Emerging Materials and Nanotechnology

Materials are vital for building up of the new world around us. The advancement in Materials science leads to new findings in healthcare, energy, computing and several other fields. Groundbreaking materials with improved functionality can develop the energy output. Materials with unique properties will facilitate energy savings in energy-intensive processes and applications and will generate a new design space for renewable energy generation. The research on materials depends upon how we plan, build and use new products. Thermal and Degradation resistant materials are more resilient in high-temperature atmospheres which can be improved by reducing the energy intensity of the materials. Materials such as advanced composites, hybrid materials, engineered polymers with high functionality and high performance can be installed in energy production and energy transfer equipment. Smart materials such as superomniphobic materials, auxetic materials are designed in such a way which change their properties be external stimuli (stress, temperature, moisture, pH, electric or magnetic fields).

• Super – light materials
• Photovoltaic materials
• Thin-film materials
• Insulation materials
• Smart materials
• Electro ceramics
• Advanced functional materials
• Advanced polymers & membranes
• Biomaterials
• Nanomaterials
• New generation building materials
• Next generation computing 
• Silicon solar cells
• Space engineering

Biomaterial is well-defined as a material that has been engineered to interact with components of living system for both therapeutic and diagnostic purpose. Biomaterials can either be natural component or synthetic materials that are synthesized in the laboratory by using metals, ceramics, polymers and composites. Biomaterials serve as the fundamentals of medicine, biology, tissue engineering and materials science that have its application in drug delivery, dental application, joint replacement, surgery and regenerative medicine. Few of the biomaterials that are used to mimic the natural function are stents, vascular grafts, heart valves, bone plate, bone cement, dental implants, breast implants, surgical sutures, etc., The forefront research in the field of tissue engineering is the synthesis of bio-inspired materials where scientists, engineers and physicians are working together to reproduce the hierarchical organization and flexibility originated from nature to recapitulate the cellular microenvironment. These study emphases on characterizing the properties of biological structures to produce novel bio-inspired materials with multifaceted properties and applications in Bioengineering and Biomedicine.

• Hydrogel Scaffolds
• Bio resorbable metal
• Bioactive glass
• Bio ink
• Biopolymers and Bioplastics
• Living Materials
• Synthetic Biology
• Nano Biomaterials
• Biomimetic materials
• Tissue Engineering

Energy storage is a technology that captures and stores energy for future purpose which is the most serious concern for current society. These issues can be attained by numerous forms such as chemical, electrochemical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, kinetic, and mechanical energy storage. Materials such as alloys, metals, organic materials, nonmetallic inorganic materials, composites, hybrid materials, metal-organic frameworks can used for energy storage applications. Analytical scanning techniques and tools such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STMs), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic-force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy helps in design, synthesis and development of energy storage materials. Few of the next-generation energy storage materials are thermoelectric materials, solar cells, metal-air batteries, Na-S batteries.

• Hydrogen energy materials
• Lithium-ion battery materials
• Super capacitors
• Thermoelectric materials
• Solar cells
• Piezo- ceramics
• Hybrid composites
• Semiconductor materials

Ceramics are special type of materials because of their properties such as high melting points, low electrical and thermal conductivity, and high compressive strengths with good thermal and chemical stability. They are typically hard, strong and chemically non-reactive. Ceramic materials are neither metallic nor organic that can be oxides, carbides, nitrides, sulphides, oxynitrides, oxicarbides, oxyfluorides, etc. Ceramic Materials may be of glassy or crystalline nature, it has its usage in electronics depending upon their composition as superconducting, semiconducting, ferroelectric or insulator. Ceramics also has its application in fiber optics, chemical sensors, imaging devices, artificial joints etc. Advanced ceramics are used primarily in optical, electronic, electrical and magnetic applications. Advanced Ceramics can further be classified into functional ceramics, magnetic cermaics and Bioceramics. Composite materials are formed by two or more materials with different individual chemical and physical properties that combine to produce superior properties than the parent materials.

• Traditional ceramics
• Advanced ceramics
• Magnetic ceramics
• Piezo ceramics
• Bioceramics
• Functional ceramics
• Electrical ceramics

Smart Materials are those which undergo a material property change as a function of changes in environment. Few of emerging smart materials are piezoelectric materials, Shape memory alloys, Magnetostrictive materials, and Shape Memory polymers, Hydrogels, Electroactive Polymers and Bi-Component Fibers. Piezoelectric materials have its capacity to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice versa that has its use as actuators, sensors, accelerometers and energy harvesters. Shape memory alloys have its ability to change its phase as a function of temperature. Magnetostrictive materials changes in response to magnetic fields which can majorly be used in sensor applications. Electro active polymers primarily have its applications in energy harvesting and sensing.

• Piezoelectric materials
• Shape memory alloys
• Magnetostrictive materials
• Shape memory polymers
• Hydrogels
• Electroactive polymers
• Bi-Component fibres
• Nanoelectronics
• Graphene
• Fullerene

Materials with unique and precise electronic, optical, and magnetic properties have extensive applications in sensors, medicine and computers. Research in optical, electrical and magnetic materials requires few processing techniques to produce materials with precise structure and compositions. Optical materials and devices have its important role in solar energy conversion processes. Optical coatings have its use in heat mirrors, reflector mirrors, holographic films, insulation materials etc. These materials play a major role in research and development of energy efficient windows, photovoltaic, solar energy conversion and hybrid designs. The improvement in electronic materials helps in the advancement of organic semiconductor, computing devices, thin films, and nanostructure crystal growth.

• Battery technologies
• Energy storage
• Electrochemical devices
• Dielectric ceramics
• Optical devices
• Nano-electronic devices
• Nano-electromagnetics
• Advanced optical materials 

The study of physical and chemical properties of materials that occurs at the boundary of two phases is called surface science. Surface engineering seeks to control and modify the properties of materials surface to enhance its properties and application. The surface of biomaterials can be engineered for the integration of implant in the body. Silicon surface functionalization for device technology and chemical modification of graphene and other thin film materials develop the next-generation energy and sensing technologies. The dynamic research area focuses on the development and characterization of surface modification techniques.

• Surface engineering
• Surface coating and modification
• Nanoscale surface modifications
• Corrosion and heat treatment
• Biomaterials surface modification

Materials like polymers, oxides, semiconductors and liquid crystals are employed in devices because of their specific properties like electrical, magnetic, thermal, ferroelectric or piezoelectric properties. Electronic materials are characteristically used as primary elements in many devices such as displays and LEDs usually in mobile phones, laptops, tablets, computers, LED bulbs, GPS devices etc. The advancement in state of materials such as liquid crystals, organic semiconductors and electroluminescent materials leads to the conversion from CRT based displays to LCD and LED based displays. The improvement in materials with high permeability and permittivity helps in high density energy storage capacity. Diodes formed by two blocks of silicon with opposite type of conductivity are the basic building block in numerous devices such as solar cells, light emitting diodes and solid-state Lasers. Development and improvement in solar cell efficiency, energy harvesting, microprocessor speed and data storage capacity are the initial point for the advancement in electronics.

• Novel electronic materials
• Energy harvesting
• Silicon materials and devices
• Sensors and biomedical devices
• Advanced nano-electronic devices
• Magnetic materials and spintronics
• Photonics, photovoltaics, and optoelectronics
• Hybrid tandem solar cells
• Polycrystalline thin-film
• Perovskite solar cells

Polymer Science is an exciting research field with enormous technological applications due to its molecular behavior and chain like structures. Polymers are advantageous because of their light weight and easy processing. Polymers are widely used in packaging materials, textile materials, industrial materials, information technology, medical devices and pharmaceutical applications. The study and application of nanoscience to polymer compounds is popular among current research. Silicon Nanospheres is one of the familiar nanopolymer with diverse features and harder than silicon material.

• Polymer science
• Polymer process engineering
• Plastics and composite engineering
• Polymer properties
• Polymer characterization
• Polymer applications
• Polymer semiconductors

Graphene which is a fascinating material in today’s world is an allotrope of carbon and is formed by a monolayer of carbon atoms, strongly bound in a hexagonal honeycomb matrix. Graphite is formed by stacking of grapheme layers. Graphene is the thinnest (one atom thick), strongest material and is the best conductor of heat and electricity. Graphene has its application in compsites, energy, electronics, sensors, imaging, telecommunications and biomedical technologies. Graphene has been used to improve the charge rate, capacity and longevity as garphene tin oxide in lithium ion batteries. Graphene gas/vapour sensor has been used to sense gases and have engrossed attention because of their distinct sensing performance. Carbon nanostructures such as grapheme, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes have unique properties. Depending upon the atomic structure carbon nanotubes can be classified into semiconducting or metallic. Carbon nanotubes are going to be the next-generation material in transistors and Carbon nanomaterials will change the whole world one day.

• Composites and coatings
• Electronics
• Energy sensor
• Batteries
• Transistors
• Computer chips
• Energy generation
• Supercapacitors

Materials characterization is widely used at various segments of product design and manufacturing processes of materials. To characterize the material for product development, prototype testing we require both the physical and chemical image type information. There are a lot of characterization processes and tools available for Surface chemical analysis, Near Surface chemical analysis, Surface Imaging, Defect analysis, Atomic & Nanoscale Chemical Analysis, Analytical imaging and non-destructive internal imaging. Our lives are becoming easier by materials such as metals, composites, semiconductors, carbons, ceramics, etc.

• Metals & alloys
• Ceramics
• Nanomaterials
• Biomedical materials
• Optical materials
• Composites
• Natural Materials
• Organic materials, polymers or polymer composites