Engineering and Development of Anisotropic Conductive Polymer Nanomaterials for Visible, Infrared and Bi-Spectral Obscurant Applications

The US Army seeks novel engineered polymer nanomaterials with high conductivity and indices of refraction suitable for use in next generation of obscurant materials. In this program Nanotrons Corporation, in collaboration with Professor Zhiyong Gu at NSF Nanomanufacturing Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), proposes to develop a novel engineered conductive polymer nanomaterial based obscurant materials enabling to defeat threats in a broader range of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM). The new approach combines cutting-edge polymer nanomaterial synthesis and development at Nanotrons with the extensive engineering and nanomanufacturing technology within the UML team. The resultant high conductive polymer nanomaterial will exhibit excellent visible, infrared, and bi-spectral obscurant performance, easy deployment, and high packing density. Theses improved performances are attributed to the synergetic effects of the optimized shapes of polymer nanomaterial with the controlled layer dimensions and the intrinsic high electrical conductivity and refractive index of the selected polymer. The proposed engineered polymer nanomaterials will be produced economically and readily scaled-up for volume manufacturing. During Phase I we will deliver the prototype samples for Army"s evaluation. The scaling-up of conductive polymer nanomaterials and the novel ways to aerosolize will be conducted during Phase II.