Research within the Department of Materials is broadly categorized into the following areas: • Structural and Nuclear Materials • Energy Storage Materials. • Device Materials. • Polymers and Biomaterials. • Nanomaterials. • Processing and Manufacturing. • Characterisation. • Computational Materials Modelling. A number of research groups are hosted within the department including Other groups like the Advanced Nanoscale Engineering Group, Polymers Group, Biomaterials Group, Solar Energy Materials Group, Materials for Fusion and Fission Power (MFFP) group, and also: •
Atom probe tomography Group using APT, a microscopy technique that provides 3D atom-by-atom imaging of materials with a uniquely powerful combination of spatial and chemical resolution. For more than 40 years, the Atom Probe Research Group in the Department of Materials at the
University of Oxford has maintained a tradition of pioneering field ion microscopy research and in particular the development and application of the atom probe technique. The group is currently active in all aspects of atom probe research, including establishing new materials applications, instrumentation and the development of 3D reconstruction and data analysis techniques. •
Peter Bruce Research Group is interested in the fundamental science of ionically conducting solids (which includes intercalation compounds and polymer electrolytes), in the synthesis of new materials with new properties or combinations of properties, in understanding these properties and in exploring their applications in new devices, especially energy storage devices such as rechargeable lithium batteries. •
The Oxford Micromechanics Group (OMG!) is interested in how materials (engineered and naturally occurring) respond, at the microstructural level, to externally applied loading - mechanical, thermal, and/or environmental (chemical, irradiation). The complex patterning of local stress and strain distributions and how they evolve and are linked to particular aspects of the microstructure provides many fascinating intellectual challenges. Technical impact comes from building sound understanding and models of how materials fail. This is central to setting safe performance windows and developing new alloys and microstructures with greater capability. Working on a range of materials systems including those for nuclear, aerospace, and automotive sectors, as well minerals and have made significant contributions to the development of new testing and characterisation methods allowing us to gain new insights. •
Nanostructured Materials Groups studies the next generation of nanostructured materials with unique properties that will impact electronic, optoelectronic, and energy applications. Particular focus is made to the atomic-level structure and dynamics of nanomaterials probed by aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy. A wide range of nanoscale characterization tools (
TEM,
SEM,
AFM,
FIB) are used to probe materials across all dimension scales. New types of nanoscale devices are produced in clean-room nanofabrication facilities, utilizing materials ranging from 2D Crystals (graphene, BN, MoS2, WS2 etc.), 1D wires and nanotubes, to 0D quantum dots. The group is multi-disciplinary and collaborates extensively with a wide range of scientists within USA, and internationally. •
The Fab at Oxford is run by the Department of Materials for the University and comprises full nanoscale and microscope fabrication facilities for device fabrication. Modernised and centralised under the leadership of
Harish Bhaskaran and with support of the
Henry Royce Institute, the fab offers open access to several research groups across the University. == See also ==