The new high-capacity device to unlock the potential of advanced materials

A Birmingham researcher has developed a new high-throughput device that produces libraries of nanomaterials using sustainable mechanochemical approaches.

Dr. Jason Stafford from the University’s School of Engineering invented the platform to create highly controllable reaction conditions and reduce the substantial amount of time researchers spend generating materials in the lab.

The benchtop is a fully automated unit that can be programmed for parallel synthesis to produce a range of new materials made in subtly different ways, thereby creating a library of advanced materials or product formulations for further testing and optimization.

Current techniques for synthesizing materials with extraordinary properties, such as 2D materials, are either based on a top-down approach that peels away layers of atoms (exfoliation) or a bottom-up approach that forms a sheet by depositing an atom.

Both approaches involve a large number of synthesis steps and parameters and rely on thousands of precursors. This hinders the research and development of new formulations that use nanomaterials made from single elements (such as graphene) or compounds such as copper oxide, polymers or crystals.

The device developed by Dr. Stafford uses mechanochemical synthesis, which accesses new materials and induces chemical reactions through mechanical forces, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for toxic solvents. It works with standard lab glassware or custom vessels and can be programmed to deliver different mechanical forces to each vessel, which can contain anything from a dilute liquid suspension to a dry solid powder.

Dr. Stafford expects the new method to be of interest to R&D professionals working in chemical manufacturing and advanced materials design, drug discovery researchers, and laboratory researchers who want to develop new materials that they can translate directly into medical processes. environmentally sustainable manufacturing.

He said: “There is a massive and ever-growing library of specialized 2D materials that have not made it to mainstream applications, yet researchers spend up to half their time making sure the synthesis steps are performed repeatedly and correctly. The automated platform can significantly reduce the time and expertise required in these processes and frees scientists to focus on the core aspects of their materials discovery research.”

Dr Stafford is an Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham, where he specializes in thermofluids, multiphase flows and mechanochemical processing. He is the co-inventor of 20 patents and the lead inventor of a patent application filed by the University of Birmingham Enterprise for the recently developed method for 2D processing and nanomaterials.

He will be at the Advanced Materials Show and ChemExpo2024 on May 15 and 16 at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham.