Nanosciences @ Monash

Monash University scientists have revolutionised the design of fuel cells used in the latest generation of hybrid cars which could make the vehicles more reliable and cheaper to build.

The breakthrough, published in the journal Science, revolves around the design of an electrically-generated fuel cell in which a specially-coated form of popular high tech outdoor and sporting clothing material Goretex is the key component.

 

Researchers from Monash University have designed a nano-sized "trojan horse" particle to ensure healing antioxidants can be better absorbed by the human body.

Dr Ken Ng and Dr Ian Larson from the University's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have designed a nanoparticle, one thousandth the thickness of a human hair, that protects antioxidants from being destroyed in the gut and ensures a better chance of them being absorbed in the digestive tract.

 

Monash University researchers have developed a solar cell which is thin, flexible and can be produced on a mass-scale using the same technology used to print polymer banknotes.

The first of the trial polymer solar cells have rolled off the presses at the Melbourne-based plant of Securency International - the company responsible for printing Australian polymer banknotes and currency for 26 countries around the world.

Most man-made molecules such as medicines are small – that is the nature of chemistry. What makes nanotech molecules special is that in addition to being small they are assembled to have a structure that adds to their function. For example, carbon nanotubes are like a microscopic straw. Their tubular structure gives them unique properties such as high electrical conductivity and longitudinal strength. They are as different from the carbon in a pencil as the carbon in a pencil is different from the carbon in a diamond.