Nanoscale characterization facilities linking the solution and solid state

ddf197b8-a3e6-488e-a2d9-a52451240381

Closed

EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC
EPSRC

£499,995

Dec. 1, 2018

May 31, 2020

New materials and state-of-the-art methods for materials processing are at the heart of virtually all technological advances, from telecommunications to renewable energy generation, electronic displays to medical devices. The University of St Andrews has world-leading expertise in this area, spanning researchers in the Schools of both Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy. The University has committed to securing its leading position in this area through strategic recruitment of early career researchers who will become the next generation of leaders. Furthermore, the University is supporting this critical mass of current and future research leaders through investments in equipment, buildings and facilities. Many of the next great advances in materials research will be made as a result of precisely controlling and understanding matter on the nanoscale. This requires modern equipment for the analysis of materials that consist of components with different chemical make-ups, in various physical states (e.g. solids or solutions), prepared and arranged on several size-scales - from molecules less than a nanometer in size to bulk devices that can be seen and held, and everything in between. Only by combining information from a range of analytical methods can researchers hope to fully understand these new complicated materials, and therefore be able to logically design and optimize them to possess the properties required for future technological advances. We have identified two specific items of equipment that address this characterization challenge in different, but very complementary, ways, and which are needed by many (more than 10) of our early career researchers. This equipment will complement our already excellent range of facilities for fabrication and characterization of advanced materials. It will allow the rapid, on-site characterization of key parameters of very thin film solids, and of the building blocks used to prepare these solids from solutions. With these new capabilities, our researchers will be able to accurately understand how features of the building blocks relate to the characteristics of the materials produced, and therefore efficiently optimize their materials and procedures. This equipment has been specifically chosen to have a significant benefit for the widest possible range of early career researchers, working in as diverse areas as optical materials for tiny flexible displays, new components of light emitting diodes; materials for next-generation solar cells, or delivery devices for gaseous drugs. As a result of this award, each of these young research groups will be able to perform experiments that they would otherwise just not be able to do; they will generate new, deeper scientific understanding about the systems and materials they work with; and they will be able to produce higher quality research more efficiently. This will have hugely significant benefits for the careers of these emerging research leaders, and for a huge breadth of science that can be performed at St Andrews. This proposal will play a crucial role in allowing these early stage researchers to realize their full potential and develop into the next generation of internationally renowned research leaders.

Potential Impact:
The proposed equipment will have multiple forms of impact - the creation of new knowledge, increased research productivity, the enhanced role of the beneficiaries in collaborative projects, and improved professional development of early career researchers and research staff.
The increased productivity and the step change in research capabilities will have an impact on both academic and commercial partners. The equipment will lead to new developments in several Grand Challenges themes, e.g. 'Nanoscale design of functional materials', 'Direct assembly of extended structures with targeted properties' or 'Quantum physics for new quantum technologies' and a range of EPSRC priority areas, such as manufacturing the future or energy storage materials. As such the advances enabled by the proposed equipment will have an impact across wide ranges of industry and society, through the development of new materials and devices for applications ranging from manufacturing to medicine and healthcare technology.
A more immediate impact will be felt by the users of the proposed equipment. The increased capabilities will enhance the role that St Andrews based researchers play within their collaborative networks. This is of particular importance to the cohort of early career researchers for whom this equipment is intended, helping them to transition from relative newcomers to the status of research leaders and establishing world-class research programmes. For example, Dr Schulz, one of the Co-Is, currently has several collaborations with groups across the USA and Canada, where the improved capabilities would bring additional fabrication steps from partner institutes to the University of St Andrews, enhancing his role from being one of several partners to leading the device fabrication.
Furthermore, two ECRs, Dr Kay and Dr Schulz, will be tasked with the management of the grant and the equipment, providing them with experience valuable to their professional development.
Thus the intended use of the block grant is directly aimed at producing the maximum benefit for ECR at the University of St Andrews.
Additional impact on personnel will be achieved through hands-on training of research staff and students, with characterisation skills relevant to commercial R&D work in a broad range of fields, thus supporting the creation of a highly skilled workforce, a necessity for the UK to maintains its leading role in high-tech industries.
There will also be a commercial impact from the proposed equipment and research, either through increased productivity and understanding in already existing collaborations with commercial partners and by developing new intellectual property through a step change in the research capabilities. For example, Dr Kay and other ECR beneficiaries of this grant have extensive contacts to industry through which they will promote new IP, develop new collaborations, as well as accelerating work on projects already underway. This effort will be supported by the University, primarily through the Knowledge Transfer Centre (KTC) which will support IP protection measures (e.g. patent applications and continued patent protection), promote commercial opportunities and aid the ECRs in exploiting these opportunities.