Boron Nanopowder

Specialty Materials, Inc. has recently developed a very high purity boron nanopowder via RF plasma synthesis. We view the principal market for this to be magnesium diboride (MgB2) superconducting wire, which is then used to make superconducting magnets. The ultimate end users are varied, with the most pressing application being magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units for hospitals. MgB2 based superconducting magnets allows for better, cheaper, and more compact MRI units in a time of increasingly high medical costs.

Because SMI has developed a capability to dope these powders for improved performance, MgB2 wire made from our boron nanopowder has resulted in the best magnetic properties for MgB2 wire ever demonstrated. This work has been achieved principally with our own funds with some assistance from SBIR programs. SMI is now moving this capability from the laboratory to pilot plant stage, with no loss in these exceptional properties.

Click the link below for a more detailed look at our capabilities and the properties of our boron nanopowder. We are currently producing small batches of the powder on a regular basis, and it is available for purchase.