Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The development of new nanocomposite materials is critical for future applications. Already composite materials are widely used in applications spanning tennis rackets to jets, and it is likely that they will be used for many emerging applications where high strength and minimum weight are important. In addition, nanocomposite materials may be precursors to highly porous materials that could be used for gas separation and storage applications. This project involves a collaboration between researchers at the University of British Columbia and scientists at FPInnovation (Paprican Division) to develop new organic-inorganic hybrid materials. Cellulose nanocrystals extracted from wood fibre will be used to generate new types of nanocomposite materials that are anticipated to have useful mechanical properties (strength, fracture toughness) and, after template removal, are expected to be highly porous in nature. These new materials will be investigated for gas storage applications.