NSF Funding Brings CAEFF and Tetramer Technologies Together
The National Science Foundation has provided funding that will allow the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films (CAEFF) to partner with Tetramer Technologies to further develop the Clemson University spin-off company’s quantum dot technology. CAEFF and Tetramer researchers will capitalize on Tetramer’s prior NSF-funded work on perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) polymer nanocomposites and CAEFF’s expertise in and equipment for melt extrusion manufacturing.
This new grant represents a significant opportunity to advance Tetramer’s nanocomposite technology into more commercial applications where melt processing into fiber or molded parts would be very desirable. In particular, this collaboration has the potential to impact the solid state lighting, solar energy harvesting, and polymer optical fibers markets, as well as benefit national security through scintillator development. The partnership with Tetramer also affords a unique entrepreneurial context in which to train CAEFF students. Clemson undergraduate and graduate students working on this project will be exposed to quantum dot nanotechnology, extrusion of nanocomposites, and the entrepreneurial nature of a small company.
The NSF Small Business Innovation Research Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting federal research and development needs and increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results.
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