Invention: Boron Nitride Nanotube
Licensee: EPIC Advanced Materials
The boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) is a breakthrough material for energy, aerospace, electronics, and medicine applications. Invented by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the technology allows quality scale up of a material that is 100 times stronger than steel, heat resistant to 900°C, radiation-absorbing, hydrophobic, and capable of hydrogen storage. Additional advantages of BNNTs include high functionalization and thermal conductivity as well as band gap tunability, lending them as superior to carbon nanotubes. The patented technology is now being manufactured by EPIC Advanced Materials. Notably, one potential application is a breathalyzer to detect the COVID-19 virus.
For more information, see “Berkeley Lab Licenses Boron Nitride Nanotube Technology,” September 4, 2014, Berkeley Lab Newscenter.