Material chemistry is an interdisciplinary field to study the composition, properties and interaction of various materials e.g. ceramics, polymers, plastics, semiconductors, biomaterials, metallic alloys, magnetic materials, medical implant materials, biological materials, hybrid materials, and nanomaterials etc. The current state of material chemistry investigates the relationship between structure of materials at atomic or molecular scale and their impact on macroscopic properties. It incorporates elements of applied chemistry and physics, with significant attention focused on nanoscience and nanotechnology. There are still many challenges that require breakthroughs in material chemistry which will have significant impact on the future of technology.

Material chemistry group in the Department of Chemistry, CIIT, Abbottabad campus is an interdisciplinary group working in diverse fields. The major focus areas are described below, which have applications in various fields including energy devices (fuel cells, lithium ion batteries, solar cells etc.), medicinal applications (targeted drug delivery etc.), molecular electronics, and catalytic applications etc.

Focus Areas

• 1.    Inorganic materials

  •        Metal, metaloxide and semiconductor nanoparticles (QDs)

  •        Crystal structure and magnetic properties of transition metal oxyhalides

  •        Co-ordination metal complexes and organometallics

  •        Hybrid organic-inorganic materials

  •        Surface modification of carbon fillers and nanoparticles

  2.    Polymeric materials

  ·         Polymer-nanocomposites

  •        Polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cells

  •        Ion exchange materials

  •        Thermo-plastic composites

  •        Photo-cured composites

  3.    Biomaterials

  •        Targeted drug delivery

  •     Metallodrugs

  4.    Electronic materials

  •     Energy devices

  •     Molecular electronics & single molecule electronics

  •     Liquid crystals