Download 97A010 - Supercritical Fluid Aided Coating of Particulate Material

USF Available Technologies
Supercritical Fluid Aided Coating
of Particulate Material
R
ADVANTAGES:
esearchers at the University of South Florida have developed a method for preparing coatings of thin films onto
solid particle.

Forming thin film on particles

Simultaneous nucleation and deposition
Over the last two decades or so, there has been an influx of new
supercritical-fluid-aided material processing options for a variety of
materials. Some of these processes include impregnation of porous
matrices, formation of controlled porosity materials, nucleation of
particles with narrow and controlled particle size and drying. However, none of these processes permits coating of particles with high
quality thin films. It is therefore imperative to provide a method to
eliminate these challenges.
Schematic Description of the Process
The technology developed by the University of South Florida inventors provides a method for forming thin films on particles; the
method includes the steps of suspending particles to be coated in a
supercritical fluid containing dissolved coating material. It simultaneously nucleates and deposits the dissolved coating material onto
the surface of the particles forming the desired thin films. The technology is suitable for controlled release particulate applications including air bags, gas generators, solid propellants, ordnance, and
time release drugs. Until this invention of supercritical-fluid-aided
material processing, the effort to identify successful techniques for
achieving the required microns-thin, high-quality particle coatings
was unsuccessful. This invention also relates to green technology.
Method for forming thin film on particles
Tech ID #97A010
Patent #: 6,426,116
University of South Florida | Technology Transfer Office
813.974.0994 (office) | 813.974.8490 (fax)
[email protected]
http://www.usf.edu/research-innovation/pl/