Almost every industry is focusing on developing new, better technology and materials to offer improved services, and accomplish the increasing demand of goods with rapid growth in population. Also, conventional materials used in industry often lead to failure because of their poor mechanical properties, lower strength to weight ratio that majorly impacts productivity. To overcome these issues, advanced functional materials are developed.
Advanced functional material provides a way that brings modern technology with intelligent systems. These materials are gaining substantial attention for developing and improving polymers, energy conversion, fine ceramics, biomedicine, electronics, green fuel cells, quantum, and photonic technologies. With improved materialistic properties and better final outcome, the advanced functional material sector is going to expand in the near future.
What are Advanced Functional Materials?
Advanced functional materials consist of two or more component materials prepared using various manufacturing processes such as casting, powder metallurgy, and others. In the casting manufacturing process a liquefied material, such as molten metal, is poured into the cavity of a specially designed mold and allowed to harden. The final cast products are typically used in automotive components and aerospace parts.
Powder metallurgy is the formation process for advanced functional metal parts by heating compacted metal powders to just below their melting points. It is also a metal shaping process that creates near-net parts from powdered metal. In addition to this some surface modification techniques, such as the machinability and welding of advanced welding techniques are followed which is essential to manufacture these components for end applications.
Advanced functional materials are used in automotive, aerospace, marine, and defense applications due to its superior properties such as light weight, high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness to weight ratio, better resistance to wear and corrosion, and excellent properties at elevated temperature.
Classification Of Advanced Functional Materials
Advanced functional materials are mainly classified into functional ceramics, composites, nanoparticles as discussed below.
1. Advanced functional ceramics
Advanced function ceramics offer better features and properties, including ultra-high temperature resistance, high hardness, acid and alkali corrosion resistance, non-magnetic conductivity, non-conduction, special light color effect. These are further categorized into areas such as electronic ceramics, optical ceramics, antibacterial ceramics and Others.
2. Advanced functional composites
There are two major types of advanced function composites. One is metal matrix composites, that are low-density-materials and offer exceptional mechanical properties, such as significantly reduced component mass and improved performance. Mostly used in the automotive industry. Another type is the fiber reinforced polymer composites used in the construction industry. Its main applications include bridge decks and structure, external cladding, structural repair and refurbishment, and modular buildings.
3. Nano-materials
Nanomaterials are advanced functional chemical substances or materials, manufactured and used at a very small scale(size). These are developed to exhibit novel characteristics compared to the same material without nanoscale features which includes increased strength, chemical reactivity, or conductivity.Nanomaterials are utilized in several industries such as the paints & coatings, adhesives & sealants, electronics & consumer goods, and personal care products.
4. Artificial muscles
Artificial muscles, also known as muscle-like actuators, is another emerging type of advanced functional materials. These are materials or devices that mimic natural muscle and can change their stiffness, reversibly contract, expand, or rotate within one component due to an external stimulus such as voltage, current, pressure or temperature. With its high flexibility, versatility and power-to-weight ratio,this technology may have wide future applications in industry, medicine, robotics and many other fields.
5. Advanced energy materials and conductive polymers
The main purpose of advanced energy materials is energy harvesting, conversion and storage. This is achieved with energy materials such as organic and inorganic photovoltaics, fuel cells, batteries and supercapacitors fuel cells. Whereas, conductive or electroactive polymers provide properties such as change in size or shape when stimulated by an electric field. These are most commonly used in actuators and sensors.
Conclusively, improvements in manufacturing processes, requirement for technically advanced and multi functional materials will keep researchers thriving to provide better solutions and alternatives to current materials. Also, concern towards environmental issues has increased the demand for advanced functional materials which offers reduced carbon footprint and lower energy consumption.
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