About This Project
Current flame retardants, such as PentaBDE and TetraBromoBenzoates have been found to cause cancer and mutations, and they don’t even stop materials from burning. This project will focus upon the development of ceramic nano-materials that are environmentally friendly. The novel materials developed within this program will be evaluated for use as eco-friendly flame retardant materials when blended with common commercially available polymers.Ask the Scientists
Join The DiscussionWhat is the context of this research?
The primary goal here is to purchase a high-energy ball mill and the necessary starting materials to produce novel ceramic nano powders that are sub-micron in particle size. The synthesized particles will then be characterized for phase and size. Once particles are made, they will then be blended with polymers such as polyethylene, polyurethane, PMMA, and other plastics and foams and then evaluated using current flame retardant standards. The idea is to make a new material that is easy to blend with polymers and plastics to reduce the flammability of a material 30% or more to meet or exceed traditional flame retardants.
What is the significance of this project?
This research is important because current flame retardants are environmentally persistent, capable of accumulating in the home and environment to the point where they are found in municipal drinking water, household dust, and eventually the human body and the bloodstream of household pets. These materials can stay in the body and possibly cause adverse health issues. The following links provide more information on this problem and the political fight to ban persistent and harmful flame retardant materials currently in use.
What are the goals of the project?
The funds raised will be primarily used towards the purchase of a high energy ball mill, necessary chemical starting materials, labware bottles/containers, polymeric materials for flame testing, and towards the characterization of the products made (pXRD, SEM).
Budget
The funds raised here will be used to purchase ball milling equipment, chemical starting materials, consumable containers, and analytical services necessary for the production of new nano materials.
Meet the Team
Team Bio
My name is Bob Cleaver and I reside in Rochester, NY. I attended SUNY Oswego where I studied Chemistry and received both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree. While at Oswego, I worked on inorganic materials synthesis research projects that explored bonding modes of boron complexes. The bulk of my research experience has come from 5 years at General Electric Global Research, one of the world's oldest, best and most diverse research laboratories. While working on LED lighting projects, I was able to successfully research, synthesize and discover ceramic phosphor materials for use in warm white light LED lighting.Lab Notes
Nothing posted yet.
Project Backers
- 3Backers
- 2%Funded
- $213Total Donations
- $71.00Average Donation