Advanced Materials & Characterisation

Polymers, ceramics, composites, nano. Polymers, ceramics and composites, nanomaterials and the characterisation techniques used to study materials.

• Polymers, Ceramics, Composites & Advanced Materials — Beyond metals. Learn polymer structure (chains, molecular weight Mn and Mw, degree of polymerisation, thermoplastics vs thermosets vs elastomers, crystallinity, glass transition, viscoelasticity) and processing (injection moulding, extrusion); ceramics (ionic/covalent structures, brittleness, Weibull statistics, processing by sintering, glass, refractories, advanced ceramics); composites (matrix and reinforcement, rule of mixtures, laminates, anisotropy, manufacturing); and advanced/functional materials (semiconductors, magnetic, smart, biomaterials, additively manufactured and high-entropy alloys) plus sustainability — with Python for Weibull failure probability, composite moduli and polymer molecular weights.
• Nanomaterials: Carbon, 2D Materials, Nanoparticles & Composites — The building blocks of nanotechnology. Learn carbon nanomaterials (fullerenes, carbon nanotubes with chirality (n,m), graphene and its extraordinary properties), 2D materials beyond graphene (h-BN, MoS₂, MXenes), metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles, quantum dots, nanowires, porous materials (MOFs, zeolites, mesoporous silica), polymer nanocomposites, dendrimers and liposomes — with Python for CNT diameter, chirality and metallic/semiconducting character, and graphene's areal density.
• Nanoscale Characterisation Techniques — Seeing and measuring the invisible. Learn electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, HRTEM, STEM, EDS), scanning probe microscopy (AFM, STM), X-ray diffraction with Bragg's law and Scherrer crystallite size, dynamic light scattering and zeta potential, UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy, Raman (graphene layers), XPS surface chemistry, BET surface area, and choosing the right technique — with Python for d-spacing, Scherrer size, DLS hydrodynamic diameter and the electron wavelength that sets TEM resolution.