Characterization work by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has confirmed what Alpharetta, Ga., startup company C3 International founder Mark Deininger suspected. His company's nano-film coating is like none other and could have dozens of industrial applications. Through a High Temperature Materials Laboratory user project, a team of researchers performed numerous tests on the C3 materials and found that the proprietary coatings substantially increase wear resistance of most components they have tested. In the field, the oxide films have proven themselves as they have extended the life of steel industry rollers, die casting molds at a wheel plant and even blades to cut 11 billion ketchup packets each year. The trick is applying rare-earth and other metal oxide films at low temperature (450 degrees Celsius) in a variety of combinations at the nano-scale. The films bond to most non-organic surfaces, including carbides, steel, glass, ceramics, cermets and many metal alloys. Funding for this research has been provided by DOE's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies.
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