Nanocomposites for Engineering Applications

Call for Papers

Recently, the demand for developing multifunctional materials and structures has substantially increased due to the need of ensuring the world security and human safety, and most critically, providing environmentally friendly solutions, in terms of new materials, to protect our environment. Much research has been conducted since the last decade towards developing multilevel and multidisciplinary nanotechnologies for providing materials with extraordinary properties, which traditional materials cannot achieve, for different engineering and science applications. Such works have included the adoption of nanoparticles mixed with polymers and metals to produce (i) high-strength polymeric composites and metallic alloys for space and infrastructure applications; (ii) high-conductive polymers for electrical appliance design; (iii) high-wear-resistance materials for surface coatings (particularly in developing bio-anti-fouling coating materials for ocean engineering); (iv) high hydrogen storage capacity fuel cells (with the use of carbon nanotubes); (v) biocompatible and bioresorbable polymers for implant applications; as well as (vi) others. Besides, some works have been focused on the use of natural fibers mixed with nanoparticles such as nanoclays to produce environmentally friendly biopolymeric composites for automotive engineering applications.

In fact, the potential of using nanomaterials for engineering applications is huge. However, many fundamental issues still need to be in-depth investigated in order to have full understanding of mechanisms that drive the property enhancement of nanocomposites. In reality, several issues up to this stage have not yet been solved completely to give a full picture of how these nanomaterials/particles could change the properties of polymers and metallic materials. To effectively use the nanomaterials in real-life engineering applications, the following factors have to be investigated in detail; they are

  • Dispersion properties of nanomaterials and their orientations in relation to the property changes
  • Particle and cluster size effects
  • Linkage between the laboratory investigation and practical production
  • Effect on human body (bio-nano-materials)
  • Environmental impact

Since this is a special issue for the 1st International Conference on Multifunctional Materials and Structures, to be held on 28–31 July, 2008, Hong Kong (MFMS-1 2008), only high-quality papers submitted to the conference will be selected for review for this issue. Up to now, the conference has received over 600 papers (we shall cut them down to 400 after reviewing process in order to have a manageable number for the conference), and one-fourth of the papers is related to the topics addressed above. Therefore, we will certainly be able to select the most high-quality papers into this special issue.

Authors should follow the Journal of Nanomaterials manuscript format described at the journal site http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnm/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/, according to the following timetable.

The conference will be held on 28–31 July, 2008, Hong Kong. We shall invite short-listed authors to submit their full-length paper(s) to JNM after the conference. The tentative schedule is listed as follows:

Manuscript DueNovember 1, 2008
First Round of ReviewsFebruary 1, 2009
Publication DateMay 1, 2009

Guest Editors

  • Alan K. T. Lau, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
  • Carrie H. Y. Ling, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
  • Debes Bhattacharyya, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand