Federal Way, WA, January 8th, 2021 – Boydston Chemical Innovations, Inc. (BCI) has been selected by Department of the Army, US Army Research Office (ARO), for a Phase I Award submitted under the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Army Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. The Award was in response to Army’s solicitation A20B-T011, Cost Effective Synthesis of Linear Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (L-ROMP).
This Award has technical aims to: 1) produce linear oligomers and copolymers made from dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), in both a solvent and a solvent-less protocol; 2) produce solvent-less test plates; 3) perform rheological and mechanical measurements to assess entanglement molecular weights; and, 4) provide preliminary aging studies of L-ROMP and copolymers, to better understand storage and shelf-life of the products produced. The basis of the technology is a novel chemical reactivity that was recently discovered for producing non-crosslinked feedstocks for applications in high performance plastics and composites. This scientific advance is enabled by Metal-Free Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (MF-ROMP)—a unique catalyst-resin system. This program, with ARO, will both advance the technology and position BCI to make ballistic-resistant panels for the ARMY’s testing.
The STTR proposing partners include: Boydston Chemical Innovations, Inc. (BCI), the prime contractor, co-founded in 2017 by Dr. AJ Boydston, Dr. Laura Pascual, and John Goldstone. The company has exclusive license to and uses US 10,273,327 B2 patent, from the University of Washington. The University of Wisconsin, Madison, “At the UW-Madison Department of Chemistry, world-class education and groundbreaking research go hand-in-hand to provide a collaborative and innovative environment for the thousands of students, faculty, and staff that we serve.”
According to John Goldstone, President and CEO, “Boydston Chemical Innovations is delighted to start working on this Award. This work is an important pathway for BCI, potentially this will define the direction of the company for years to come. We also appreciate the opportunity to work with the Boydston Group at University of Wisconsin, Madison and ARO to advance this technology toward high performance plastics and ballistic-resistant products.”