Mass Synthesis of Nanocomposites Made Easy

Creating nanocomposite materials has been a complex and energy-intensive process ever since experts learned how to make them, but large-scale is about to become possible now thanks to a new production method.

The innovative approach was developed by French researchers Bruno Alonso and Emmanuel Belamie, who are both based at the Charles Gerhardt Institute, in Montpellier.

What they did was develop a novel and highly versatile approach for creating bioorganic and inorganic nanocomposites at a large scale, suited for industrial applications.

One remarkable aspect about their new study is the fact that the technique allows the scientists to exert a degree of control on the resulting material that was never possible before.

Experts can determine both the composition and structure of the nanocomposites that are produced via the new approach, and this ability is bound to have immediate industrial applications.

In a paper they published in the latest issue of the respected international journal Angewandte Chemie, the researchers explain that the technique could also be used to produce high-porosity materials.

In essence, nanocomposites are materials whose properties are more than the sum of properties of all substances making them up. They are generally solids, and feature at least on substance being applied in the form of nanoparticles.

The thing that makes nanocomposites so special is that their main chemical and physical properties may differ substantially from those of their individual components in pure state.

Additionally, they can also be used to create special molds, which are then used to produce porous substances, or other types of materials, PhysOrg reports.

Some of the fields that may benefit from such materials include gas storage, catalysis, and materials separation. Gas storage is essential, for example, for creating hydrogen fuel cells for electric cars.

The team behind the new work reveals that the production of materials with controllable volume ratios may also become a reality fairly soon.

Interesting spatial arrangements and morphologies may also be instilled in the new nanocomposites, by simply applying a magnetic field on the mixture from which the material is produced.

The new work, which is authored by Emmanuel Belamie, appears in a study entitled “Chitin–Silica Nanocomposites by Self-Assembly.”