Green polymer-inorganic composite materials

Overview

Composite materials are widely researched and widely used in applications such as aircraft, automobiles, ships, structural components and even the space industry.

There is a need to create new composite materials which are environmentally friendly and do not use fossil fuel based products. Moreover, the properties of the composites need to be improved while at the same time minimising the costs involved.

Consequently our research group is working on composite materials which not only include inexpensive inorganic fillers from the mining sector but also polymers made from biomass.

Research activities

Research activities include:

• synthesis of composite materials
• physical characterization
• performance testing
• mechanical properties optimization
• prototyping
• process design
• scale-up
• technoeconomics
• use of machine learning.

Outcomes

The aim of this project is to develop advanced composite materials which are:

• made from Australian resources
• sustainable
• environmentally friendly
• value-adding waste materials.

Skills and experience

Students should be interested in either:

• chemistry
• process engineering
• mechanical engineering
• chemical engineering.

Scholarships

You may be eligible to apply for a research scholarship.

Explore our research scholarships

Keywords

• mining
• waste
• biomass
• process engineering
• mechanical engineering
• chemistry
• sustainable
• machine learning
• materials

Contact

Contact the supervisor for more information.