Scale-Up of SLIP Process: Producing Nanoengineered Coatings at High Volumes to Meet Multi-Directorate Needs

摘要

There are a variety of applications that require the use of nanoengineered surfaces for separation applications. Surfaces are commonly functionalized in order to facilitate the purification of gases and liquids. Functionalization often requires the application of a polymer to the surface. The most common means is to dissolve the polymer in a solvent and then either cast or spray it onto the surface. This traditional approach causes two severe limitations: (1) the polymer must be soluble; (2) the solvent must be removed from the final coating. The first limitation often eliminates many potential candidate polymers. The second limitation is influential on the transport and separation properties of the coating. Low levels of residual solvents can significantly degrade the ability of the coating to perform the separation process. These two issues can be overcome through the use of Solvent-Less vapor deposition followed by In-situ Polymerization (SLIP). The SLIP process was originally developed for the fabrication of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) targets.