Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
Institut national de la recherche scientifique
$150,000.00
An advanced fabrication system for graphene-based materials
FY 2013-14
Summary
The aim of this proposal is the purchase of a unique ""3-in-1"" multifunctional fabrication system that integrates plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), thermal CVD and magnetic sputtering. This equipment will be used for the synthesis of graphene, graphene composites and doped graphene, and will be installed at the INRS-EMT. This requested fabrication system is in urgent need, for the following five reasons. (i) It is CRITICAL to the research of the PI (Sun, main user, a new INRS faculty member). It will greatly benefit his NSERC research programs and raise his ability to build collaborations with other researchers. (ii) Over 50% of the faculty members (PI + 5 co-applicants + 14 potential users) at INRS-EMT are working and eager to work on research programs related to graphene. Despite this, there is no equipment at EMT that is capable of producing large amounts of high-quality graphene, to meet everyone's needs. (iii) Most of the graphene used at EMT is received from external collaborators, which takes time and difficulty in requesting and receiving, especially samples with specific characteristics. The requested facility has the advantages of addressing the challenges presented by the conventional exfoliation technique, as the latter is time consuming and difficult to obtain monolayer graphene with high quality and high doping level. (iv) This equipment is required for various research programs in the areas of high socio-economic importance to Canada, e.g., energy conversion and storage (fuel cells, lithium batteries, and solar cells), wastewater treatment, nanodevices (terahertz nanoantennas and detectors), biosensors, materials science. (v) Beyond its important impact on the specific research programs described below, acquisition of this facility will be essential for HQP training. Based on the projects to be supported, we estimate a minimum of 25 HQPs who will be using the requested equipment per year. This urgency is underlined by the pledge from the EMT center to cover the cost in excess of $150,000, up to a total of $250,000, to support this application.
Program
Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
Location
Quebec, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
458866-2014
Name nom
Sun, Shuhui
Department département
Centre Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications (ÉMT) Varennes
Organization id
56
Institution établissement
Institut national de la recherche scientifique
Province en
Québec
Province fr
Québec
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2013
Competition year année de concours
2014
Award amount
150000
Program id
EQPEQ
Program name en
Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
Program name fr
Outils et instruments de recherche - catégorie 1 (<150 000$)
Group en
Discovery grants programs
Group fr
Programmes de subventions à la découverte
Committee code
1511
Committee name en
Materials and Chemical Engineering
Committee name fr
Génie chimique et des matériaux
Area of application code
1208
Area of application group en
Advancement of knowledge
Area of application group fr
Avancement des connaissances
Area of application en
Materials sciences
Area of application fr
Sciences des matériaux
Research subject code
2001
Research subject group en
Materials science and technology
Research subject group fr
Science et technologie des matériaux
Research subject en
Materials structure, properties and testing
Research subject fr
Structure, propriétés et essais des matériaux
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
An advanced fabrication system for graphene-based materials
Keyword
NSERC
Application summary
The aim of this proposal is the purchase of a unique ""3-in-1"" multifunctional fabrication system that integrates plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), thermal CVD and magnetic sputtering. This equipment will be used for the synthesis of graphene, graphene composites and doped graphene, and will be installed at the INRS-EMT. This requested fabrication system is in urgent need, for the following five reasons. (i) It is CRITICAL to the research of the PI (Sun, main user, a new INRS faculty member). It will greatly benefit his NSERC research programs and raise his ability to build collaborations with other researchers. (ii) Over 50% of the faculty members (PI + 5 co-applicants + 14 potential users) at INRS-EMT are working and eager to work on research programs related to graphene. Despite this, there is no equipment at EMT that is capable of producing large amounts of high-quality graphene, to meet everyone's needs. (iii) Most of the graphene used at EMT is received from external collaborators, which takes time and difficulty in requesting and receiving, especially samples with specific characteristics. The requested facility has the advantages of addressing the challenges presented by the conventional exfoliation technique, as the latter is time consuming and difficult to obtain monolayer graphene with high quality and high doping level. (iv) This equipment is required for various research programs in the areas of high socio-economic importance to Canada, e.g., energy conversion and storage (fuel cells, lithium batteries, and solar cells), wastewater treatment, nanodevices (terahertz nanoantennas and detectors), biosensors, materials science. (v) Beyond its important impact on the specific research programs described below, acquisition of this facility will be essential for HQP training. Based on the projects to be supported, we estimate a minimum of 25 HQPs who will be using the requested equipment per year. This urgency is underlined by the pledge from the EMT center to cover the cost in excess of $150,000, up to a total of $250,000, to support this application.
