Technology Opportunities

Highlights

• Corrosion of metallic structures has a significant impact on the world economy amounting to 3-5% of the gross national product (GNP) of the industrialized nations, a staggering half a trillion Euros each year.
• Current approaches are reaching their limits and have only limited success so there is a pressing need for new ideas.
• New materials methodology developed and patented by the Hebrew University enables the doping of metals with organic components.
• Numerous potential applications for the automotive, aeronautic, security and other industries

Our Innovation

A method for doping iron particles with organic polymers in order to inhibit corrosion and oxidation, and thus to prevent rusting. The nanometric doped particles aggregate into a micron sized powder, which can then be pressed to larger articles.

Figure: Iron doped with a certain polymer does not rust. Left: When a coin of pressed particles of pure Fe is put in simulated sea-water, it quickly rusts to the reddish oxide and disintegrates. Right: In contrast, the pressed coin prepared from particles of doped iron remains intact to the level of seeing the grooves of the press used to make that coin

Key Features

• Simple synthesis process
• Iron doped with suitable polymers has been shown to prevent the iron from corroding over a number of weeks during which non-doped iron disintegrated into brownish rust pieces.
• Iron heated in air quickly gains in weight due to oxide formation while no weight gain was observed for the doped iron under identical conditions.

The Opportunity

Possible applications include:

• Component for radar-absorbing materials for use in military applications, in stealth vehicles
• RF-Power applications - micrometamaterials – and broadband applications
• Production of parts by compacting and sintering for the automotive and other industries
• Friction control products
• Soft magnet products
• Filtration materials
• Groundwater remediation
• Particles for printing
• Protective surface coatings
• Safe solid fuel

Development Milestones

These will be tailored to the specific interest of potential partners.