TDA RESEARCH, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: A12-012
TDA RESEARCH, INC. — SBIR Phase II award from Department of Defense.
- Amount
- $1,000,000
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Army
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase II
- Topic
- A12-012
- Solicitation
- 2012.1
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- CO
- Period
- 2013-08-01 → 2015-08-01
Description
Due to its favorable combustion properties, aluminum is the material of choice in metalized nanoparticle formulations for energetic materials; however, the full potential of aluminum nanoparticles has not been realized due to the presence of a nascent oxide layer (Al2O3) that surrounds the nanoparticles and retards their combustion. As a result, the military is looking for novel surface modification techniques that make use of the oxide layer to make the Al-nanoparticles more reactive. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) will develop surface modification chemistry that functionalizes Al-oxide passivation layers to enhance the reactivity of Al-nanoparticles. Using nanoparticle chemistry previously developed at TDA, we will couple energetic materials to the unreactive oxide passivation layer, thereby enhancing the overall reactivity of the Al-nanoparticle. The resulting materials will be tested for a variety of applications, including their use in metalized explosive formulations.