The usage of natural fibres is increasing globally at a very fast rate due to their environment friendliness. However, their use in electrical/electronic components is often hindered by their poor electrical conductivity. Recently the researchers at CACM have been successful in synthesizing and characterizing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene before finding a novel way of depositing them on fibre materials to make them conductive. This project will aim at refining the method of producing conducting natural fibres which can then be cast in flexible and/or conducting polymers, which can used in actuators and energy storage devices. The preliminary experiments have shown very encouraging results and a lot of interest has come from overseas (currently the technology is protected) to know the details due to its serious implications in various industries. We have a very good collaboration agreement with a Korean group through Brain Korea 21+ programme (DB is an expert member) and it is expected that the students will interact closely with a postdoctoral researcher and a PhD student, based at CACM.
Undergraduate
Development of novel flexible or semi-rigid thin polymer films with embedded conducting natural fibres to be used in electronic industry.
Good mechanics of materials knowledge
Lab allocations have not been finalised