating method used to achieve the high temperature operation of the devices. On the one hand, the independent use of the microhotplate&’s integrated heater to reach the operation temperature and of the interdigitated electrodes to allow the measurement of the resistance change in the presence of different gases. Typical power values to achieve the adequate operating temperature are below 8mW. On the other hand, the self-heating of the nanowires when a measuring current flows through them allows the simultaneous the heating and measuring the nanowire, dramatically reducing the power consumption by 2-3 orders of magnitude and simplyfing the practical operation of the device. The two exposed operation modes related to the nanowires will be discussed with the aim of a new generation of devices with improved performances. References: [1] S. Barth, F. Hernandez-Ramirez, J.D. Holems and A. Romano-Rodriguez, Prog. Mater. Sci. 55 (2011) 563. [2] S. Mathur, S. Barth, H. Shen, J. C. Pyun and U. Werner, Small 1 (2005) 713. [3] F. Hernandez-Ramirez, A. Tarancon, O. Casals, J. Rodriguez, A. Romano-Rodriguez, J. R. Morante, S. Barth, S. Mathur, T. Y. Choi, D. Poulikakos, V. Callegari and P. M. Nellen, Nanotechnology 17 (2006) 5577.

Polymorphic transitions in nanocrystalline metal oxides leads to structural transformations resulting in differing properties at varying operating temperatures. Nanocrystalline MoO3 transforms from a metastable monoclinic phase to stable orthorhombic phase when heat treated in the temperature range of 420C to 500C [1]. Gas sensing results have shown that at 420C MoO3 is sensitive to Isoprene [2], a 450C it shows sensitivity to CO2 [2] and to ammonia at 500C [3]. DSC data [4] has proved that MoO3 changes crystal structure to monoclinic at 420C and to orthorhombic at about 480C. This confirms a correlation between structure and gas sensing properties of MoO3. Using this knowledge a hand-held diagnostic tool is developed to monitor specific breath gases which can be biomarkers for diseases. Exhaled human breath is a mixture of N2, O2, CO2, H2O, inert gases and inorganic molecules such as NO, NH3 or CO and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acetone, ethane and isoprene [5,6]. The device consists of three sensors coated with thin films of MoO3 and operating at temperatures of 420C, 450C, 500C respectively. The read-out gives a real time resistance value for each resistive sensor which is stored in a microprocessor. Such a device can be fitted with any resistive sensor coated with different semiconducting materials like WO3 [7], TiO2 [8] etc. References [1] A.K. Prasad. Phd thesis, Stony brook university, 2005 [2] P. Gouma, A. K. Prasad and M. Stanacevic. J. Breath Res., 5, 037110, 2011. [3] Prasad A K, Gouma P I, Kubinksi D J, Visser J H, Soltis R E and Schmitz P J. Thin Solid Films 436, 46-51(2003) [4] K.K. Iyer. Phd thesis, Stony brook university, 2007 [5] Kharitonov SA and Barnes PJ. Am. J of Resp. and Critical Care Medicine 163, 1693-1722(2001) [6] Smith AD, JCowan JO, Filsell S, McLachlan C, Monti-Sheehan G, Jackson P, and Taylor DR, Diagnosing Asthma, Am. J of Resp. and Critical Care Medicine 169, 473-478(2004) [7] L. Wang, K. Kalyanasundaram, M. Stanacevic, and P. Gouma. Sensor letters 8(1-4), 2010 [8] Teleki, A. S.E. Pratsinis, K. Kalyanasundaram, and P.I. Gouma. NSTI Nanotech, Boston, USA (7-11/5/2006)

You are a professional working with nanotechnology or alternative or XYZ technology. You have identified a brilliant market opportunity. You want to start a company to take advantage of this opportunity. You are an entrepreneur. This forum will provide guidance for all entrepreneurs who want to start a company and for those who want to grow existing startups and deliver excellence in corporate performance. Identifying viable opportunities is the most important first step in the lifecycle of a small business. But it isn&’t enough. Taking the idea to market, delivering financial success and developing an exit strategy -all of it within the appropriate financial and legal framework needs careful attention and planning. This forum will address business, financial and legal issues from founding to exit (public offering or acquisition). Things have been global for big businesses for quite some time. Now, things are becoming global for small companies as well -from financing, recruiting, R&D partnership, manufacturing, marketing, to delivery of goods and services. An entrepreneur today must have an international perspective to operate and compete globally. The session provides practical guidance on developing business going beyond country of origin. Panelists: Orlando Auciello (Argonne National Laboratory, USA) Partha Dutha (Auterra Inc, NY, USA) Robert Grass (Turbobeads, Switzerland) Edward Greer (The Dow Chemical Company, MI, USA) Padmakumar Nair (University of Texas at Dallas, USA) Thomai Panagiotou (Microfluidics IDEX, MA, USA) Carlos Paz de Araujo (Symetrix Corp, CO, USA) Michel Poireau (European Commission, EU) Gabriel Silva (University of California at San Diego, CA, USA) Grace Wang (National Science Foundation, USA)

The development of nanoparticulate delivery systems for diagnosis and treatment of human disease is at the forefront of applications for nanoscience and nanotechnology. In particular, nanoscale delivery systems promise more efficacious and, at the same time, more benign treatment of human cancer. The aim of this presentation is to present the evolution of Keystone Nano, Inc., a company founded in 2005 for the development of early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Keystone Nano, Inc. was originally founded to commercialize the calcium phosphosilicate nanoparticle system invented at Penn State. The nature of the technology around which Keystone Nano is centered will be described with respect to the delivery of therapeutics. The goal of Keystone Nano, Inc. is to ultimately be a supplier of specialty formulations for better treatment of human cancer across the broad spectrum of this human disease. However, the company has morphed and grown into a broader based company with the addition of nanoliposome and calcium phosphate therapeutic delivery systems as well as a contract research organization (CRO) component for the development of general diagnosis and therapeutic delivery. The CRO component was particularly important and innovative for our small startup to weather the severe recession over the past four years. Another basis for this maturation of Keystone Nano was to develop both internal therapeutic formulations as well as formulations through business partnerships. The issues associated with a startup company in going from initial bench top synthetic pathways to the submission of IND documents to the FDA will be described. The assessment and management of risk, both internally and externally will be discussed and developed. It is often difficult to spin out nanotechnology from academic institutions because of scaleup issues and lack of understanding of the regulatory hurdles including those associated with the FDA, but also EPA and OSHA, at the Federal level as well as those within our Commonwealth. Most nanotechnology based companies are limited by the inability to scaleup bench top processes. Early in our history, Keystone Nano addressed the difficult but surmountable engineering issues associated with the preparation of unagglomerated nanoparticles at quantities necessary for human trials. Keystone Nano, Inc. was fortunate in the receipt of significant Commonwealth and Federal support during the earliest stages of our company. In particular, the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership of Pennsylvania was critical in providing initial support and guidance for the company. Another limit in startups is sufficient support to develop intellectual property around the spin off because of the high expense in the development of patent portfolios for a truly global technology. These and other challenges and how we overcame them will be presented.

The development and use of nanotechnology in medical research and clinical medicine has a significant potential for understanding disease mechanisms, diagnosing disorders, and in the development of therapeutic treatments. Interacting and interfacing with cells, tissues, and organs in the body for the purpose of measuring a physiological variable or affecting a physiological process is challenging because of the inherent complexity of the biology and interdependency of physiological systems across spatial and temporal scales. This often means that a single or specific manipulation or perturbation of the target system is insufficient or leads to unintended side effects (e.g. attempting to treat a disease by targeting a specific signaling molecule or receptor). The materials science, chemistry, and engineering of nanotechnology allows the potential to develop materials and devices with controlled and often emergent properties unique to the material or device that may not be present in the component building blocks that make it up (i.e. the sum being more than the parts). This allows the development of technologies tailored to the challenging requirements of complex biomedical applications. From a translational perspective, the greatest hurdle in getting a new diagnostic test or treatment from the lab into the clinic is in the challenges of successfully taking an academic research project and achieving its commercialization. One has to carefully navigate a number of interdependent and constantly changing elements, including institutional, regulatory, funding, intellectual property, and technology transfer considerations. This talk will introduce the scientific advantages and short comings of nanotechnology applications to medical research and discuss the translational and commercialization aspects typical of a university start up company. We will also present several personal experiences of successful and failed start ups that have attempted to do this as case studies.

Nanomaterials promise to enhance the performance of everyday products, from electronics to chemicals, from functional foods to pharmaceuticals. However, challenges still exist, both in the efficient and cost effective production of nanomaterials, as well in methods of processing and incorporating those into final products. Presented here is entrapment of sub-micron scale emulsions containing active ingredients, into macro-scale matrices for producing functional foods for controlled release of nutraceuticals. Several parameters were explored in developing and optimized stable sub-micron emulsions, related to formulation and processing methods. Such parameters included surfactant and oil types and concentrations, pH, mechanical energy input, temperature history, etc. Furthermore, methods of post processing and incorporating the emulsions in matrices have been explored. These include drying the emulsion, and using extrusion, granulation, blending, etc. to incorporate the dried emulsion particles into the matrix. Important parameters and physical properties that influence the stability of the emulsion particles inside the matrix were identified, including glass transition temperatures, the use of anti-oxidants, oxygen permeability, etc. The findings of this work can be extrapolated to other applications including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, chemicals, etc.

The huge potential and wild promise of nano-based materials and technologies propels unprecedented amount of investments from both governments and private entities. As the investment pours in, there is also growing high expectation of commercializing these technologies and the return with large margins for the investment. This presentation will discuss several considerations and the experience in pushing nano-based materials and technologies to commercial market. From conceptual designs in the laboratory to products in the market place, the path consists normally three steps: research, development, and commercialization of the technologies. For most research in this area with commercialization as end goal, it is vital to integrate the assessment or evaluation of commercialization requirements early in the research phase. Few early considerations include environmental impact, health effect, intellectual position, and cost. As the technology moves to the development phase, the choice of the market or the product platform as the suitable commercialization carrier becomes the key question. The answer to this question will critically depend on the resource availability, the expected product introduction timeline, and the risk level to reach the market. In this phase, the nano-based technologies will be demonstrated with high level of technology readiness, and other customer requirements, such as reliability and compatibility to existing infrastructure or processes, will be addressed. During the commercialization stage, finding the appropriate partners, whether in manufacturing, marketing, or sales, will ultimately decide the extent of materializing the return for the investment. In this talk, an overview of the path outlined above will be presented and cases at different stages will be discussed.

Focus purely on customers: If customers can be found, supplied an pleased, then all other aspects of a start-up company will fall at ease. This focus on customers with minimal resource requirement is the basis of the Yanaco idea. Customers not only bring money, they also give direction, act as early stage investors and quickly increase the value of the company. In the area of nanotechnology, company ideas are usually generated in a laboratory. A fast transition from a laboratory idea to a first product, even if still imperfect, is required to gain customer attention. This allows the founding team to learn the most important entrepreneurial lessons as soon as possible and increase their long-term share of the company. Following an introduction on the concept, 4 examples of Switzerland based nanotech companies following this approach for over 5 years will be shown in detail. Additionally the adaptability of the Yanacao concept to other nanotech ventures and business areas is discussed.