Projects
Projects: Custom Search |
||
| Reference Number | EP/Y03595X/1 | |
| Title | CoCoGel: Controlling Colloidal Gels for Novel Sustainable Materials | |
| Status | Started | |
| Energy Categories | Not Energy Related 95%; Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 5%; |
|
| Research Types | Basic and strategic applied research 50%; Training 50%; |
|
| Science and Technology Fields | PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics) 70%; PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials) 20%; PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Computer Science and Informatics) 5%; ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 5%; |
|
| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Not Cross-cutting 100% | |
| Principal Investigator |
Dr J R Royer Sch of Physics University of Edinburgh |
|
| Award Type | Standard | |
| Funding Source | EPSRC | |
| Start Date | 15 January 2024 | |
| End Date | 14 January 2028 | |
| Duration | 48 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £521,352 | |
| Industrial Sectors | ||
| Region | Scotland | |
| Programme | UKRI MSCA | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Dr J R Royer , Sch of Physics, University of Edinburgh (100.000%) |
| Web Site | ||
| Objectives | ||
| Abstract | Transformative advances in product formulation are required to meet the demand for sustainability across a wide range of EU-priority industrial areas. Colloidal gels - complex, out-of-equilibrium soft matter systems - are core components in many of the formulations encountered therein, including building materials (e.g., cement), energy materials (e.g., batteries and fuel cells), consumer care and food products, and medicine. Current industrial practice requires delicate balancing between thermodynamic parameters (composition and interactions), quenching kinetics, and processing conditions to achieve gel structures with the desired material performance (e.g., mechanical, thermal, or electrical properties). Without a robust physical understanding of how the microstructure can be controlled and how this links to material properties, this balancing remains limited to trial and error. Recent advances in colloidal-gel physics strongly imply that the rational design of colloidal gel properties is within reach. This design is based on tuning gel microstructure via external stimuli, such as shear, ultrasound, and (magnetic/electric) fields, and the addition of non-Brownian inclusions. The CoCoGel doctoral network will enable the translation from the current academic state of the art to industrial practice, focusing on these routes to controlling microstructure. We will bring together 6 academic and 6 industrial partners - experts in a range of experimental, computational, and theoretical techniques - who can realize the creation of new sustainable materials and production processes via these routes. Key to the success of our industrial doctoral training network is a deepening and extending of existing collaborations, as well as the training of a new generation of researchers with both multi-disciplinary expertise in soft materials and practical experience engaging with industry. These will drive further sustainable development over a wide range of European industries | |
| Publications | (none) |
|
| Final Report | (none) |
|
| Added to Database | 14/02/24 | |
