The National Science Foundation (NSF) (Arlington, Virginia) has awarded $225,000 to start-up company SurfTec LLC (Fayetteville, Arkansas) to commercialize its patent-pending technology invented at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Arkansas).
SurfTec, which is based at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, will use the grant to investigate the feasibility of a novel approach that significantly improves the wear resistance of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coatings.
PTFE is often referred to by its trademarked brand name of Teflon. SurfTec says it will show that its nanocoating technology—a thinner and more durable version of Teflon—will reduce friction and wear in manufacturing equipment, according to Samuel Beckford, the co-founder of the company.
Beckford, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas, invented the patent-pending PTFE nanoparticle composite coating with co-founder Min Zou, a professor of mechanical engineering at Arkansas.
Initially, the coating will be tested as a lubricant in ball bearings for electric motors that are frequently washed with caustic cleaning solutions. SurfTec says its product is expected to increase the wear life of ball bearings by 50% compared to grease-lubricated bearings.
“Our research has shown that PTFE nanoparticle composite coatings have exceptionally low friction and durability,” Beckford says. “Historically, the use of Teflon in bearings has been limited due to a poor wear life and low adhesion to bearing components. Our thin, low-friction nanoparticle coating eliminates these weaknesses.”
Beckford, who earned a doctorate in microelectronics-photonics at Arkansas, has worked with Zou for the past six years on research related to the proposed coating technology. They have conducted the research in Zou’s Nano Mechanics and Tribology Laboratory in the College of Engineering.
The Phase I grant came through the NSF’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which allows U.S. federal agencies to stimulate technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening small businesses that meet federal research and development needs. The program is also intended to increase the commercial application of federally supported research results.