The New Competitive Edge
Ceraflex Zirconia
Marketech International
Port Townsend, Washington
A zirconium oxide powder is mixed with binders and water and fired at 1,600 degrees Celsius to produce a flexible ceramic sheet, paper-thin or up to half a millimeter thick. Ultralean and ultrastrong, Ceraflex found one of its first applications in surgical scalpels and industrial blades that dull far less quickly than comparable carbide or steel.
More: www.mkt-intl.com
Light-Emitting Polymer
Uniax
Santa Barbara, California
Make way for the dawn of light-emitting plastics. Twenty years in development, conductive and semiconductive polymers are coming out of the lab. Polymer emissive displays promise full color and high contrast at a very low price. First app: Organic LED cell phone displays fast enough to support full-motion video.
More: www.uniax.com
Husky-crete
University of Washington Concrete Canoe Team
Seattle
By replacing sand and gravel with tiny polymeric spheres, University of Washington materials scientists have created a concrete stronger than traditional cement but so light it floats in water. The team won the regional American Society of Civil Engineers Concrete Canoe Competition last year.
More: students.washington.edu/asce
Carbon Aerogel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories
Livermore, California
Injecting carbon in the manufacturing process, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Labs have made aerogel that can conduct electricity. The material is turbocharging the development of capacitors, which are key components of batteries; their aerocapacitors store a hundred times more energy than those used in today's cell phones.
More: www.llnl.gov
NZP
COI Ceramics
Salt Lake City
A ceramic made of (and named for) sodium zirconium phosphate, NZP is mixed from a polycrystalline powder and fired at 1,500-plus degrees Celsius to produce machinable blocks. NZP can handle sudden and huge temperature changes with minimal expansion, shrinkage, and cracking. The ceramic is used in furnace support structures and semiconductor wafer chucks.
More: www.coiceramics.com
2312-PMF
Aptek Laboratories
Valencia, California
Boutique adhesive-maker Aptek creates custom binders in small quantities for aerospace and other customers. 2312-PMF, a soft polymer paste filled with conductive silver, combines several properties necessary for use in orbital electronics. It's flexible, tolerates temperatures of -70 degrees Celsius, and comes premixed in ready-to-use syringes.
More: www.apteklabs.com
PurSil
The Polymer Technology Group
Berkeley, California
Traditionally, silicone medical implants are hard to modify once they've cooled into shape. PurSil - aka silicone-polyetherurethane, part of a new class of copolymers - combines the biocompatibility of silicone with the processability and strength of thermal plastic.
More: www.polymertech.com
NBS
Corning
Corning, New York
NBS - as in nonbinding surface - is a nonionic hydrophilic polymer coating that prevents traces of proteins, DNA, or drug compounds from sticking to test tubes or assay plates. NBScoats itself with an ultrathin layer of water so it can repel the hydrophobic sections of biomolecular particles.
More: www.corning.com
Intram
Toyobo
Osaka, Japan
Most waterproof fabric is, more accurately, waterproofed - coated with rubber that keeps water out and everything else in. Developed by Japanese textile company Toyobo, Intram is made up of polyester microfilaments woven in a carefully engineered pattern that's tight enough to repel water but still breathes.
More: www.toyobo.co.jp/e/index.htm
LuminOre
LuminOre
Vista, California
Composed of up to 95 percent metal with a polymer binder, LuminOre can be sprayed on most any surface to make it look like solid iron, copper, brass, bronze, aluminum, nickel silver, or stainless steel. The composite coating weighs less than 4 ounces per square foot.
More: www.luminore.com
Polyaniline
Ormecon Chemie
Ammersbek, Germany
Call it organic metal, but think of it as the Antirust. A coating of polyaniline inhibits corrosion by accepting electrons from the metal and releasing them into the atmosphere, forming an oxide layer that stops the flaking that would normally take place. Future apps include printed circuit boards and organic LEDs.
More: www.ormecon.de
Flexform
Kafus Bio-Composites
Elkhart, Indiana
Flexform combines polypropylene with the rugged natural fibers of hemp and kenaf - a relative of the cotton plant - to create a lightweight, high-strength nonwoven moldable material. Carmakers have seized on the material for door panels and dashboards. The added bonus: It's 100 percent recyclable.
More: www.kafus.com
