January_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8 1 3 LIQUID ARMOR REACHES NEW HEIGHTS Researchers at the University of Delaware (UD) and STF Technologies, both in Newark, developed a new pro- tective textile that is being tested for use in NASA spacesuits. The fabric achieves its highly puncture-proof and ballistic-resistant characteristics from shear thickening fluid technology. The nanocomposite liquid, trademarked as STF-Armor, is painted onto fabric, permeating the fibers and causing the fabric to strengthen rather than weak- en when struck with increasing force. Additionally, the nanocomposite adds little weight to the fabric and does not reduce its flexibility. An STF-Armor prototype recently hitched a ride to the International Space Station, where it will spend a year outside the facil- ity before being analyzed to determine how it fares in actual low-earth orbit conditions. While the material’s impact could eventually be felt even farther afield—say, in the devel- opment of the Z-2 space- suit for NASA’s Journey to Mars mission—it may be useful closer to home as well. “NASA funding for small business develop- ment has an expectation that space technology will have earth-based benefits, and they gener- ally do,” explains Norman Wagner, chemical and biomolecular engineering chair at UD and founder of STF, which received an Innovation Research Phase I contract and a Technology Transfer Research Phase II grant from NASA. Liquid armor could eventually be used in firefighting and law enforcement gear, industrial gloves, and hazmat suits, says Wagner. udel.edu , stf-technologies.com . PHOTOCATALYST ACHIEVES LOWER COST IN LOWER LIGHT In the quest to improve the en- vironmental and economic feasibility of producing hydrogen from water, scientists at Osaka University, Japan, invented a new kind of photocatalyst that does not include expensive met- als. The composite material, made of graphitic carbon nitride and black phosphorous, is not only more afford- able than its predecessors, but also absorbs a wider range of sunlight. Graphitic carbon nitride forms in large sheets containing holes that can inter- act with hydrogen molecules. In the past, precious metals were added to Transmittance electron microscope image of the composite photocatalyst with two components, black phos- phorous (BP) and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ). Courtesy of Osaka University. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY The University of Bristol, UK, will establish a $58 million open access Quantum Technologies Innovation Center to bring quantum research to the commercial products and services markets. Funded by the university, the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, and industrial partners such as Airbus, France, the center will be based in the university’s future city-center enterprise campus. It will include labs and incubation facilities along with office, meeting, and conference space, bringing together industrial engineers, entrepreneurs, and researchers. The facility is scheduled to open in 2021. www.bristol.ac.uk . BRIEF Liquid armor developed at the University of Delaware can be painted on fabric, making the textile extremely difficult to puncture. photocatalysts to counteract the effect of these holes, but the Osaka team dis- covered that the pricey metals could be replaced by a kind of phosphorus, which is widely abundant and inexpen- sive. They also demonstrated that their photocatalyst could function using en- ergy from a wide range of light—even low-energy, near-infrared wavelengths could drive hydrogen prodution. Stu- dies of the working photocaalyst in the picosecond time scale reveal that the strong interactions between carbon nitride and black phosphorous promote hydrogen production. When the two materials are tested sepa- rately, light energy rapidly dissipates and little or no hydrogen is produced. www.osaka-u.ac.jp .