Surface functionalisation of advanced fibres for polymer composite applications

Nuenz Ltd, an advanced material manufacturing company, and the NZ Product Accelerator are offering a PhD studentship in Chemistry to study the dispersion and bonding of advanced fibres in polymers and their effect on the physical properties of the fibre-polymer composites, together with developing commercial applications of these composite materials. The research will involve the design, fabrication, characterisation and testing of fibre-polymer composites with the aim of developing a fundamental understanding of the factors that control and enhance polymer-fibre bonding. It will then address the application of the science and technology to the commercial development of such new polymer-fibre composite materials. The characterisation and test methods will include electronmicroscopy, FT-IR and photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as mechanical testing.