Smart Materials and Nanotechnology

Ceramics and Textiles Industries

The earlier brittle materials which were hard and strong in compression and weak in tension and shearing were ceramics. To improvise their properties, smart materials were incorporated into them which led to development of smart ceramics which are ceramic materials fabricated from ultrafine particles using sol gel route. Smart Ceramics find applications in bone surgery, tissue engineering, dental applications, bio imaging, sensors, paints and pigments, optics, and electronics, drug and antigen delivery.

Smart Materials are also employed on textile industries. Smart Textiles or Textile materials are mainly designed to meet the requirements of the society like generation of power in fabrics, Moisture, temperature, Sweat and Smell control in clothing etc. Some of the modern materials in textiles are Kevlar, Polartec, Nomex, Neoprene, Polar fleece, Gore-Tex. Micro fibre, Micro encapsulation, thermochromatic, light sensitive and heat sensitive materials and methods are also employed.