Ganesh Skandan of Nanopowder Enterprises followed Professor Weertman with his talk “Synthesis and Processing of Nanopowders: Overcoming Technical and Commercial Challenges.” He then discussed several applications of nanopowders and their characterization:

• The performance of Li-ion batteries is limited by the electrodes. With the use of nanopowders of lithiated V₂O₅, MnO₂, tin alloys, and Li₄Ti₅O₁₂, Li ion diffusion is faster and a 30 to 60 percent improvement in capacity is obtained.

• The basic science issues of cyclability, mixing, and electrolyte-electrode interface need to be investigated.

• The property enhancement in electrodes needs to be transferred to cells and then to batteries, which is a major leap. Dr. Skandan noted that Yt⁺³ ions are potentially superior to Li⁺¹ ions. However, he felt that it would take 12 years to bring Yt-ion technology to market because it requires much more testing.

• Thermal spray powders for use by the U.S. Navy must work in the Navy’s spray guns. Otherwise they will not be considered. In the case of WC/Co powders, a mixture of coarse and nanosize powders gives better results. Further, the Co content can be reduced. Adding Cr to the powders increases corrosion resistance, a factor important to the Navy. Dr. Skandan’s company can produce tons of the powder. The challenge is cost.

• There is no commercially available tool that can characterize all the relevant features of a nanopowder. Existing methods are fooled by agglomeration in the powders.

• The size distribution of powders can be completely characterized by small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and ultra-SAXS.

• The key is to develop a SAXS system that can be used by an engineer/scientist not skilled in SAXS.