Paradigmatically, the convergence of science has exceptionally high potential for transforming the manner in which state-of-the-art information is gathered, analyzed, and leveraged to enable future advances and applications. Highlighting the potential and challenges of hierarchically integrating nanotechnologies is essential for realizing commercial applications. The heterogeneity of structures and compositions of nanomaterials present limitless possibilities; yet these envisioned benefits may be accompanied by certain technological limitations of integrating nanomaterials in commercial products. A balanced overview is presented of the realistic capabilities and potential, as well as the limitations, challenges of system engineering nanomaterials in platform integration. Examples of integrating nanomaterials in useable platforms are also presented. Most notably, the review suggests that nanomaterial based systems and devices that do not require a nano to micro/macro interface integration have reached commercialization whereas those needing a nano-to-micro/macro interface require further investigations. These selected studies provide an insight in obstacles and challenges presented by hierarchical integration of nanomaterials in commercial systems/devices and are crucial for commercialization as the research transitions from laboratory to marketplace, having the potential to transform into a multi-billion dollar niche market.

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a gas phase deposition technique for depositing very high quality thin films with an unsurpassed conformality. The main drawback of ALD however is the very low deposition rate (~ 1 nm/min). Recently, record deposition rates for alumina of up to 1 nm/s were reached using spatial ALD, while maintaining the typical assets regarding film quality as obtained by conventional, slow ALD [1]. This allows for ALD at high throughput numbers.

One interesting application is passivation of crystalline silicon solar cells. Applying a thin alumina layer is reported to increase solar cell efficiency and enables the use of thinner wafers, thus reducing the main cost factor [2]. In this paper we report on the latest progress made by SoLayTec that delivered a working prototype of a system realizing full area single sided deposition of alumina on 156 x 156 mm2, mono- and multi crystalline silicon wafers for solar cell applications. The alumina layers showed excellent passivation. Based on this concept, a high-throughput ALD deposition tool is being developed targeting throughput numbers of up to 3000 wafers/hr. Finally, we report on the process of commercializing this technology.

New ventures in the nanomaterials industry are subject to the same laws of physics as all other entities – they compete for capital, customers, and work through similar variables. Ultimately, success is determined by the degree to which customers prefer the new venture product(s) to alternatives, thus, thinking from the perspective of the customer is critical to success. Often we focus on what the idea is, how it improves on alternatives in the marketplace, and don’t spend adequate time considering the world from the customer’s view. In reviewing choices that must be made and examples of successes and failures, the case for a thorough business plan is presented.

nGimat has commercialized a number of nanotechnology applications with all being based on its core competence of fabricating low cost high quality nanomaterials. The company offers a wide range of compositions as coatings and also in both nanopowder and dispersion forms. A few of these nanomaterials and applications will be covered as examples including superhydrophobic coatings, various nanopowders (including Li-battery based), high temperature thin wire coatings, and tunable RF components.

The combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) technique, which is the thin film NanoSpraySM combustion process, can be easily scaled up to large substrates and integrated into an existing production line, thus enabling a license business model. The combustion chemical vapor condensation (CCVC) technique or NanoSpraySM CCVC (nCCVC), which is the nanopowder NanoSpraySM combustion process, is also readily scalable. The manufacture of these nanopowder based products is internationally competitive even when made in the USA.

Many manufacturing techniques to produce nano-materials via a “bottom-up” approach are currently being developed and evaluated. The PureNanoTM platform technology developed by Microfluidics International Corporation (MFIC) has proven to be both an effective and energy efficient method to produce nano-scale entities including emulsions in addition to suspensions. This nano-manufacturing platform utilizes crystallization, precipitation and chemical reaction methods that produce nano-particles with specified size distributions and a desired morphology. The solids formed can be either amorphous or crystalline, which may exist in numerous polymorphs. In many cases the ability to obtain a specific composition (single species or mixture) is possible via careful selection and implementation of key processing conditions. The methods are based on controlling the local degree of super-saturation (SS) and/or stoichiometry during their formation and subsequent configuration and growth, when appropriate. To accomplish this, operational strategies and innovative processing techniques are coupled with qualitative insight into the basic mechanisms involved with these processes. Validation of the technology at the bench scale for crystallization, emulsions/cargo loading, and multi-phase reactions (interfacial and homogeneous) provided the justification to develop commercial scale systems. Examples are given here for crystallization of drugs for the pharmaceutical industry, a catalyst formed by deposition of metallic crystals on a carbon substrate, production of fine chemicals via emulsion formation for multi-phase reactions, and a homogeneous substitution reaction forming an insoluble product. Nano-materials with median particle size as low as 50 nm were produced. With respect to the drug particles, they were highly crystalline, of a single polymorph and pure. In all cases, results indicate both process performance enhancement and product quality/functionality improvements compared to materials produced with conventional methods, with at least 1-2 order of magnitude increases in surface/interfacial area and reduced energy needs. Furthermore, the technology is suitable for current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) manufacturing.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, titanium dioxide (titania, TiO2) has essentially been commercialized as white powder pigment. But, titania, as one of the most efficient photocatalysts, is also used in many other applications, such as photodegradation of pollutants and photocatalytic water splitting. Moreover, titania is a semiconductor and is used as gas sensing material. Nanosized titania particles (nano-TiO2) are preferred over conventional particles in applications where greater surface area, higher reactivity, and quantum confinement effects matter. For example, in the field of clean energy, acceptable energy conversion efficiencies for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can only be achieved with nanostructured semiconductors, and particularly with nanostructured titania. Research on DSSCs based on nano-TiO2 has been extensively pursued, and the number of papers and patents published in this area has grown exponentially over the last ten years. However, at present, commercial devices are produced in limited quantities and small sizes, and address niche markets. Research efforts have largely focused on the optimization of the dye, but recently the TiO2 electrode itself has attracted more attention. It has been shown that particle size and shape, crystallinity, surface morphology and chemistry of the TiO2 material are key parameters to be controlled for optimized performance of the solar cell. After an overview of the state-of-the-art on nano-TiO2 for application in DSSCs and the commercial potential of these devices, our approach to the control of the nano-TiO2 surface chemistry for improvement of the DSSC performance is briefly introduced.

A high-quality silver mirror coating technology capable of offering various colors for the decoration of molding items is desirable. We have developed both chemical reagents and procedures for improving the silver mirror coating layers. Treatment A with a sodium thiosulfate aqueous solution is a cleaning process for the silver layers. Treatment B with a water-based solution of silane coupling agent is a process for improving the adhesion property of mirror coating layers. Both treatments improve the durability of the silver mirror coating.