SUMMARY
This development is a hydrothermal technique for the synthesis of inorganic oxide nanofibers containing titanium with a very high aspect ratio (>200). The fibers have a rectangular cross-section with dimensions on the order of a few tens of nanometers. The composition of the fibers can be carried to a certain extent for specific applications which include filters, membranes and composites.
Though there are similar existing methods for preparing this type of fiber, this process has a shorter processing time (2-8 hours compared to 50-120 hours) with minimal increase in production cost. Potentially this material can be used in lithium ion batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells with added benefits in performance and production cost.
Lehigh Tech ID#061307-01
THE MARKET
The global market for nanofibers is estimated to be around $50 million, growing to over $825 million by 2017 at a rate of over 30% annually. This huge growth rate is mainly due to the energy and electronics sectors which will take up almost 75% of the total nanofibers market. Nanofibers are being utilized as an alternative to carbon nanotubes for lighting displays and solar technologies as they have better performance and are less expensive to produce.[1]
[1]“Nanofibers: Technologies and Developing Markets.” BCC Research web site. http://www.bccresearch.com/report/NAN043A.html (accessed November 23, 2011).
THE OPPORTUNITY
Lehigh University is currently looking to out-license this technology, but would also be interested in identifying co-development support for this technology.