Novel Nano Particles for Advanced Automotive and Industrial Coatings. In conjunction with our industrial partner (DuPont Australia), this project will develop a new generation of automotive and industrial coatings. The technology developed from this project can integrate into the existing system. The new coatings will be environmentally friendly and will make a significant contribution to solve the emission issue of volatile organic compound (VOC) faced by the industry. The novel nano particles ....Novel Nano Particles for Advanced Automotive and Industrial Coatings. In conjunction with our industrial partner (DuPont Australia), this project will develop a new generation of automotive and industrial coatings. The technology developed from this project can integrate into the existing system. The new coatings will be environmentally friendly and will make a significant contribution to solve the emission issue of volatile organic compound (VOC) faced by the industry. The novel nano particles developed from this project will provide unique properties for automotive paint and can be commercialized at an acceptable price. The science involved in this project represents the cutting edge of world leading technology and will bring polymer science into a new field.Read moreRead less
New Transparent Polymer Nanocomposite Coatings Using Multireactive Inorganic Cages. New polymeric nanocomposite coatings are proposed with enhanced abrasion resistance, toughness and optical functionality, suitable for the coating of optical plastic substrates. These composites contain inorganic cages, dispersed and chemically-coupled within the crosslinked organic matrix. In addition to good mechanical behaviour, high value properties such as colorisation on exposure to light and resistance to ....New Transparent Polymer Nanocomposite Coatings Using Multireactive Inorganic Cages. New polymeric nanocomposite coatings are proposed with enhanced abrasion resistance, toughness and optical functionality, suitable for the coating of optical plastic substrates. These composites contain inorganic cages, dispersed and chemically-coupled within the crosslinked organic matrix. In addition to good mechanical behaviour, high value properties such as colorisation on exposure to light and resistance to damage from high energy lasers will be achieved by attachment to the cages of chemical units with optical activity. These cages are of nanometre size and an important aspect of the project involves probing the resultant structure at the molecular level, using advanced characterisation techniques.Read moreRead less
The Synthesis and Evaluation of White Nano Particles that Reinforce the Mechanical Properties of Elastomers. This project will introduce admicellar polymerization technique to produce a bound polymer layer on the surface of fillers used for reinforcement of elastomers. The novel approach in this project will provide advanced material with excellent mechanical properties. Such composites can be used in various high performance elastomer applications such as rubber for tyres in automotive vehicles ....The Synthesis and Evaluation of White Nano Particles that Reinforce the Mechanical Properties of Elastomers. This project will introduce admicellar polymerization technique to produce a bound polymer layer on the surface of fillers used for reinforcement of elastomers. The novel approach in this project will provide advanced material with excellent mechanical properties. Such composites can be used in various high performance elastomer applications such as rubber for tyres in automotive vehicles. Products based on this new technology will produce significantly improved properties. The development of this new technology will not only advance polymer science, it will also provide great opportunities for new elastomer applications in a number of industries.Read moreRead less
Functionalised nanostructured polythiophenes: novel platforms for bionics. The nanostructured organic polymer materials targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of muscle regeneration. A multi-modal stimulation platform is expected to bring significant improvements in muscle cell growth. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from neuromuscular disorders or other traumas that require muscle regeneration. This project ....Functionalised nanostructured polythiophenes: novel platforms for bionics. The nanostructured organic polymer materials targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of muscle regeneration. A multi-modal stimulation platform is expected to bring significant improvements in muscle cell growth. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from neuromuscular disorders or other traumas that require muscle regeneration. This project will demonstrate the capabilities of these nanostructures in-vitro.Read moreRead less
Characterization of star nanogels by advanced transmission electron microscopy. This project will provide an excellent opportunity to combine research expertise from The Polymer Science Group at The University of Melbourne and The Polymer Morphology Group at North Carolina State University (NCSU) to develop and characterize novel star nanogels with unique macromolecular architectures. The success of the project will reveal the absolute structures of these molecules and the proposed studies are b ....Characterization of star nanogels by advanced transmission electron microscopy. This project will provide an excellent opportunity to combine research expertise from The Polymer Science Group at The University of Melbourne and The Polymer Morphology Group at North Carolina State University (NCSU) to develop and characterize novel star nanogels with unique macromolecular architectures. The success of the project will reveal the absolute structures of these molecules and the proposed studies are both intellectually challenging in the cutting-edge of leading research in the field and important to provide vital information for the design of new structures of these new materials for their application in many areas, such as drug delivery, new membrane formation, advance high density memory chips and possibly the next generation of automotive coating.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of functionalised, biosorbable biopolymers with novel architecture for soft tissue engineering. This project will provide a timely and unique opportunity to develop biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric scaffold materials for use in soft tissue engineering. The project forms an essential part of the strategy set in the University of Melbourne to develop a system for cell transplantation and organ recreation. The success of the project will provide a significant contribution to the ....Synthesis of functionalised, biosorbable biopolymers with novel architecture for soft tissue engineering. This project will provide a timely and unique opportunity to develop biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric scaffold materials for use in soft tissue engineering. The project forms an essential part of the strategy set in the University of Melbourne to develop a system for cell transplantation and organ recreation. The success of the project will provide a significant contribution to the solution of organ shortage in organ transplantation both in Australia and the world. Through the technology developed in this project, a significant contribution in biomaterial science and manufacture in Australia will be achieved.Read moreRead less
New Electron Field Emission Films Based on Aligned Carbon Nanotube Guests in Liquid Crystalline Polymer Hosts. This project seeks to develop a new class of electron field emitting nanocomposite consisting of nanotubes in liquid crystalline polymers. Electron emitting materials are in much demand in x-ray and microwave generation, computer displays and low-energy lighting. We utilise the ready alignability of liquid crystalline units in magnetic fields to cause realignment of incorporated carbon ....New Electron Field Emission Films Based on Aligned Carbon Nanotube Guests in Liquid Crystalline Polymer Hosts. This project seeks to develop a new class of electron field emitting nanocomposite consisting of nanotubes in liquid crystalline polymers. Electron emitting materials are in much demand in x-ray and microwave generation, computer displays and low-energy lighting. We utilise the ready alignability of liquid crystalline units in magnetic fields to cause realignment of incorporated carbon nanotubes, followed by polymer solidification to maintain orientation. It involves low temperature processing, contrasting very favourably with current problematic, high temperature processes. This allows materials to be cast on flexible polymer substrates, potentially enabling construction of cathode tubes to replace existing mercury-containing fluorescent lighting.Read moreRead less
Supercritical CO2: A Clean, Green Reaction Medium for Novel Polymer Synthesis and Modification. This project will lead to the development of new macromolecular structures with application in many areas ranging from drug delivery to the microelectronics industry. More importantly, the processes used to manufacture these products will utilise supercritical CO2 - a clean, green processing technology that can totally remove the need for using environmentally-degrading, volatile organic solvents. The ....Supercritical CO2: A Clean, Green Reaction Medium for Novel Polymer Synthesis and Modification. This project will lead to the development of new macromolecular structures with application in many areas ranging from drug delivery to the microelectronics industry. More importantly, the processes used to manufacture these products will utilise supercritical CO2 - a clean, green processing technology that can totally remove the need for using environmentally-degrading, volatile organic solvents. The unique properties of scCO2 will be used to develop new polymer materials and processes. This technology will promote Australia's commitment towards greener industrial alternatives, while simultaneously strengthening our science and opening up new possibilities in the rapidly advancing area of nano-technology. Read moreRead less
Novel Drug Delivery Systems. The polymer based structures targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of drug delivery. A multi-drug delivery platform is expected to bring significant improvements in administering therapeutic drugs for a wide range of illnesses and applications. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from epilepsy or requiring stent implants. Here we will demonstrate the capabilities of these novel polym ....Novel Drug Delivery Systems. The polymer based structures targeted for production in this project will bring unique capabilities to the field of drug delivery. A multi-drug delivery platform is expected to bring significant improvements in administering therapeutic drugs for a wide range of illnesses and applications. This will have profound effects on the quality of life for those suffering from epilepsy or requiring stent implants. Here we will demonstrate the capabilities of these novel polymer structures both in-vitro and in-vivo.Read moreRead less
Organic Optoelectronic Materials: Next Generation Semiconductors. Designed conjugated organic and polymeric materials will be prepared and evaluated as the active layer in optoelectronic devices, particularly light emitting displays (LEDs), field effect transistors (FETs) and solar cells. Improved materials with stable blue emission will be developed. Advanced organometallic conjugated polymers will harness the lost triplet energy as phosphorescence in LEDs and so raise potential device effici ....Organic Optoelectronic Materials: Next Generation Semiconductors. Designed conjugated organic and polymeric materials will be prepared and evaluated as the active layer in optoelectronic devices, particularly light emitting displays (LEDs), field effect transistors (FETs) and solar cells. Improved materials with stable blue emission will be developed. Advanced organometallic conjugated polymers will harness the lost triplet energy as phosphorescence in LEDs and so raise potential device efficiency in the vicinity of 100%. Active layer materials in FETs will have improved supramolecular order and processibility to improve charge mobility, while the photovoltaic materials will be developed to show non-dispersive hole transport properties. The patterned deposition of materials for plastic electronics will be developed using a revolutionary deposition technique involving supercritical carbon dioxide.Read moreRead less