Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/M34645/01
Title:	CHARACTERISATION OF THIN FILMS & INTERFACES BY COMPLEM ENTARY USE OF X-RAY REFLECTIVITY & ATOMIC FORCE MICRO
Principal Investigator:	Fairclough, Professor JPA
Other Investigators:	McLure, Dr I Bradley, Professor DD Hamley, Professor IW Jones, Professor R Krause, Professor S Cowlam, Dr N Ryan, Professor AJ Forrest, Dr J
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	AKZO Nobel BICC Bruker Pre Nexus Migration
Department:	Chemistry
Organisation:	University of Sheffield
Scheme:	JREI
Starts:	22 February 1999	Ends:	21 February 2000	Value (£):	112,486
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The equipment will form the focal point of the new HEFCE funded laboratory for characterisation of thin films and interfaces. It will support collaborative multidisciplinary research in three broad fields; surfaces and interfaces in synthetic polymers thin films, the structure of multilayers, including polymer, hybrid and magnetic multilayers, and the conformation of proteins and protein analogues at interfaces. In each case, understanding and exploiting the interactions and stability of a wide range of materials and interfaces is our objective and studies of structure and dynamics perpendicular and parallel to the film surface will be carried out. The chosen fields have a wide overlap leading to a synergistic input from researchers who may not otherwise collaborate. Major benefits in the polymer sector will be of immediate application in the study of adhesives, coatings and interfacial diffusion. Better understanding and control of interfacial structure in polymer optoelectronic devices will lead to performance and lifetime improvements. Advances in the hybrid inorganic/organic multilayers will lead to new materials for battery, barrier and smart coating applications. Understanding interactions between proteins and interfaces will have sensor and medical applications, while a better knowledge of conformational transitions in protein at interfaces will be important for understanding complex colloidal systems such as food emulsions and foams.The two instruments are complimentary in that the AFM provides direct, real space imaging, of a small area, while the reflectivity provides an averaged, reciprocal space, image of a large area.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.shef.ac.uk