International. An international team of scientists is developing an entintable nanomaterial that could one day become an electronic aerosol component for ultra-thin, lightweight and flexible displays and devices.
The material, zinc oxide, could be incorporated into many components of future technologies, including mobile phones and computers, thanks to its versatility and recent advances in nanotechnology.
RMIT University Associate Professor Enrico Della Gaspera and Dr. Joel van Embden led a team of global experts to review the production strategies, capabilities and potential applications of zinc oxide nanocrystals in the journal Chemical Reviews.
An ultrathin layer of zinc oxide nanocrystals can be sprayed onto flexible substrates, such as plastic, that are resistant to bending and bending.
"Progress in nanotechnology has allowed us to greatly improve and adapt the properties and performance of zinc oxide by making it super-small and with well-defined characteristics," said Della Gaspera, from the Faculty of Sciences.
"Tiny, versatile zinc oxide particles can now be prepared with exceptional control of their size, shape and chemical composition at the nanoscale," said van Embden, also from the Faculty of Science.
"All of this leads to precise control of the resulting properties for myriad applications in optics, electronics, energy, sensing technologies and even microbial decontamination," Embden added.
Zinc oxide nanocrystals can be formulated in ink and deposited as an ultrathin layer. The process is like inkjet printing or airbrush painting, but the coating is hundreds or thousands of times thinner than a conventional paint layer.
"These coatings can be made highly transparent to visible light, but also highly electrically conductive, two fundamental characteristics needed to make touch screens," Gaspera continued.
Nanocrystals can also be deposited at low temperature, allowing coatings on flexible substrates, such as plastic, that are resistant to bending and bending.
The team is ready to work with industry to explore potential applications using their techniques to fabricate these nanomaterial coatings.
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