At a recent SAIMC Durban branch meeting, held monthly at the Durban Country Club, Dr. Mathew K Moodley, Senior Lecturer at the School of Chemistry and Physics, Westville University of Kwazulu-Natal introduced the audience to a huge area of research called nanoscience and nanotechnology.
He explained why, on the nanoscale, the properties of materials we are familiar with behave differently and have some unexpected potential uses. While the field of materials is huge, he focused the talk on his research area on a few such materials.
He spoke about their special properties and applications and how they are produced in his research laboratories. In addition, he addressed areas of interest and the potential of using specialised apparatus for the development of advanced solar cells, chemical sensors, solid state batteries and memory devices.