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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer 9:06 AM Thursday, December 17, 2009

The U.S. Commerce Department has awarded a Dayton firm nearly $1.5 million to develop ways to make nano-graphene platelets.

The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Technology Innovation Program selected the company — Dayton’s Angstron Materials Inc. — for the award to develop a material with applications for aerospace, energy, defense and more, an announcement from the company said.

Nano-graphene platelets offer an alternative to carbon nanotubes and can be used to protect airplanes from lightning strikes, can become semi-conducting or insulated and can be made into thin films or coatings, the company said. There are potential uses for lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, wind turbine blades, solar cells and more, it said.

Bor Jang, dean of Wright State University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, is Angstrom’s chief executive and co-founder.

In April 2008, Jang and Dayton government announced the formation of Nanotek Instruments Inc. and the opening of a nanotechnology research and development center at 1240 McCook Ave. At the time, the company said it wanted to create 77 jobs in about five years.

Angstron is the manufacturing arm of Nanotek, a spokeswoman for Angstron said. The company was formed when nano-graphene platelets were discovered, she said, referring further questions to another spokesperson, who couldn’t immediately be reached. An email message was sent to Jang, who is traveling, his office said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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