An Emerging Leader In Nanotechnology

By: David Page

The Journal Record

In 2001, a privately held specialty chemical company was formed in Norman to adopt technology evolving from research at the University of Oklahoma.

From that marriage of private and public resources, SouthWest NanoTechnologies has developed into a company that sells single-wall carbon nanotubes for $500 per gram to customers in the United States, Korea, Japan and Germany, said Daniel E. Resasco, founder and chief scientist for SouthWest NanoTechnologies, as well as the S.A. Wilson Professor of Chemical Engineering and George Lynn Cross Professor, School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering at OU.

"There are many other groups in the world producing nanotubes," he said. "But we are the only group growing nanotubes in a controlled environment."

The technology was developed at the OU Energy Center by a research team led by Resasco, who has pioneered a process that should dramatically lower the price of mass-producing single-wall carbon nanotubes.

Controlled production allows the nanotubes to be grown in circles on a silicon wafer or in lines.

"This is what got people in electronics very excited," he said.

Single wall nanotubes are in demand because of their electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. They conduct heat better than any other known material and can carry electrical currents 100 times greater than copper.

They may be mixed with polymers to make nanocomposites, which prevent the build-up of electric charges during chip packing - an important consideration in the semiconductor industry.

Nanotubes are 100,000 times smaller than a human hair, Resasco said. They have an extremely narrow diameter but can be very long.

Because of the size, nanotubes are in demand from various industries including computer and semiconductor companies. Companies like Samsung and Canon are very interested in nanotubes, he said. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other big players in aerospace are interested because of the strength and light weight of nanotubes.

"The next generation of materials is based on nanotubes," Resasco said. "The strength of nanotubes is 100 times stronger than steel and five times lighter."

Exploratory research is conducted in laboratories at OU. SouthWest NanoTechnologies handles the manufacturing at its facility at 2360 Industrial Blvd., near the Max Westheimer Airport in Norman.

"We developed a way to make this in large quantities and in a controlled fashion," he said. "This is what we do at SouthWest NanoTechnologies."

The company was spun off from OU with support from private investors and ConocoPhillips. Other supporters include the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science Technology, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy.

"OCAST has been very generous with us," Resasco said.

In March, Resasco and Leandro Balzano, development engineer for SouthWest NanoTechnologies, received an OCAST grant to supervise interns researching optimization of single-wall carbon nanotube production.

Resasco also received an OCAST grant in June to investigate a process to improve the quality of transportation fuels, and Donna Nelson of OU received an OCAST grant to develop nanotubes for specific electronic applications.

Grants also were used to purchase nanotechnology research equipment at OU. Groups providing the grants for equipment included NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

SouthWest NanoTechnologies has seven full-time employees.

"Most of the employees were students in my group," Resasco said.

The company recently hired David Arthur as CEO.

"He has extensive experience in nanotechnology," he said.

Arthur has more than 25 years experience commercializing products utilizing advanced materials, working at Rogers Corp., A.T. Cross Co., Composite Solutions, Helix Technologiesm and Eikos. He has a degree in chemical engineering from Tufts University, a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut and a master's of business administration from Northeastern University.

Resasco received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at the Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina, in 1975, and a doctorate from Yale University. He was chairman of the Chemical Engineering Department at the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata in Argentina in 1987-88 and was senior scientist at Sun Co. from 1991 to 1993.

David Page is the special projects editor of The Journal Record. You may reach him by phone at 278-2850 or by e-mail, david.page@journalrecord.com