Hydrophobic Polymers with Adherend Complexing Sidechains as Durable Aerospace Adhesives, Phase I

In support of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, NanoSonic would optimize our moisture-resistant aerospace adhesives with in-situ corrosion mitigating surface treatments to improve aviation safety by reducing durability related hazards on subsonic commercial aircraft. NanoSonic specializes in the production of advanced, non-commodity resins as adhesive, sealant, and novel coupling agents. One aspect of our synthetic method involves the systematic replacement of nonpolar groups along well defined polymer backbones with sidechain chemical moieties capable of complexing with metals, hence significantly increasing adhesion to metal or composites relative to nonpolar resins. Synthetically engineered hybrid copolymers allow the inherently hydrophobic backbone to mitigate moisture ingress, while the tailored sidechain moieties offer adhesion orders of magnitude greater than unmodified commodity resins. NanoSonic also tailors the number and type of crosslinking sites available to minimize CTE, while maximizing the mechanical properties and cohesive strength to prevent catastrophic disbonding from aircraft adherend. The specialty adhesives are available in 1-55 gallon drum quantities. Down-selected adhesives and coupling agents shall be tested under harsh thermal (-90ºF to 800ºF) and environmental conditions and in a wind tunnel (subsonic, Mach <1) along-side state-of-the-art structural aerospace adhesives to increase the TRL from 4 to 6 during Phase I.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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