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19/03/2010
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Medicine bottles that alert you when a prescription needs updating and computer screens which can be rolled up to fit in a briefcase are potential applications of research undertaken by De Montfort University Leicester.
 Researchers at the University's Emerging Technologies Research Centre (EMTERC) are exploring the potential of gold nanoparticles and small molecules to create memory chips that are flexible enough to be used in paper and clothing. Tests have shown the nanoparticles can be charged when an electric field is applied and retain that charge when the field is taken away: an essential feature of a memory device.
EMTERC head Dr Shashi Paul led the research, which was funded by a £207,000 grant from EPSRC. "The use of gold nanoparticles could be an essential step towards the mainstream adoption of organic electronics, as they are commercially readily available and do not oxidise or rust, unlike other nanoparticles which have been tested, such as iron."
A benefit of the approach is that organic materials can be processed at room temperature and so require considerably less energy for their manufacture. It also means they can be used with cheap and flexible plastic substrates.
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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