innovate arkansas

Z. Ryan Tian and his team of researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed new technology that could revolutionize the industry for paper and fabric products.
Using a hydrothermal heating process, Tian has created long nanowires out of titanium dioxide that can be assembled into free-standing membranes. The result looks just like a conventional flat piece of paper, but with the flexibility of mylar since it’s reinforced with fibers.
Nanowire paper is being tested by “potential industry partners,” and its applications far exceed that of simple paper or fabric. It also shows the potential for use as body armor, controlled-drug release, flame-retardant fabric, bacteria filters and the decomposition of pollutants and chemical warfare agents.
Tian said start-up capital of about $1 million is needed for a pilot plant, which he hopes would be built locally because most of the companies that could easily adapt to using the nanowire paper instead of using paper or fabric are in the southeast United States.
“We kept thinking, there’s another way,” said Tian, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. “So we developed a new nanotechnology-based product that is truly viable, cheap and environmentally benign that can help boost our local economy.”
The researchers have operated off of small grants, mainly through the UA Technology Development Foundation, which has partnered with Intellectual Property Partners of Atlanta to help validate, develop and transfer nanowire technology to commercial use.
Tian said it’s the first time in the history of mankind that a paper-like substance can be made from fibers that are not natural.
The applications are endless, according to Tian and his researchers. The team said the product is environmentally friendly to manufacture and use since titanium is a chemical element that occurs within mineral deposits from the Earth’s crust.
“You could literally swallow a handful and it would just pass through your system without breaking down,” Tian said. “It’s that safe.”
Paper Mill
Making the artificial paper reads like a high-tech cookbook: Powdered titanium is poured into a type of pressurized steam cooker, then water and an alkaline-base such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide is added. It’s then heated to about 200 degrees and, over time, nanowires are formed in a type of pulp that’s similar to paper pulp, but with a higher-density of reinforced fibers.
How it’s made can be cheaper than conventional paper, but as the researchers are doing it, it cost about $1 to produce an 8.5-inch by 11-inch piece of paper. They’re starting with expensive raw materials, but Tian said it can be produced for about a tenth of the cost if starting from the mineral itself.
“And if we do mass production, the cost will be dramatically lower,” Tian said.
That’s where the capital is needed. Tian has received estimates in the $300,000 to $400,000 range for a larger-scale pressure cooker to manufacture the paper in bulk. Ideally, he would start with two of the larger machines in the pilot plant, where initial tests can be performed for quality control and to optimize processing parameters.
Once the money is in hand, Tian said the pilot plant can be operational in as little as six months.
“From lab bench to pilot plant is roughly 90 percent of the effort,” Tian said. “Once you pass the pilot plant test, then you just multiply the machines and we’re home.”
Tian would not elaborate on which companies are testing the product, but said that companies outside the United States, such as South America, Europe and Asia, have made inquiries to learn more about it’s potential.
That comes in the wake of the nanowire paper receiving publicity from the likes of The Discovery Channel, The New York Times, Science News and ScienceDaily.
Bright Future
Forget scrubbing in.
Wearing a suit, mask and gloves made of nanowire paper, doctors can simply walk through ultraviolet light for 100 percent sterilization on their way in and out of surgery.
“It seems futuristic, but we’re talking about the not-too-far future,” Tian said. “This can be immediately adapted into the current industry processors.”
Tian’s eyes light up as the wheels of his mind start spinning out the hundreds of different potential applications for the nanowire paper.
The two-dimensional paper can be shaped into three-dimensional objects. It can be folded, bent or even cut using scissors while it’s able to withstand heat up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Because it’s flame-retardant, Tian sees a huge market for its use as wallpaper.
“Whenever a house or whatever burns, the wallpaper releases a highly-toxic fume that is what kills most people, because it chokes them,” Tian said. “This type of paper will not burn and therefore would release no toxins.”
Holding his thumb and forefinger about two inches apart, Tian talks about how the paper can be layered and made into a thicker material for use as body armor.
If used for something simple such as a newspaper, the need for recycling could be diminished since the paper can be flamed to burn off the ink, or cleaned by passing under a UV light, before printing on the same piece of paper again.
By controlling the size of the pores between the fibers, the paper can serve as a filter or completely block out all pollutants. The researchers also can add a special chemical property to the surface that will decompose specific types of “foul” molecules when it comes in contact with the material.
“The pharmaceutical industry needs ways to purify very expensive, yet very fragile molecules, proteins and antibodies and this can improve that purification process,” Tian said. “Then say for our own civil defense, we can mass produce protection masks for every household at a very cheap cost since current protection masks have no way of protecting against the smaller particles that are found in some nerve agents.”
Tian also claims the paper can be used to improve time-release medications, which currently are released at higher levels throughout the day. His product would allow the drug to be released constantly at the same level, preventing side effects from the peaks and valleys associated with conventional time-release medication.
Other applications can be in bone-replacement material, since the paper can be injected to form a bond with cells, in cancer therapy, since a barrier can be formed around a tumor that would prevent cells from damage during surgery, and in airplane lining, since the product is flame-retardant.
Tian said the product offers a “way better” alternative for investors looking at other types of venture capitalist companies. Most offer products or services that are very similar, but nanowire is truly unique and has yet to be manufactured for commercial use.
“There’s nothing else like this anywhere,” Tian said.