Question: why is your particular research important to the scientific world?

Hugh Manning answered on 7 Nov 2018: last edited 7 Nov 2018 9:29 pm

First I’ll just briefly explain my research.
We are investigating new materials which are called transparent conductors, this means the material is see-through and conducts electricity, this material is really important because it allows tv, phone and computer screens, touch sensors, solar panels and lights to work.
The problem with the material we use for these things nowadays is that its a brittle material called Indium Tin Oxide or ITO, its grown at very high temperatures, its pretty toxic to work with and we will eventually run out of it.

We have a nanomaterial which is called a nanowire network, its made from tiny nanosize wires which we spray onto plastic surfaces, the wires are metal so they conduct electricity, they are so small that they let a lot of light through so they are see through, and they are flexible, which means we can spray them onto plastics. This means we can have flexible touch screens, Tvs , lighting and solar panels! The silver nanowires are much cheaper than ITO and the process of coating surfaces in the nanowires is really simple!

My particular area of research is important to the scientific world because I am showing the scientific community what the performance limit of these materials are, and I’m making a computer model which will tell people what size (diameter, and length) nanowires , and how much of them are good for different applications.

For example solar panels will need different performances than touch panels and lighting and heaters, hopefully when my work is finished companies can more start using these new materials in more products!