Engineering Materials

Engineering thermoplastics showcase polycarbonate, a premier material adding exceptional properties to commodity polymers, formed by condensation polymerization of bisphenol E with carbonate to yield transparent, impact-resistant, heat-stable performance.

polycarbonate, an engineering thermoplastic, enables electrical and electronic components, data storage devices, optical applications, security components, construction materials, and other miscellaneous uses.

Learn how biodegradable polymers degrade in water via enzymes and microorganisms, forming harmless gases and reducing pollution from non-biodegradable disposal.

Explore the structural requirements for biodegradable polymers, including amorphous chains, heteroatoms (O, N, S), hydrophilic nature, and functional groups, plus natural, biosynthetic, and synthetic biopolymers.

Learn about polyhydroxybutyratevalarate (PHBV), a biodegradable polymer whose repeating units combine 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate; understand its structure, properties, and potential as an alternative to polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride.

Explore applications of PHBV, a biodegradable polymer, in packaging, medical devices, and agriculture, including sustainable drug delivery, absorbable implants and sutures, and films for moisture retention.

Explore how conducting polymers carry current, inherently or when mixed with other conducting materials. The course emphasizes intrinsically conducting polymers, whose structure enables free electrons to move and conduct electricity.

Identify the structural requirements for intrinsically conducting polymers, including conjugation with alternating double and single bonds, aromatic resonance, linear crystalline order, and high planarity.

Polyacetylene forms from acetylene by addition polymerization using a Ziegler catalyst, yielding a cis isomer with unique conductivity; doping further enhances its electrical conductivity toward conductor levels.

Explore how doping polyacetylene increases conductance by creating positive and negative charge carriers through oxidation and reduction. Learn how oxidizing and reducing agents enable this charge-carrier formation toward conductor-level conductivity.

Explore the wide range of conducting polymers and their electrical applications in engineering materials, from rechargeable lightweight batteries and transistors to photodiodes, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and glucose sensors.

Explore electroluminescent polymers, conducting polymers that emit bright colors when electrically stimulated. Learn how electron-hole recombination forms excitons leading to light and study applications in electronics.

Examine PPV, a linear benzene-vinyl polymer with alternating bonds, a conducting, electro luminescent material whose conductivity increases by doping and that emits yellow-green fluorescence under electric fields for displays.

Explore the applications of the electro luminescent polymer PPV, a conducting polymer used in organic light emitting diodes for displays and lighting, solar cells, sensors, and color labeling.

Nanomaterials are substances with at least one dimension below 100 nanometers, in the nanoscale range up to 200 nanometers, classified as 0D, 1D, 2D, or 3D.

Explore how nanomaterials enable drug delivery, cancer cell targeting, glucose biosensors, optoelectronics, solar cells, and air and water filtration, plus reinforced polymers for aerospace and construction.

Explore quantum dots, semiconductor nanoparticles that emit specific colors under illumination, classified as group iii–v, group ii–vi, and Silicon quantum dots, with examples like Gallium arsenide and Zinc oxide.

Explore how quantum dots, as nanoparticles that emit bright colors, enable optical films, solid-state lighting, displays, photovoltaics, and photodetectors, with biomedical imaging and tumor targeting applications.