Materials Science and Engineering

Biomaterials from healthcare viewpoint can be defined as materials those possess some novel properties that make them appropriate to come in immediate association with the living tissue without eliciting any adverse immune rejection reactions. Biomaterials are in the service of mankind through ancient times but subsequent evolution has made them more versatile and has increased their usage. Biomaterials have transformed the areas like bioengineering and tissue engineering for the development of strategies to counter life threatening diseases.  These concepts and technologies are being used for the treatment of different diseases like cardiac failure, fractures, deep skin injuries, etc.  Research is being performed to improve the existing methods and for the innovation of new approaches. With the current progress in biomaterials we can expect a future healthcare which will be economically feasible to us. Equipment and consumables was worth US$ 47.7 billion in 2014 and is further expected to reach US$ 55.5 billion in 2020 with a CAGR (2015 to 2020) of 3%. The dental equipment is the fastest growing market due to continuous technological innovations. The overall market is driven by increasing demand for professional dental services and growing consumer awareness. The major players in the Global Dental market are 3M ESPE, Danaher Corporation, Biolase Inc., Carestream Health Inc., GC Corporation, Straumann, Patterson Companies Inc., Sirona Dental Systems Inc., Planmeca Oy, DENTSPLY International Inc. A-Dec Inc.

Nanotechnology is the handling of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale.  The interesting aspect about nanotechnology is that the properties of many materials alter when the size scale of their dimensions approaches nanometers. Materials scientists and engineers work to understand those property changes and utilize them in the processing and manufacture of materials at the nanoscale level. The field of materials science covers the discovery, characterization, properties, and use of nanoscale materials. Nanomaterials research takes a materials science-based approach to nanotechnology, influencing advances in materials metrology and synthesis which have been developed in support of microfabrication research. Materials with structure at the nanoscale level o have unique optical, electronic, or mechanical properties. Although much of nanotechnology's potential still remains un-utilized, investment in the field is booming. The U.S. government distributed more than a billion dollars to nanotechnology research in 2005 to find new developments in nanotechnology. China, Japan and the European Union have spent similar amounts. The hopes are the same on all fronts: to push oneself off a surface on a growing global market that the National Science Foundation estimates will be worth a trillion dollars. The global market for activated carbon totalled $1.9 billion, in 2013, driven primarily by Asia-Pacific and North American region for applications in water treatment and air purification.

Different geophysical and social pressures are providing a shift from conventional fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy sources. We must create the materials that will support emergent energy technologies. Solar energy is a top priority of the department, and we are devoting extensive resources to developing photovoltaic cells that are both more efficient and less costly than current technology.

The primeval ceramics made by humans were pottery objects, including 27,000-year-old figurines, made from clay, either by itself or blended with other materials like silica, hardened, sintered, in fire. Later ceramics were glazed and fired to produce smooth, coloured surfaces, decreasing porosity through the use of glassy, amorphous ceramic coatings on top of the crystalline ceramic substrates. Ceramics currently include domestic, industrial and building products, as well as a broad range of ceramic art. In the 20th century, new ceramic materials were developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering, such as in semiconductors. Polymers are investigated in the fields of biophysics and macromolecular science, and polymer science (which encompass polymer chemistry and polymer physics). Historically, products arising from the linkage of repeating units by covalent chemical bonds have been the primary focus of polymer science; emerging important areas of the science currently focus on non-covalent links. Composite materials are generally used for buildings, bridges and structures like boat hulls, swimming pool panels, race car bodies, shower stalls, bathtubs, storage tanks, imitation granite and cultured marble sinks and counter tops. The most advanced examples perform routinely on spacecraft in demanding environments.

For any electronic device to operate well, electrical current must be efficiently controlled by switching devices, which becomes challenging as systems approach very small dimensions. This problem must be addressed by synthesizing materials that permit reliable turn-on and turn-off of current at any size scale. New electronic and photonic nanomaterials assure dramatic breakthroughs in communications, computing devices and solid-state lighting. Current research involves bulk crystal growth, organic semiconductors, thin film and nanostructure growth, and soft lithography. Several of the major photonics companies in the world views on different technologies and opinions about future challenges for manufacturers and integrators of lasers and photonics products.

Material science has a wider range of applications which includes ceramics, composites and polymer materials. Bonding in ceramics and glasses uses both covalent and ionic-covalent types with SiO2 as a basic building block. Ceramics are as soft as clay or as hard as stone and concrete. Usually, they are crystalline in form. Most glasses contain a metal oxide fused with silica. Applications range from structural elements such as steel-reinforced concrete, to the gorilla glass. Polymers are also an important part of materials science. Polymers are the raw materials which are used to make what we commonly call plastics.  Specialty plastics are materials with distinctive characteristics, such as ultra-high strength, electrical conductivity, electro-fluorescence, high thermal stability. Plastics are divided not on the basis of their material but on its properties and applications. The competition in the global carbon fiber and carbon fiber reinforced plastic market is intense within a few large players, such as Toray Toho, Mitsubishi, Hexcel, Formosa, SGL carbon, Cytec, Aksa, Hyosung, Sabic, etc.

Ability of a nation to harness nature as well as its ability to cope up with the challenges posed by it is determined by its complete knowledge of materials and its ability to develop and produce them for various applications. Advanced Materials are at the heart of many technological developments that touch our lives. Electronic materials for communication and information technology, optical fibers, laser fibers sensors for intelligent environment, energy materials for renewable energy and environment, light alloys for better transportation, materials for strategic applications and more. Advance materials have a wider role to play in the upcoming future years because of its multiple uses and can be of a greater help for whole humanity.

Materials Chemistry provides the loop between atomic, molecular and super molecular behaviour and the useful properties of a material. It lies at the core of numerous chemical-using industries. This deals with the atomic nuclei of the materials, and how they are arranged to provide molecules, crystals, etc. Much of properties of electrical, magnetic particles and chemical materials evolve from this level of structure. The length scales involved are in angstroms. The way in which the atoms and molecules are bonded and organized is fundamental to studying the properties and behaviour of any material. The forecast for R&D growth in the chemical and advanced materials industry indicates the improving global economy and the key markets the industry serves.

Material science plays an important role in metallurgy too. Powder metallurgy is a term covering a wide range of ways in which materials or components are made from metal powders. They can avoid, or greatly reduce, the need to use metal removal processes and can reduce the costs. Pyro metallurgy includes thermal treatment of minerals and metallurgical ores and concentrates to bring about physical and chemical transformations in the materials to enable recovery of valuable metals. A complete knowledge of metallurgy can help us to extract the metal in a more feasible way and can used to a wider range.

Characterization, when used in materials science, refers to the broader and wider process by which a material's structure and properties are checked and measured. It is a fundamental process in the field of materials science, without which no scientific understanding of engineering materials could be as curtained. Spectroscopy refers to the measurement of radiation intensity as a function of wavelength. Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Characterization and testing of materials is very important before the usage of materials. Proper testing of material can make the material more flexible and durable. Research indicates the global material testing equipment market generated revenues of $510.8 million in 2011, growing at a marginal rate of 3.1% over the previous year. The market is dominated by the ‘big three’ Tier 1 competitors, namely MTS Systems Corporation, Instron Corporation, and Zwick/Roell, while other participants have performed better regionally, such as Tinus Olsen in North America and Shimadzu Corporation in Asia Pacific.

Graphene was the first 2D material to be isolated. Graphene and other two-dimensional materials have a long list of unique properties that have made it a hot topic for intense scientific research and the development of technological applications. These also have huge potential in their own right or in combination with Graphene. The extraordinary physical properties of Graphene and other 2D materials have the potential to both enhance existing technologies and also create a range of new applications. Pure Graphene has an exceptionally wide range of mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. Graphene can also greatly improve the thermal conductivity of a material improving heat dissipation. In applications which require very high electrical conductivity Graphene can either be used by itself or as an additive to other materials. Even in very low concentrations Graphene can greatly enhance the ability of electrical charge to flow in a material. Graphene’s ability to store electrical energy at very high densities is exceptional. This attribute, added to its ability to rapidly charge and discharge, makes it suitable for energy storage applications.

Nanostructures deal with objects and structures that are in the 1-100 nm range.In many materials, atoms or molecules cluster together to form objects at the nanoscale. This leads to interesting electromagnetic, optical and mechanical properties. The term 'nanostructure' is often used when referring to magnetic technology and also applied in case of advanced materials. Microstructure is defined as the structure of a prepared surface or thin foil of material as revealed by a microscope  above 25× magnification. It deals with objects from 100 nm to a few cm. Most of the traditional materials (such as metals and ceramics) are micro structured. Macrostructure is the appearance of a material in the scale millimetres to meters—it is the structure of the material as seen with the naked eye.

Green Polymers is an innovative technology to replace traditional materials with the eco-friendly substances. Polystyrene-Aluminium Chloride: It is used to prepare Ethers from alcohols. Polystyrene AlCl3 is a useful catalyst for synthetic reactions which require both a dehydrating agent and a Lewis acid. Thus, acetals are obtained in good yield by the reaction of aldehyde, alcohol and polymeric AlCl3 in an organic inert solvent. Polymeric super acid catalysts: These polymeric super acid catalysts are obtained by aluminium chloride to Sulfonate Polystyrene.