News & Events
Functional Polymers - Training @ Nanoforce
03 Mar 2010
Organised by the IOM3 Functional Materials Committee in collaboration with the Doctoral Training Centre
This one-day workshop on the processing of functional polymers is aimed at early stage researchers and will provide hands-on experience of materials processing.
The event will be held on Wednesday 3 March 2010 at Nanoforce Technology Ltd, on the Queen Mary University of London campus, and is organised by the IOM3 Functional Materials Committee in collaboration with the Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in Plastic Electronics held at Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London.
Organiser details
Functional Materials Committee, IOM3Contact Name:
Chris Reynolds
Email:
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7882 2792
Nanoforce Publishes on Innovation UK Vol5-2
Innovation UK, Issue 5 vol 2, page 108 or Innovation UK, web link of the article
Nanoforce joins the Piezo Institute
2nd December, 2009
Nanoforce as the newest Associated member joins the Piezo Institute. The Piezo Institute is the centre of European expertise and resources in piezoelectric materials and devices, launched in 2008 by the multidisciplinary EC-funded MIND consortium of academic researchers and leading European companies.
Polymer research features on the cover of Macromolecular Materials & Engineering
November, 2009
The latest issue of Macromolecular Materials & Engineering (Wiley) features a paper by Hua Deng, Rui Zhang, Christopher Reynolds, Emiliano Bilotti and Ton Peijs describing new (patented) technology for the creation of multifunctional polymer nanocomposite fibres. The concept is based on a bicomponent fibre construction consisting of a highly oriented polymer core and a conductive polymer composite (CPC) skin based on carbon nanotubes and a polymer with a lower melting temperature than the core, enabling thermal annealing of these skins to improve conductivity through a dynamic percolation process. The process was developed in collaboration with Nanoforce Technology.
Front Cover
Ferroelectricity probed in nanograined bismuth structures
October, 2009
Led by Prof. Michael J Reece
Lead-free, bismuth layer structured ferroelectrics (BLSFs) are excellent candidates for applications from computer memories to high-temperature sensors. The urgent demand for the miniaturization of ferroelectric components highlights the need to study intrinsic size effects at the nanoscale. However, the fabrication of nanograined BLSFs ceramics remains a challenging task for conventional sintering technologies.
Fracture surface of BNdT ceramic
Congratulations to Prof. Michael Reece
October, 2009
Congratulations to Nanoforce Director Michael Reece, who from October 1st 2009 is Professor of Functional Ceramics.
Nanoforce would also like to congratulate academics Dr Busfield, Dr Barber and Dr Yang on their recent promotions:
Michael Reece - Professor of Functional Ceramics
James Busfield - Reader in Materials
Asa Barber - Senior Lecturer
Shoufeng Yang - Senior Lecturer
Prof. Kees Bastiaansen's research published in Nature Materials
September, 2009
Kees's paper entitled 'Printed artificial cilia from liquid-crystal network actuators modularly driven by light' was published in Nature Materials, 8, 677 - 682 (2009). The work is co-authored by researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and Philips Research Laboratories in the Netherlands and presents the development of polymeric microactuators.
Polymeric micro-actuators are potentially useful in micro mechanical systems and lab-on-a-chip systems. However, manufacturing of miniature polymeric actuators has been complicated due to the necessity of including electrodes for actuation or using lithographic techniques for patterning. Here we demonstrate that all-polymer microdevices can be fabricated using inkjet printing technology in combination with self-organizing liquid crystal network actuators. We exploit the self-assembling properties of the liquid crystal to create large strain gradients, and light-driven actuation is chosen to allow simple and remote addressing. By using multiple inks, microactuators with different sub-units are created that can be selectively addressed by changing the wavelength of the light. The actuators mimic the motion of natural cilia. These artificial cilia have the potential to create flow and mixing in wet environments such as lab-on-a-chip applications. The process is easily adapted for roll-to-roll fabrication, allowing for large-scale and low-cost production of miniaturized active polymer systems.
August, 2009
Please note that our address has changed to
Nanoforce Technology Limited
Joseph Priestley Building,
Queen Mary, University of London,
Mile End Road
London, E1 4NS
This is due to the name of the building has been changed, and physically we did not move.
FREE Business Support !!
Business support - As part of Nanoforce and London Development Agency initiative we are providing a number of London based businesses with an opportunity to improve their performance. More Detail.
Nanospider News updates
The Nanospider is in place for operation. Details about the Nanospider.
The Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) furnace is new and unique to the UK. It is used to densify ceramic, metal and composite powders. This includes ultrahigh temperature and hardness ceramics, recfractory metal alloys and textured ferroelectric ceramics. The work on SPS at Nanoforce is attracting considerable attention from industry and academic research groups. The SPS has recently been upgraded to allow six point temperature measurement (2 pyrometers and 4 thermocouples) and mechanical displacement measurement up to a resolution of 3 micrometer. These upgrades make the furnace unique in the world and will allow up to make improved and new materials.
PAST EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
Fawad Inam received MATERIALS WORLD AWARD 2008. More details [here].
Nanoforce exhibiting in Nanoforum 2008
Wearable Technologies Road-Mapping Event: 28 November 2007
Nanoforce
hosted a Wearable Technologies Road-Mapping Event in its seminar room on
Wednesday, 28th November from 10:00 to 16:00.
Nanotech 2007 Exhibition: 21-23 February 2007
Tokyo.
Held in association with the Nanotechnology Business Creation Initiative
(NBCI), BIZMATCH @ nano tech 2007 aims to connect Japanese and foreign
firms in nanotechnology and related high-tech fields. [Website]
DEFRA Meeting: 14 June 2006
Nanoforce hosted a DEFRA meeting on June 14th organized by ENTA for a consultation event on a proposed voluntary reporting scheme for engineered nano scale materials.
