NanoStructured Materials

The NSM group is formed on October 1, 2005, from three research groups sharing similar interests. Polymer Materials and Engineering, Particle Technology Group and the Battery Group merged to combine and share their knowledge on nano materials science. This integration led to a broad knowledge on the 4M business of NanoStructured Materials:

Making - Measuring - Manipulating - Modelling

Mission of Nanostructured Materials

Investigation of the fundamentals and applications of advanced nanostructured polymer and particle based systems - ranging from their structure, dynamics, and properties, to their production, characterization and processing - including the use of novel concepts from self-assembly and supramolecular chemistry.

Our leading expertise in polymer materials & engineering and nano-particle technology, makes us uniquely equipped to study and develop nanostructured materials. The main focus of attention will be to provide new perspectives for the fundamentals and applications of advanced hybrid organic/inorganic systems containing nanometer sized particles and complex (supra)molecular structures. In such hybrid systems, interfacial properties, low-dimensionality, confinement, self-assembly, anisotropy, and shape and size effects are key factors to control the macroscopic dynamics and ultimate material-properties & performance.

• Spotlight:

  Publication by Haining An, Stephen J. Picken and Eduardo Mendes  (ChemE-NSM) appointed featured article in Soft MatterEditor's choice: the article entitled "Enhanced hardening of soft self-assembled copolymer gels under homogeneous magnetic fields" by 
  Haining An,  Stephen J. Picken and Eduardo Mendes appeared in Soft Matter, 2010, 6, 4497-4503, has been appointed as a featured article by the Editors of "Soft Matter", the leading journal in the field, and it can now be downloaded for free for a limited time.http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2010/SM/c0sm00216j

 Short description Research areas:

The Nanostructured Materials Group has several research areas of special focus:

• Polymer dynamics
• Nano composites (structural and functional)
• Rheology and morphology of polymer blends and composites
• Self organisation / Liquid Crystals
• Smart & Selfhealing materials
• Characterization and modification of polymers (e.g. through electric fields)
• Functional and responsive polymer networks
• Production of well-defined nanoparticles
• On-line characterization of nanoparticles
• Numerical modelling of particulate systems
• Electrochemical analysis of nanoparticles for Li-ion storage

Major Areas of Research

Multi-scale structure, properties and dynamics of complex organic and hybrid materials - with a focus on polymer systems. To accomplish our mission we research the following topics:

• Energy
• Particle Technology
• Polymer Engineering
• Polymer Materials
• Responsive and Functional Soft Matter Physics

...