United States. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have received a five-year, $3,600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop materials for multifunctional coatings in emergency tents, allowing them to manage water, prevent the spread of bacteria and capture and store solar energy.
These different capabilities are all derived from fundamental research into the behavior of materials at the nanoscale, where structural details can produce large-scale effects.
His project, "Research and Education in Active Coating Technologies for Human Habitat," or REACT, is primarily a collaboration with GIANT (Grenoble Innovation for Advanced New Technologies), a public-private research partnership based in Grenoble, France, which has received a supplemental grant from some research agencies.
Members of all the partner institutions of the project will collaborate on the basic science and industrial design necessary to carry out the three ACTs (Active Coatings Technologies).
- Hierarchical structures for water management
- Prevention of transmission of infections
- Self-assembled nanomaterials for the generation and storage of Energy.
"The idea is to have energy, water and antibiotic harvesting coatings," Fakhraai said. "We can make them transparent and porous so they can stack in different orders depending on the needs. The hardest part will be to do it so that its properties don't interfere."
