The Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology (CoEN) is a nanotechnology facility located at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). It is one of the 8 centers of excellence in Thailand.
The CoEN at the AIT is used for applied research and graduate education in nanotechnology. Current research activities at the CoEN focus on dye-sensitive solar cells, electronic devices, gas sensors, bio-diagnostic tools, specific microscopic sensors, heavy-metal-ion sensors for wastewater, environmental mitigation through visible light photocatalysis, the shake-up of nanoparticles, and layer-by-layer growth from colloidal particles, among others. The Master's degree program in Nanotechnology was launched in 2009. The center has over 30 members from 10 countries carrying out cross-disciplinary research in nanotechnology.
The Center collaborates with many international institutions, most notably:
State University of New York at Buffalo, United States, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, India, Center of Photoelectrochemical Energy, Korea University, South Korea, Center for Nanobioscience, Agharkar Research Institute, India,Center for Nanobioscience, Agharkar Institute, India Inorganic Materials Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland, Uppsala University, Sweden,University, Sweden University of Quebec, Canada, Leibniz Institute of New Materials, Germany, University of California, Berkeley, United States, and Griffith University, Australia.
History
The Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology was launched in 2006 to address the shortage of research facilities in Thailand. Activities included joint research with local and international universities and institutes, education and training in nanotechnology, technology transfer, and promotion of public and industrial awareness of nanotechnology. This center provides an international platform for academics and researchers from Thailand, AIT, and industry.
In Thailand, there are currently 8 Centers of Excellence under the Thailand National Nanotechnology Center: NANOTEC: Kasetsert University, Bangkok; Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok; King Mongkut Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang, Bangkok; Mahidol University, Bangkok; Asian Institute of Technology, Pathum Thani; Prince of Songkhla University, Phuket; Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen; and Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai.
The Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology at AIT was set up jointly with the National Nanotechnology Center, Thailand, of the NSTDA,National Science and Technology Development Agency: NSTDA at the Asian Institute of Technology campus in Thailand. Under the agreement, AIT and NANOTEC support the center jointly. A few faculties at AIT joined hands to propose that this center be established in the institute. The faculties came from all three schools, and the founding members were: Prof. Joydeep Dutta, Prof. W. Kanok-Nukulchai,Prof. W. Kanok-Nukulchai Dr. Oleg Shipin, the late Dr. N. Coowanitwong, Dr. M. Parnichkun, Dr. Mousa M. Nazhad, Dr. S. Venkatesh and Dr. P. Herabat.Dr. P. Herabat A few rooms in the Chalarm Prakiat Building at the Asian Institute of Technology were allocated for its operation. Initially, due to a lack of sufficient funds, the center had a hard time starting operations. Prof. Joydeep Dutta,Prof. Joydeep Dutta CoEN Director, recalls, "I used to get glasses and mugs from my house to fulfill the students requirements for glasswares in the lab." Over the years, the center got crowded with new equipment coming in and more researchers joining the nanoteam. Eventually, in September 2009, the center was officially shifted to the Outreach building.
On 8 September 2009, a state-of-the-art facility of the Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology at AIT was jointly inaugurated by Prof. Said Irandoust,Said Irandoust AIT President, and Dr. Paritud Bhandhubanyong,Dr. Paritud Bhandhubanyong Director, National Metal and Materials Technology Center. The lab had a bigger and larger space and was more open to visitors from outside.
Administration
The Asian Institute of Technology governs the administrative activities of the Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology. Prof. Joydeep Dutta is the director of CoEN.
Campus The facilities provided for students in AIT are shared with the researchers of the center. These include sporting facilities such as football grounds, tennis courts, badminton courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, a swimming pool, and a golf course. The facilities also include a two-story library is accessible to all members of AIT.
Academics
Doctoral research in nanotechnology has been taking place since 2003. But, a Master's degree program in Nanotechnology at AIT was not available until August 2009. It has attracted considerable interest amongst students across Asia. The program is open to graduates with a Bachelor of engineering (electrical, chemical, mechanical, industrial, telecommunications, computer engineering, electronics, and instrumentation) as well as a Bachelor of Science (physics and chemistry).
Essential features of AIT's Nanotechnology degree program are: programmatic balance; processing nanostructure properties and applications (P-N-P-A); interdisciplinarity; science (including biology); and technology; integrated classroom-lab experience; hands-on experiments and use of instrumentation; curriculum-linked to applications; balance between theory and practice (industrial needs); and content addressing societal impact: public safety, ethics, and awareness.
Courses offered The aim of the "Integrated Master's Degree programme in Nanotechnology" is to address the knowledge-based industries of the 21st century, which will require the continuous development of their workforce in this new field as well as a technically updated management. The Nanotechnology course is designed in such a way that students from different disciplines can get easily acquainted with the subject matter. Prof. Dutta, Director, CoeN at AIT, and Prof. G. Louis Hornyak, visiting faculty, are teaching students from different backgrounds, such as material sciences, chemistry, physics, agriculture, etc. The Nanotechnology Master's Degree Program is designed to be multidisciplinary, covering areas such as: The Macroscopic and Microscopic world Physics/Electronics Chemistry/Chemical Engineering. Biotechnology Material Sciences Microsystem Technology Instrumentation Environment
The list of the courses offered under School or an institute-level course: School of engineering and Technology and Area/Field of Study: Nanotechnology on the AIT website is given below.
Self Assembly and Molecular Manufacturing (January) Impact of Nanotechnology on Society (August) Intellectual Property Rights for Technology Development and Management (August) Solid State Physics for Nanotechnology (January) Fundamentals of Chemistry (August) Catalysis (August) Nano Thermodynamics (January) Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (January) Colloids and Nanoparticles (August) Microelectronics Fabrication Technology (August) Microelectromechanical and Nanoelectromechanical Systems (January) Characterization Tools in Nanotechnology (January) Advanced Seminars in Nanotechnology (January)
Research
The Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology has acquired synthesis experience with nanoparticles through reactive precipitation techniques. Gold, silver, platinum, palladium, zinc sulfide, zinc oxide, and silica nanoparticles are synthesized regularly at the center for a variety of applications. The platform technology of the center can be discussed as follows:
Nanoparticles: gold, silver, platinum, palladium, silica, zinc oxide, and zinc sulfide Nanowires: zinc oxide Coating Techniques: sol-gel coating, pyrosol coating, layer-by-layer organization, inkjet printing, spin coating
The research efforts in the AIT center are broadly classified into three groups:
Environment: photocatalysis, heavy metal ion sensors, bacteria sensing, self-cleaning windows Agriculture and Food: E. coli sensors, E. nose, smart pesticides, gas sensors Alternate Energy Harvesting: nano-bio solar cells, nano-energy generators
The primary objective of the center is to seek applications for nanoparticles. Research work has extended to nanowires, and extensive work is being carried out, especially in the environmental application and the energy harvesting side of the application of nanowires on zinc oxide. The competence achieved at the CoEN in AIT has been primarily in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, and zinc compounds, namely zinc oxide and zinc sulfide. Some additional work on the development of sol-gel titanium dioxide has also taken place. Doping of semiconductor nanoparticles and studies on the defect engineering of metal oxides have been another key area of research at the center, with an objective to apply the added value obtained from defect engineering to some applications.
Synthesis of nanoparticles
The different methods employed to synthesize nanoparticles of gold, silver, zinc sulfide, zinc oxide, and silica, among others, are briefly given below:
Gold Nanoparticles
Generally, gold nanoparticles in aqueous solutions are synthesized by the reduction of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (HAuCl4). To prevent the particles so formed from aggregating, often stabilizing agents are added. During the process, tri-sodium citrate reduces the gold salt to metallic gold particles, which act as seeds for continuous growth.
Silver Nanoparticles
The silver nanoparticles are synthesized by chemical reduction of silver nitrate. The reducing reagent used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles is similar to the Turkevitch method, i.e., using tri-sodium citrate. After the creation of the nanoparticle colloids, in order to increase the viscosity for jetting the inks, polymers such as chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and polyethylene glycol (PEG) are added to stabilize the solution.
ZnS Nanoparticles
The organometallic synthesis of ZnS:Mn2+ nanoparticles developed is similar to the method described by Bhargava et al.
ZnO Nanoparticles ZnO nanoparticles are synthesized in three different solvents, and their optical absorptions are studied to determine in which solvent the nanoparticles absorb maximum visible light in the optical band ranging between 400 nm and 700 nm. The nanoparticles synthesized in different solvents (isopropanol, methanol, and ethanol) by the standard methods as explained in the experimental section yielded nanoparticles that are almost comparable in size (5 to 7 nm).
Silica Nanoparticles Silica nanoparticles can be synthesized by the sol-gel method; Stöber et al. published a process for synthesising silica particles by hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in an ethanol solution, which is catalyzed by ammonia (NH3). Monodispersed silica spheres can be obtained from the hydrolysis and condensation of alkoxide silicon by the following methods:
Hydrolysis: to form silanol groups
Condensation : to form siloxane bridges
ZnO can be synthesized into various novel structures due to the loose packing of tetrahedral structures and the different ionic radii of Zn2+ (74 picometers) and O2− (140 picometers). This causes large open spaces inside the hexagonal ZnO structure and makes it possible to control the shape of nanostructured particles. The growth of ZnO structures depends on various conditions, for example, the pH of the solvent, temperature, duration of growth, and nature of the solvent.