It has been over two years since the European Union (EU) awarded a $1.35 billion grant to the Graphene Flagship Consortium1 in a ten year project that has brought scientists, engineers and industrialists under one umbrella to achieve one goal – to commercialize graphene and related 2D materials. This level of commitment, dedication and support is, perhaps, unparalleled in the history of materials science and engineering. Graphene Week 20152 will address all key aspects of graphene –fundamental science and technology, large scale manufacturing and emerging applications of graphene. Some of the recent highlights of the research work that is being performed in this consortium and elsewhere focus on a variety of applications of graphene.3–8
It is an interesting coincidence that the world’s first Superconductivity Consortium agreement was signed in Chile almost two years ago.9 This Consortium brings together Fundación Avina, Advanced Magnet Lab (Florida) and the Advanced Innovation Center of Chile to work on materials and applications of superconductivity in the areas of energy, water and the environment. Conectus is a consortium of European companies determined to use superconductivity (see http://www.conectus.org/index.html). The anticipated global market for superconductivity and related products in 2016 is ~$6.2 billion. The Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Council on Superconductivity maintains an exhaustive database of international activities in superconductors (see http://ieeecsc.org/).
In 1982, the Semiconductor Industry Association launched the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). Today, SRC brings students, faculty and industry together with one common goal – to perform cutting-edge semiconductor research. SRC is one of the world’s leading technology research consortiums (see https://www.src.org/).
In comparison to the EU commitment of $1.35 billion to the Graphene Flagship Consortium, Sematech, the consortium of 14 American chip makers including Intel and Texas Instruments, began operations in 1988 with a five-year commitment of $100 million in annual funding from the US Department of Defense – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, matched by its member companies. The goal of Sematech was to revitalize the US semiconductor industry by finding methods to reduce manufacturing costs and product defects in silicon device manufacturing.10
In this era of rapid globalization, consortia facilitate the ability to work together towards common goals by sharing intellectual-, financial- and infrastructure-related resources, while at the same time preserving the ability to protect intellectual property. The EU investment on graphene should result in new technologies and products very soon.
The first of the papers11 in this issue of Emerging Materials Research presents a study on the ‘Synthesis and application of fluorinated epoxy compounds’. This research is a collaborative effort between the School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China and the School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. The authors Lingling Li, Ying Li, Xia Wang and Qingzhi Dong present a study of a novel fluorinated epoxy compound (FO) synthesized via a one-step method using potassium and sodium aqueous solutions as catalysts. The structure is characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry. The effects of the reaction time and catalysts are measured. The results show that using sodium aqueous solutions can improve FO yield, and the optimal reaction time is 5 hours. Using FO as monomers, the authors obtain a new fluorinated polyether glycol with fluorinated side chain. The number-average molecular weight (Mn) of FPO is investigated. They find that the increase in Mn depends on the FO concentration; mixed solvent (dichloromethane/toluene) can have an impact on Mn and molecular weight distribution. Polymers with lower polydispersities lead to a decrease in the polymerisation reaction rate because toluene can decrease the FO activity.
The second paper12 in this issue focuses on the ‘Abrasive wear behavior of thermoplastic copolyester elastomer composites’. In this paper by Rajashekaraiah Hemanth and Mohan Sekar of the School of Mechanical Science, Karunya University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, and Bheemappa Suresha of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, The National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, India, the authors discuss the use of micron-sized polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles, short glass fibre (SGF), short carbon fibre (SCF), SiC and Al2O3 particles as fillers in thermoplastic copolyester elastomer (TCE), and the influence of these fibres and fillers on two-body abrasive wear (single-pass) behavior of the TCE composites. The composite samples were prepared by extrusion followed by injection moulding. Their wear behaviour was investigated under ambient conditions in a reciprocating wear apparatus by running a waterproof SiC abrasive paper against the TCE composite sample. The morphology of the wear traces and wear debris was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The experiments were planned according to L27 orthogonal array by considering four factors and three levels. The routine abrasive wear tests were also conducted and the results indicated that the TCE-filled PTFE composite demonstrated the best abrasion resistance. Lowest abrasion resistance was observed in case of hybrid TCE composite consisting of PTFE, SGF and SCF, SiC and Al2O3. From Taguchi’s experimental findings, optimal combinations of control factors were obtained for minimum wear loss. Significant contributions of control factors for abrasive wear were identified by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Scanning electron microscopy analysis indicated that severe abrasive wear occurred on the worn surfaces of hybrid TCE composites.
‘Optimizing composite PMMA/PVC profile cooled calibrator’ by Qibing Wang of the Engineering Training Center, Huaihai Institute of Technology, Lianyungang, China and Jiangsu Marine Resources Development Research Institute, Lianyungang, China, is the third paper13 in this issue. This paper reports a study on the thermal polymethylmethacrylate/polyvinylchloride surface composite co-extrusion profile (referred to as composite profile for short in the following part) during cooling and calibration through a calibrator. Calibrator cooling was completed by its internal flow of water. As a result, the design of the calibrator cooling channel structure was an important foundation for guaranteeing the moulding quality of the material. According to the target function, preliminary design was conducted for cooling channel structure of the calibrator. Atypia design optimisation was carried out for local cooling channel structure around the composite profile by numerical simulation using analysis software. The result suggests the cooling effect has been increased; on the basis of the enterprise resource planning system and computer aided design/computer aided engineering network system expert database of concurrent engineering, it is further optimised to design the cooling channel structure of the calibrator. The optimisation focuses on composite profile, structure, size and performance of the extrusive composite.
Rishi Gupta of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and Harsh M. Rathod of the Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, report their studies14 on ‘Current state of K-based geopolymer cements cured at ambient temperature’. The increasing focus on global climate change, the public and consumer preferences for ‘green’ products and the associated markets in carbon credits have promoted the use of alternate cements in place of pure Portland cement binders. Using the alkali activation method, waste materials such as fly ash and slag can be modified to replace ordinary Portland cement. In this study, a combination of sodium hydroxide pellets and sodium silicate solution is used for the alkali activation of fly ash to prepare geopolymer cement. In the same way, a mixture of KOH (pellets) and K-silicate solution has been used with fly ash and slag (used in British Columbia, Canada) for comparison. Ambient temperature curing has been considered in addition to oven curing. Compressive strength tests indicate that both duration and temperature affect the properties of the geopolymer. Higher temperature accelerates the polymerisation process much faster and gives higher compressive strength for the same duration of curing. On the other hand, longer duration of curing leads to improved hardened characteristics compared to shorter span at the same intensity. This paper presents data for curing performed at ambient temperatures and the effectiveness of using potassium- and sodium-based solutions for geopolymer cements. Recommendations are made for future work.
