EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

The fabrication of heterostructures consisting of one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, based on top-down and bottom-up approaches, as well as their functionalization processes, have drawn much attention over the last decade. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene are the most widely studied carbon allotropes that represent the 1D and 2D nanostructures, respectively. Structural characterization and characterization in nanoscale are of great importance to determine their remarkable properties, such as magnetism, piezoelectricity, thermal conduction and others. Because of their unique structural, electrical, mechanical, chemical and optical properties, 1D and 2D carbon nanostructures, hold promising opportunities for the development of new composite materials and have found their way to a wide range of potential applications in energy storage, optoelectronics, electro-chemical/mechanical systems and the environment (e.g. filters). The continuously increasing interest in engineered carbon-based nanomaterials both for research and commercialization purposes, resulted in public and private investments that focus on manufacturing and industrial uptake, with leading manufacturers investing approx. over 1€ Million/year in R&D.
According to the above, R-NanoLab’s research activities focus on the synthesis of CNT and graphene derivatives. CNTs have been applied in coatings providing anticorrosive and antifouling properties, and have been incorporated in polymer matrices to increase the thermal, electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. 1D nanostructures are tested also for the development of flexible supercapacitors, by using conductive carbon-based dispersions. Carbon-based inks for 3D printed biosensors have also been tested. CNTs are also investigated for their capability to sense the crack initiation and increase the mechanical properties when introduced in cement-based structures. Graphene derivatives are synthesized and used for the development of hybrid materials with advanced properties, as well as for their use in recycling activities.
For all the above, advanced characterisation techniques have been exploited, in order to study the properties and performance of the 1D and 2D nanomaterials.