Ultra-Stable Thermally Excellent Advancements in Material Strength (USTEAMS)
Established in 1963, the R&D 100 Awards is the only S&T (science and technology) awards competition that recognizes new commercial products, technologies, and materials for their technological significance that are available for sale or license. The R&D 100 Awards, celebrating the program's 60th Anniversary this year, has long been a benchmark of excellence for industry sectors as diverse as telecommunications, high-energy physics, software, manufacturing, and biotechnology. This 2022 R&D 100 winner is listed below, along with its respective category.
Category: Mechanical/Materials
Developers: Sandia National Laboratories
United States
Product Description:USTEAMS is a technique to synthesize composite coatings using silica and sugar-derived carbon, mimicking natural seashell laminate structures. These coatings exhibit high thermal stability up to 1650°C and exceed the hardness of Spectra® by ~44%. This creates a wide range of applications in mechanical and thermal protections.
Developers: Sandia National Laboratories
United States
Product Description:USTEAMS is a technique to synthesize composite coatings using silica and sugar-derived carbon, mimicking natural seashell laminate structures. These coatings exhibit high thermal stability up to 1650°C and exceed the hardness of Spectra® by ~44%. This creates a wide range of applications in mechanical and thermal protections.

TEOS forms a stable silica network, and sugar converts into carbon black after pyrolysis. The silica and carbon layers are “glued” together by chemical crosslinking to form strong and hard layered material.