Boron Nitride Nanotubes

Invented in 1995, this unique material combines exceptional physical and chemical properties, including electrical resistivity, high thermal stability, thermal conductivity, strength and stiffness. Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNT) is ideal additive to enhance structural strength of aluminum alloys, plastics and rubber, improve radiation protection of the nuclear reactors and spacecrafts. BNNTs could be used for the targeted drugs transportation in medicine and many other areas.

Fig. 1: Laboratory for boron nitride nanotubes production in Marshall, VA. Courtesy of Applied Plasma Technologies, Corp.

The first large-scale BNNT production system to enable the direct boron nitriding technology was commissioned to UC Berkeley in 2012 by our strategic partner Applied Plasma Technologies, Corp. (APT). Several more advanced are currently in operation in the USA. At the moment APT produces APT-100 and APT-200 plasma torch systems for variety of applications based on high pressure ICP/RF plasma sources with input power 100 kW and 200 kW. Full specs are here Applied Plasma Technologies, Corp.. Company achieved the highest known in the field production capacity of 0.2 kg per hour on APT-100 series machine. Our team collaborates with APT on the technology improvements and plans to establish a cluster for the large-scale BNNT production at their new facilities in Marshall, VA.