Materials Laboratory
Our research aims to understand the behaviour of materials from a fundamental knowledge of the way in which interactions between molecules and larger structures influence the organisation and dynamics of bulk assemblies of materials.
By understanding the microscopic behaviour of a material we aim to be able to predict its macroscopic response, and to optimise this response for a particular technological process or product application.
We study a wide range of materials including polymers, colloids, powders, pastes, agglomerates, fibres, composites, foods, pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, thin liquid films, surfactants and supercritical fluids.
We apply a combination of advanced analytical and computational modelling methods with physical characterisation techniques including atomic force microscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, novel spectroscopic imaging, inverse chromatography, light, X-ray and neutron scattering, Quartz microbalance and rheometry.
Amongst other things, we are interested in thermodynamics and (in)stability of complex mixtures, often containing multiple components. Nanoscale imaging of nanostructured materials using tip-enhanced Raman scattering is another area of emerging research.
We also undertake a wide range of interdisciplinary research in the general area of the science and engineering of surface interactions and related phenomena:
- The direct study of surface interactions
- The consequences of these interactions in process and materials engineering
- The synthesis of novel nanoparticles and nanostructures.
It is our philosophy that by understanding the microscopic scale, structures and interactions between materials, their bulk properties can be understood and controlled.
These microscopic interactions and bulk properties can be determined using a variety of techniques. Structural determination is somewhat more of a challenge, but the program has started to adopt sophisticated techniques to gain insights.
A new and developing of research is the synthesis of novel nano-materials, ranging from triggered release nanoparticles to novel composites comprising carbon nano-tubes.