Materials

Materials science research aims to discover new materials and manufacturing processes to use in the next generation of medical devices, communication systems, energy production and more. At the most fundamental level, researchers are modelling the behaviours of individual atoms within complex molecules to understand their intricacies.

A strip of grass leads to an upright tyre.

27 May 2020

New rubber creates path for greener tyres

THE CHALLENGE The idiom ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ has been a part of our lives for decades. Three little words have gone on to save countless tonnes of rubbish from landfill, and remain an important

Lights shining out the end of individual strands of a fibre optic cable.

Case Studies

24 Jul 2019

Materials

Materials science research aims to discover new materials and manufacturing processes to use in the next generation of medical devices, communication systems, energy production and more. At the most

A scientific diagram showing incoming light beams being carried sideways through the layers of a complex molecular material.

Research Highlights

18 Apr 2019

Creating a super thin light absorber

Materials

If you look at the sun through a sheet of paper, you can see the light shining through. Now imagine you take that sheet of paper and shave it into 720 separate layers, each 90 nanometres thick

Overlay of the predicted global minimum crystal structure (purple) with the experimentally determined crystal structure for molecule 1. Hydrogen atoms are hidden.

Research Highlights

02 Apr 2019

Materials design using machine learning

Chemistry

Materials

The complex task of developing future materials, built on the stable crystal forms of new molecules with outstanding properties, relies on the speed and power only available through supercomputing. By

The atomic structure of a Metal Organic Framework, with interlaced atoms offering gaps, effectively creating the porous structure.

Research Highlights

12 Mar 2019

New materials for smart filters

Materials

Technology

Gas mask technology has existed for over a century yet the way they work has not changed very much. Originally, the filters used activated charcoal to adsorb – to chemically attract impurities to the

Two view of three different gold nanoparticles covered in different peptides.

Research Highlights

29 Sep 2017

Nanoparticles for industrial catalysis

Materials

Professor Tiffany Walsh and her team from Deakin University is working with international collaborators to understand what makes certain kinds of nanoparticles good at catalysing chemical reactions

The glass windows of an office building reflecting blue sky and clouds.

Research Highlights

04 Aug 2017

Exciting New Compounds for Light Harvesting

Chemistry

Materials

In our transition to a more-carbon neutral environment, the development of new building materials for the collection of solar energy is a big goal. Incorporating passive solar energy collectors into

A grouping of multiple small ball and stick representations of molecules from Professor Forsyth's research.

Research Highlights

01 Jun 2017

New materials for energy storage

Chemistry

Materials

Energy storage and energy generation technology is improving thanks to the work of Professor Maria Forsyth and her group from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science. "What we do in

Mohammad Saadatfar holds a physical model of a molecule illustrating the packing study.

Research Highlights

12 May 2017

Scientists find most efficient way to pack grains and drugs

Materials

Physics

Scientists have discovered a way to solve a problem that has baffled humans for so long it is mentioned in the Bible: achieving the most efficient packing of objects such as grains and pharmaceutical

Artist’s impression of quantum emission from 2D hexagonal boron-nitride, from the journal Nature Nanotechnology

Research Highlights

28 Mar 2017

Exploring the physics of two-dimensional materials

Chemistry

Materials

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney are investigating the properties of a wide variety of 2-dimensional materials. These materials, made of one atom thick sheets, have radically

Materials

New rubber creates path for greener tyres

Materials

Creating a super thin light absorber

Materials design using machine learning

New materials for smart filters

Nanoparticles for industrial catalysis

Exciting New Compounds for Light Harvesting

New materials for energy storage

Scientists find most efficient way to pack grains and drugs

Exploring the physics of two-dimensional materials

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