Report Overview
Sustained Research Paves the Way for Advanced Materials to Appear in Real-world Applications
The 21st century is bound to be an exciting time for advanced materials and chemicals. Widely regarded as critical building blocks for future
devices and systems, these sophisticated new materials stand poised to radically transform numerous current and future applications. Extensive
research by many laboratories and start-up companies, assisted by various government agencies, is propelling them towards eventual commercialization
and utilization in real-world applications.
This Technical Insights study discusses important developments in advanced materials as they emerge from the laboratory towards commercialization,
including electronics, photonics, biomaterials, composites, novel polymers, and many more. This report also examines key factors such as obstacles to
commercial success, existing and future applications, new manufacturing processes, and major breakthroughs in research.
Emerging Photonics, Porous Materials Find New Applications
"Photonics is emerging as a new multidisciplinary frontier of science and technology," says the analyst. Photonic materials, which have
several potential applications in present and future information- and image-processing technologies, are generating keen interest among scientists and
engineers world-wide.
Sustained research in porous materials, which play a key role in various industrial processes, has expanded their applications beyond traditional
catalysts and absorbents. Zeolites, for instance, are finding applications in solid support of molecular catalyst and inorganic template for making
carbon materials. Scientists have now synthesized a new class of material that combines zeolite-like porosity with semiconductivity, whose unique
properties facilitate its usage as electrodes in electrochemical sensors, as photocatalysts, and for selective absorption of molecules.
Versatile Composites and Biopolymers Focus of Research
"Composites such as inorganic nanoparticle/polymer matrix are ideally suited to achieve multifunctionality since the best features of
different materials can be combined to form a new material that has a broad spectrum of desired properties," says the analyst. Scientists are
increasingly using models, simulations, and computer programs to design such complex materials, especially in tailoring and optimizing the desired
properties. Computational material science, now one of the most active and exciting areas of research, makes it possible to accurately calculate
properties of microscopic structures.
Versatile biopolymers are beginning to find important applications in packaging and food production. Biodegradable polymers, which have a promising
future in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, have found increasing usage in the human body over the past few years. Relatively high production
costs is compelling research laboratories to make these superior materials affordable. Researchers are also developing and exploring innovative
applications such as the use of biorubber in engineering blood vessels, heart valves, liver, and cartilage, and are optimistic about future success.
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