Nanostructured Hydrogel-Carbon Nanotube Composites for Artificial Muscles. This collaboration links the expertise of the two groups in advanced functional materials for the development of improved mechanical actuators for artificial muscles. The Korean group provides key know-how in synthetic and natural hydrogels. The Wollongong team has developed expertise in carbon nanotube actuators. The hydrogel-nanotube hybrids resulting from this collaboration are likely to show improved performance co ....Nanostructured Hydrogel-Carbon Nanotube Composites for Artificial Muscles. This collaboration links the expertise of the two groups in advanced functional materials for the development of improved mechanical actuators for artificial muscles. The Korean group provides key know-how in synthetic and natural hydrogels. The Wollongong team has developed expertise in carbon nanotube actuators. The hydrogel-nanotube hybrids resulting from this collaboration are likely to show improved performance compared with existing materials. The improved actuators will be utilised in on-going projects in both countries.Read moreRead less
New Types of Biomimetic Nanostructured Adhesives. Adhesives are one of the main ways in which we join materials, and have many advantages over other methods of joining. In this work we will make a new class of adhesive using nanotechnology that attempts to copy the very fine-haired feet of animals such as geckos who can stick to almost any surface, under most conditions. We will make these adhesives over large surface areas, and thus they will have commercial possibilities in a range of high tec ....New Types of Biomimetic Nanostructured Adhesives. Adhesives are one of the main ways in which we join materials, and have many advantages over other methods of joining. In this work we will make a new class of adhesive using nanotechnology that attempts to copy the very fine-haired feet of animals such as geckos who can stick to almost any surface, under most conditions. We will make these adhesives over large surface areas, and thus they will have commercial possibilities in a range of high technology industries, as well as in harsh environments. Because we will be able to manipulate the structure and observe property changes, it should also give us a greater insight into the adhesion mechanisms used by many small animals and bugs.Read moreRead less
Engineered Polymer Scaffolds for Controlled Proliferation and Differentiation of Stem Cells. This project aims to develop a new methodology to sculpt 3D polymer scaffolds coated with cell adhesion and growth factors to control environmental cues, for the first time rapidly generating large quantities of undifferentiated stem cells. This project aims to exponentially increase cell generation in order to finally be able to unlock the potential of stem cells for application in regenerative medicine ....Engineered Polymer Scaffolds for Controlled Proliferation and Differentiation of Stem Cells. This project aims to develop a new methodology to sculpt 3D polymer scaffolds coated with cell adhesion and growth factors to control environmental cues, for the first time rapidly generating large quantities of undifferentiated stem cells. This project aims to exponentially increase cell generation in order to finally be able to unlock the potential of stem cells for application in regenerative medicine. The resulting cell repositories could make a significant contribution to human health outcomes.Read moreRead less
Single molecule actuators. The study of actuation processes in single molecules will lead to the development of improved advanced materials for Australian industry and, ultimately, to the more futuristic and exciting nanotechnologies. The research will improve our understanding of how polymer artificial muscles function, so that these materials can be further developed to meet the demand from industry. Applications include biomedical devices, robotic applicators and various machine parts. In ....Single molecule actuators. The study of actuation processes in single molecules will lead to the development of improved advanced materials for Australian industry and, ultimately, to the more futuristic and exciting nanotechnologies. The research will improve our understanding of how polymer artificial muscles function, so that these materials can be further developed to meet the demand from industry. Applications include biomedical devices, robotic applicators and various machine parts. In addition, the research will also contribute to one of the greatest promises of nanotechnology: the development of molecular machines. We will demonstrate the mechanical forces and movements possible from single molecules so that the design of useful nano-machines can begin.Read moreRead less
Evolution of Contact Damage in Layer Structures. Brittle layer structures (eg brittle coating on ceramic substrate) can be much more damage tolerant than their constituent material components - cracks tend to remain contained within the coating. Very little is known about the factors that control this behaviour. This project will exploit unique local expertise in modelling damage evolution to fill a niche in a large study being carried out at the National Institute of Standards (NIST) in the U ....Evolution of Contact Damage in Layer Structures. Brittle layer structures (eg brittle coating on ceramic substrate) can be much more damage tolerant than their constituent material components - cracks tend to remain contained within the coating. Very little is known about the factors that control this behaviour. This project will exploit unique local expertise in modelling damage evolution to fill a niche in a large study being carried out at the National Institute of Standards (NIST) in the U.S.A. An understanding of the factors that maximise the containment of cracks is essential to the design and development of the next generation of advanced layer composites for many biomechanical and other engineering applications.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101495
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,000.00
Summary
Biodegradable porous shape memory alloys by additive manufacturing. This project aims to create a class of biodegradable Fe-Mn-Si based shape memory alloys and use additive manufacturing to fabricate porous structures with desired properties from these shape memory alloys. Biodegradable shape memory alloys offer great promise for biomedical applications due to their unique biodegradability, shape memory effects and superelasticity. However, a huge knowledge gap exists in developing and fabricati ....Biodegradable porous shape memory alloys by additive manufacturing. This project aims to create a class of biodegradable Fe-Mn-Si based shape memory alloys and use additive manufacturing to fabricate porous structures with desired properties from these shape memory alloys. Biodegradable shape memory alloys offer great promise for biomedical applications due to their unique biodegradability, shape memory effects and superelasticity. However, a huge knowledge gap exists in developing and fabricating biodegradable shape memory alloys with desired properties for biomedical applications. The project expects to fill the critical knowledge gap and open up new opportunities for biomedical applications of biodegradable shape memory alloys. This project will provide significant benefits through the creation of novel materials for application in the healthcare industry such as biomedical devices.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100115
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
High-temperature probes for investigating phase transitions and reaction kinetics in thin films, nanostructured materials and biomaterials. This infrastructure for high temperature surface analysis and in-situ diagnostics as a function of temperature and gas environments will enhance Australia's capabilities in creating new materials for devices that will meet needs in medical, communications, environmental and security applications. The facility will enable researchers to understand and exploi ....High-temperature probes for investigating phase transitions and reaction kinetics in thin films, nanostructured materials and biomaterials. This infrastructure for high temperature surface analysis and in-situ diagnostics as a function of temperature and gas environments will enhance Australia's capabilities in creating new materials for devices that will meet needs in medical, communications, environmental and security applications. The facility will enable researchers to understand and exploit interfacial phenomena and to tailor processing-microstructure-composition correlations, so as to design new materials with the best performance possible. Probes with unique capabilities will measure surface morphology, optical properties, elemental composition and crystallographic phase.The facility will be the first in Australia to offer a comprehensive study of structure and properties at high temperature.Read moreRead less
Soft solids rheology and filled elastomeric networks. Elastomeric networks that have imbedded particles are considerably more difficult to model than unfilled networks because the imbedded particles deform the trajectory of the chains. Any treatment must incorporate this dual nature of the network. Our work will address this important issue with particular reference to two important materials - liquid crystalline elastomers and bread dough. We aim to produce an accurate mathematical description ....Soft solids rheology and filled elastomeric networks. Elastomeric networks that have imbedded particles are considerably more difficult to model than unfilled networks because the imbedded particles deform the trajectory of the chains. Any treatment must incorporate this dual nature of the network. Our work will address this important issue with particular reference to two important materials - liquid crystalline elastomers and bread dough. We aim to produce an accurate mathematical description of filled soft viscoelastic solids, which include compressibility and yielding - two important new features.Read moreRead less
Order from chaos: Rational design of biointerfacing plasma polymer coatings. The project goal is to facilitate a new generation of bio-interface platforms to be designed using plasma processing. Functionalised plasma polymer surfaces used for bio-interfaces result from random processes in the plasma phase and at the surface. While rules-of-thumb exist for tailoring simple functionalised plasma polymers, detailed knowledge linking plasma processes to surface chemistry is lacking. Using a homologo ....Order from chaos: Rational design of biointerfacing plasma polymer coatings. The project goal is to facilitate a new generation of bio-interface platforms to be designed using plasma processing. Functionalised plasma polymer surfaces used for bio-interfaces result from random processes in the plasma phase and at the surface. While rules-of-thumb exist for tailoring simple functionalised plasma polymers, detailed knowledge linking plasma processes to surface chemistry is lacking. Using a homologous series of precursors, the project aims to unravel physical and chemical plasma processes to enable retention of complex surface functional groups which are critical for subsequent surface processing. This is designed to be achieved by linking plasma physics and chemistry via plasma phase mass spectrometry and surface analysis.Read moreRead less
Nanostructured materials by controlled photopolymerization. Photo-polymerization is an important and flexible means of converting a crosslinkable monomer into a solid and has application ranging from lens production to photo-lithography. This project aims at developing the technology of producing multi-phase structures of controllable morphology by selective and independent dual photo-polymerization of blends of crosslinkable monomers at controlled rates. These morphologies may have applicatio ....Nanostructured materials by controlled photopolymerization. Photo-polymerization is an important and flexible means of converting a crosslinkable monomer into a solid and has application ranging from lens production to photo-lithography. This project aims at developing the technology of producing multi-phase structures of controllable morphology by selective and independent dual photo-polymerization of blends of crosslinkable monomers at controlled rates. These morphologies may have applications in toughening polymers with minimum loss in strength and optical transparency, abrasion resistant coatings, tissue engineering (where the phases have differing biodegradability), in microfluidics, and microelectro-mechanical systems (where sub-micron channels/domains are required) or in membrane separation.Read moreRead less