UOW home to Australia's first ATOMATE nanotube factory

Mar 31, 2006

A machine that produces carbon nanotubes may not mean much to some people, but to the staff at the University of Wollongong's Intelligent Polymer Research Institute it will revolutionise their research.

The machine is the first of its kind to be installed in Australia and will allow Professor Gordon Wallace and his team to make and design their own carbon nanotubes which are unique nanostructures with remarkable electronic and mechanical properties.

With nanotechnology it is possible to arrange atoms into structures that are only a few nanometers in size - a nanometer is about 1/50,000 of a human hair.

"Scientists from around the country will be wanting to use this machine," said Professor Wallace. "It will improve performance, and offer more control - we can produce nanotubes with the characteristics we need on a routine basis."

The facility, which was installed by engineers from ATOMATE in the USA, will have amazing implications for applications and provide a tremendous boost to IPRI's research capabilities because researchers will no longer have to rely on commercial suppliers to provide carbon nanotubes for their research.

The nanotube factory will benefit a number of researchers at the Centre, particularly Research Fellows, Dr Andrew Minett who is working on the development of nanotube biosensors and Dr Jun Chen who is working on the development of new nanostructured electrodes for biofuel cells.

"Electrons flow 1,000 times faster through carbon nanotubes than copper," said Dr Minett.

The nanotubes will allow the team to have complete control and create their own 'recipes' for sensors, artificial muscles and other polymer applications.

"The machine is completely automated. It's all run by a computer, the only thing we have to do is physically remove the sample at the end," said research fellow Jun Chen.

Professor Wallace said similar instruments have been installed in different countries including the USA, one of the most recent being at the NASA research laboratories.

The facility is being funded by UOW and the Australian Research Council.

For further information: Contact Professor Gordon Wallace on 4221 3127.