science

Xolve

Xolve is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Xolve rather than just read about it. In short: Xolve, Inc. is a Madison, Wisconsin-based nanomaterial company that uses its proprietary technology to improve the attributes and performance of polymer composites and energy storage materials. The company is known for developing a process that uses organic compounds or polymers to either dissolve or place true solutions of nanoparticles previously thought to be insoluble, including carbon nanotubes and graphene.

Key takeaways

Xolve belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Xolve to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Xolve from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Xolve, Inc. is a Madison, Wisconsin-based nanomaterial company that uses its proprietary technology to improve the attributes and performance of polymer composites and energy storage materials. The company is known for developing a process that uses organic compounds or polymers to either dissolve or place true solutions of nanoparticles previously thought to be insoluble, including carbon nanotubes and graphene. Xolve won the Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest in 2008, and was named one of the top startups of 2008 by Businessweek. The company was also a national finalist in the 2010 CleanTech Open San Jose, CA. The company originated from the fundamental research of then 17-year-old student Philip Streich and University of Wisconsin-Platteville Chemistry and Engineering Physics Professor James P. Hamilton and was founded by serial entrepreneurs Professor Hamilton and Eric Apfelbach as well as Philip Streich.

History Founded in 2007 as Graphene Solutions, the firm was incubated in the UW-Platteville Nanotechnology Center for Collaborative Research and Development, the NCCRD. Xolve licenses some of the earliest patents on graphene from Professor Hamilton's Group that date back to work done in 2006 and 2007. In 2010, the company changed its name to Xolve and went on to raise $2 million in its first round of funding. Primary investors included DSM, a Dutch material sciences company, and the Nordic Group of Companies in Baraboo, Wisconsin. In 2011, the company moved to its own labs in Middleton, Wisconsin.

Nanomaterials advancements The potential of nanoparticles rests on their surface area. However, practical applications of these materials have been limited by their tendency to form clumps and bundles, destroying that surface area. Beginning with its ability to place nanomaterials into true solutions, Xolve has developed additional technology to bring dispersed nanomaterials into industrial polymers and energy storage materials and keep them dispersed. With this technology, Xolve aims to lower the cost of producing nanomaterials, such as graphene, and to use these nanomaterials to dramatically improve the performance of industrial materials while maintaining their standard cost structure.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Xolve

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Xolve claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Xolve before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Xolve ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Xolve

In research: Xolve appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Xolve in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Xolve is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Nanotechnology companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Xolve outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Xolve in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Xolve means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Xolve out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Xolve in simple terms?

Why does Xolve matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Xolve?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Xolve.