Pennsylvania State University and Rice University have opened a new center for the development of atomically thin 2D coatings for a range of applications.
An atom-thick Rice Owl (scale bar equals 100 micrometers) created in 2013 demonstrated an ability to make fine patterns in a hybrid graphene/hexagonal boron nitride material. Rice researchers led by materials scientists Jun Lou and Pulickel Ajayan will collaborate with colleagues at Penn State and industry to develop two-dimensional, multifunctional coatings in a National Science Foundation-backed initiative. (Credit: Zheng Liu/Rice University)
The Center for Atomically Thin Multifuctional Coatings (ATOMIC) is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF focus on encouragin universities to collaborate with industry, and they have developed over 80 such cooperative research centers. The ATOMIC center is the only NSF center committed to developing advanced 2D coatings.
The aim is to detect atom-thin materials that solve basic technological and scientific challenges in oxidation, corrosion, friction, abrasion, wear, energy storage and conversion. The partners are working towards formulating methods for synthesis and deposition of multifunctional coatings at a commercial scale.
The team at Rice will be headed by materials scientists, Pulickel Ajayan and Jun Lou. Ajayan is chair, and Lou associate chair, of the university’s Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. Both of them have expertise in the study of 2D materials, such as molybdenum disulfide, graphene, and boron nitride, which are some of the key subjects of global research.
“Multifunctional coatings would protect what they cover, but also add value by taking on additional duties,” Lou said.
For instance, a coating which secures the internal section of an oil production well from corrosion may also act as a sensor that could sense whether the structure will degrade.
The researchers envision collaborations with manufacturers in the marine, polymer, glass, civil infrastructure, electronics, and automotive industries.
Lou stated that as Rice is sited in Houston, which is the hub of the country’s energy economy, convenient partnerships can be made with oil and gas companies interested in developing anticorrosion and antifouling coatings.
The economic impact of coatings was defined by Lou as “staggering”, and he also stated that incremental advancements will have a key influence.
“There are three important features to me,” Lou said. “The first one is that it’s industry-driven. We already work on fundamental problems, but the center will give us access to industry partners who will keep us up to date on what applications are most important to them.”
“The second is technology transfer. We are going to develop technology that we hope can be used directly in their real applications.”
“The third is workforce streaming,” he said. “Our students will work directly with industry researchers, so in the end they will become very familiar with the companies’ processes and could be rapidly recruited.”
Ajanyan stated that since Rice University is well-known in materials science, locating this kind of center here makes sense. “We’ve been collaborating with Penn State for years and were among the first groups to start working on 2-D materials,” he said. “But while a lot of people were investigating things like graphene, I think we were the first to do applications-oriented research.”
“This center is a combination of fundamental, university-based research with tech-pull from a consortium of companies interested in solving real-world problems that involve the surface and near-surface regions of components,” said Edwin “Ned” Thomas, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and a materials scientist. “Everything from treating the inside of pipes to minimize erosion/corrosion to improving the heat-transfer capabilities of hot surfaces involved in high-temperature reactions is on our radar.”
In order to enable long-term partnerships among universities, the government and industries, the NSF will contribute seed funding over an initial five-year phase. The funds are pooled together in order to undertake precompetitive research, which will be advantageous for the industry sector as a whole.
Ajayan is Rice’s Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and a professor of materials science and nanoengineering and of chemistry. Lou is a professor of materials science and nanoengineering. Mauricio Terrones, professor of physics, chemistry and materials science and engineering, and Joshua Robinson, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and the Corning Faculty Fellow, will lead the ATOMIC center at Penn State.