Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The proposed research program is directed towards the development of advanced and novel inorganic materials in thin film form (coatings). The focus of the research is on ternary titanium carbide and nitride phases. The phases belong to a relatively new class of materials and exhibit a unique set of properties due to their nano-layered structure. The research encompasses both fundamental and applied aspects of the materials. Fundamental investigations include rational design and selection, synthesis, processing, characterization, and testing of the coatings through analytical and computational means. The research is expected to result in important strides towards gaining a fundamental understanding of the ternary carbides and nitrides by addressing the intricate relationships between processing, structure, and properties. The proposed research is quite interdisciplinary and we are expecting new research directions to arise in the mid- to long-term through collaborations with researchers and partners on campus and outside the university. The research offers excellent training opportunities by gaining transferable skills through first-hand experience with a variety of analytical tools and methods, involvement in computational work, and interaction with collaborators. It is expected that the proposed research will contribute to building research capacity of Laurentian Univ. in the area of Materials Science and Engineering Beside advancing the state of knowledge, we strive to apply gained know-how in energy-intensive applications. These include coatings for high-temperature environments, separation, and energy storage of strategic importance to Laurentian Univ., the province, and Canada.