Materials Chemistry

- Overview

Materials chemistry involves the use of chemistry to design and synthesize materials with interesting or potentially useful physical properties such as magnetic, optical, structural or catalytic properties. It also involves an understanding of the characterization, processing and molecular level of these substances.

- Soft Materials

Soft materials are materials that are easily deformed by thermal stress or thermal fluctuations at about room temperature. Soft materials include liquids, polymers, foams, gels, colloids, particulate materials, and most soft biological materials.

- Optical Materials

Optical materials are substances used to control the flow of light. This can include reflecting, absorbing, focusing or splitting the beam. The efficiency of a particular material at each task is highly dependent on wavelength, so a comprehensive understanding of light-matter interactions is critical.

- Electronic Materials

Electronic materials are materials whose electrical properties are mainly studied and used. The electrical response of a material is largely derived from the dynamics of electrons and their interactions with atoms and molecules. Materials can be classified as conductors, semiconductors or insulators based on their response to an external electric field.

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- Metal Organic Framework

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of crystalline materials composed of coordination bonds between transition metal cations and multidentate organic linkers. The structural feature of MOFs is that the open framework can be porous (porous materials). MOFs can be used in gas storage, purification and separation, as well as in catalysis and sensing applications.

- Magnetic Material

Magnetic materials are materials whose magnetic properties are mainly studied and used. The magnetic response of a material is largely determined by the magnetic dipole moment associated with the intrinsic angular momentum or spin of its electrons. The response of a material to an applied magnetic field can be characterized as diamagnetic, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, or antiferromagnetic.

- Liquid Crystal

Liquid crystals are substances that flow like liquids but maintain some ordered structure of the crystal. Liquid crystal molecules tend to be elongated and oriented in a particular direction.

- Biomaterials

Biomaterials are those that interact with biological systems—whether natural or synthetic, animate or inanimate, and typically consist of multiple components. Biomaterials are often used in medical applications to augment or replace natural functions.

- Graphene

Graphene is a two-dimensional material consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure. Its properties include high strength and good thermal and electrical conductivity. The stacked form of graphene is graphite.

- Mechanical Behavior

Mechanical properties are the physical properties that a material exhibits when a force is applied. Examples of mechanical properties are elastic modulus, tensile strength, elongation, hardness and fatigue limit.

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