Nanomaterials and nanocomposites

Read about our nanomaterials and nanocomposites research.

What are composite materials?

An example of nanocomposites is the aerospace industry where composite usage has risen from one/two percent in the 1970s to 50 percent in 2010. Other industries that are incorporating composites include the automobile, marine, construction, biomedical and sporting equipment.

Composite materials are typically composed of multiple materials that complement each other. For instance, strong and stiff carbon fibres that are protected by a plastic which encapsulates the fibres and allows load or force to be effectively distributed amongst them.

So what is preventing complete adoption of composite materials? And where can the development take us? We believe nanotechnology can play a pivotal role in answering these questions.

Research areas

Man using nanotechnology

Collaborate with us

If you'd like to find out more about functional nanomaterials then take a look at the Functional Nanomaterials Group who focus on micro-scale processing, materials integration and manufacture to allow the creation of unique 3D micro- and nano-scale structures.