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
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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0346891
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Characterization facilities for new macromolecular architectures. The proposed facility is essential for characterization of the new polymeric architectures such as copolymers for tissue engineering, nanogels for automotive paints and biodegradable polymeric packaging. The facilities include characterizations of (1) molar mass and molecular sizes of novel polymer architectures (MU); (2) viscoelastic mechanical properties of tensile, bending, bulk and flow (RMIT); and (3) thermal properties of c ....Characterization facilities for new macromolecular architectures. The proposed facility is essential for characterization of the new polymeric architectures such as copolymers for tissue engineering, nanogels for automotive paints and biodegradable polymeric packaging. The facilities include characterizations of (1) molar mass and molecular sizes of novel polymer architectures (MU); (2) viscoelastic mechanical properties of tensile, bending, bulk and flow (RMIT); and (3) thermal properties of compositions (CSIRO). These new polymeric architectures cannot be sufficiently characterized by existing facilities. The success of the project will significantly enhance the new macromolecular research and facilitate collaborations. This project also falls within the nano and biomaterials of the Designated Priority area of Research.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
Novel Nanofibre-Templated Nanotubes Prepared by Using ABA Block Copolymers. The aim of this project is to prepare new, highly functional nanomaterials using layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes on a three-dimensional template. Using this approach, a core-shell fibre is initially prepared by alternate deposition of oppositely charged materials onto an electrospun fibre template. The initial fibre can then be dissolved to give hollow nanotubes. New block copolymers, incorporating both charg ....Novel Nanofibre-Templated Nanotubes Prepared by Using ABA Block Copolymers. The aim of this project is to prepare new, highly functional nanomaterials using layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes on a three-dimensional template. Using this approach, a core-shell fibre is initially prepared by alternate deposition of oppositely charged materials onto an electrospun fibre template. The initial fibre can then be dissolved to give hollow nanotubes. New block copolymers, incorporating both charged and uncharged domains, will be used in the assembly, in order to design tubes with novel properties. The behaviour of these tubes under a variety of pH and solvent conditions will then be examined, and the tubes characterized using various microscopy techniques.Read moreRead less
Polymers for Novel Surfactants. The aim of the proposed research is to develop novel surface-active polymers with complex architectures and more efficient strategies for the synthesis of surface-active polymers in general. We will exploit the polymerization characteristics of the novel catalytic chain transfer and radical addition-fragmentation transfer polymerization techniques to achieve polymerization control that has been virtually impossible hitherto. The proposed research will thus make ....Polymers for Novel Surfactants. The aim of the proposed research is to develop novel surface-active polymers with complex architectures and more efficient strategies for the synthesis of surface-active polymers in general. We will exploit the polymerization characteristics of the novel catalytic chain transfer and radical addition-fragmentation transfer polymerization techniques to achieve polymerization control that has been virtually impossible hitherto. The proposed research will thus make accessible a wide range of novel surface-active polymers that have been impossible to synthesise to date, and which we expect to be more efficient and hence leads to greener technologies.
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Novel Complex Architecture Polymers via a Combination of RAFT Chemistry and Pericyclic Reactions: Synthesis and Characterization. The project aims at advancing the synthetic limits and broadening the synthetic scope of living free radical polymerization and thus enhancing the library of polymer structures available for applications ranging from drug delivery to opto-electronics. Current material design for these applications is yet to reach its full potential through innovative synthetic approac ....Novel Complex Architecture Polymers via a Combination of RAFT Chemistry and Pericyclic Reactions: Synthesis and Characterization. The project aims at advancing the synthetic limits and broadening the synthetic scope of living free radical polymerization and thus enhancing the library of polymer structures available for applications ranging from drug delivery to opto-electronics. Current material design for these applications is yet to reach its full potential through innovative synthetic approaches. The proposal critically underpins and further advances Australia's leading position in both breakthrough science as well as advanced materials. Due to its significant scientific breadth and large coverage of both synthetic and physical aspects of polymer science, the project also provides a significant platform for research training at both honours and PhD level.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
Nanogels: Next Generation Polymeric Particles. The existing knowledge in the formation of polymeric networks limits the technological development of polymer materials. This project will introduce new polymeric particles, called nanogels to open a new area in new polymeric architecture research. A number of new structures based on the nanogels will be developed. These new macromolecules will not only bring the polymer science into a new field, it will provide a great opportunity to discover the ....Nanogels: Next Generation Polymeric Particles. The existing knowledge in the formation of polymeric networks limits the technological development of polymer materials. This project will introduce new polymeric particles, called nanogels to open a new area in new polymeric architecture research. A number of new structures based on the nanogels will be developed. These new macromolecules will not only bring the polymer science into a new field, it will provide a great opportunity to discover the next generation of the polymeric products, particularly for application in automotive paint, drug delivery and bio-molecular separations.Read moreRead less
Calcification of acrylic hydrogels in abiotic media: mechanism and control. Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) and other acrylic hydrogels are extensively used as biomaterials, yet conclusive evidence exists that they have a propensity to calcify following implantation. This process has undesirable consequences on the functionality of various prostheses. Based on preliminary observations that PHEMA can promote the deposition of calcium minerals from media devoid of biological factors, whic ....Calcification of acrylic hydrogels in abiotic media: mechanism and control. Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) and other acrylic hydrogels are extensively used as biomaterials, yet conclusive evidence exists that they have a propensity to calcify following implantation. This process has undesirable consequences on the functionality of various prostheses. Based on preliminary observations that PHEMA can promote the deposition of calcium minerals from media devoid of biological factors, which appears thus to be an inherent property of the polymer, the project aims at formulating new hypotheses to explain this phenomenon, and to confirm them experimentally. The "chelation" hypothesis will be validated by modifying the structure of polymers, and the "spontaneous precipitation" hypothesis by assessing the effect of solutes on the equilibrium water content of polymers. NMR and FTIR spectrometric techniques will be used to gain further insight into the mechanism of calcification. Methods to prevent the calcification will potentially result from these experiments, however, anticalcification agents will also be incorporated into hydrogels and their effect evaluated in calcification assays.Read moreRead less