Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Dielectric Electro-Active Polymers (DEAPs) have created a major impact on the configuration of novel actuators. Nano materials have played an important role in shaping DEAPs and specialized infrastructure is becoming necessary to research the novel DEAPs. This NSERC RTI grant will establish an Active-Polymer Fabrication Facility (APFF) in the School of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University. The APFF includes the following equipment suitable for fabricating and testing DEAPs: fume hoods for safely handling toxic materials; a high voltage bench for actuating and measuring performance of DEAPs; a glove box for handling micro/nano materials in a safe and controlled environment; a spinner for manufacturing thin active polymeric films; an oven for curing polymeric samples; and a vacuum chamber for degassing the active polymers. The proposed equipment, located in a suitable supervised room, will form a facility that is critical for enabling the applicants to engage effectively in internationally competitive research on DEAPs. The four NSERC Discovery Grants, the NSERC I2I project, the two NSERC Strategic Grants and the CIHR project grant held by the applicants will extensively rely on the use of the APFF. The proposed infrastructure will enable not only the applicants and their large number of students, but also research groups across Canada, to actively and equally participate in promising research programs. Students and researchers coming out of this facility will not only have hands-on experience in novel material processing technology, but will also gain expertise in various challenging system and device level techniques that can be utilized in the Canadian high-tech industry. The infrastructure will also be able to offer specialized training in novel conductive polymer research, which will have applications in the health-care industry, wearable and flexible electronics, and novel fabrics with embedded electronics and sensors. We will allow any academic researcher to utilize the facility on a time-based booking arrangement. We do not propose to implement a user-fee for the facility since there are no major maintenance expenses expected.