Amiralian Group Honours Projects

 Supervisor Dr Nasim Amiralian

Single-use plastics, such as those used for medical textiles like face masks, are a significant contributor to the plastic waste problem. Plant-derived nanofibres have many advantages, such as being natural, abundant, biodegradable, and are exceptionally light and strong. These nanofibres are excellent candidates for use as sustainable materials to reduce the use of petroleum-based plastics in the filtration industry. This project aims to design, manufacture and characterise biodegradable based membranes for face mask application. The project involved the design and production of biodegradable materials and testing their performance.

 Supervisor Dr Nasim Amiralian & Dr Sasan Ahadi Rezaeieh

Flexible conductive films featuring a combined structural configuration of porosity, good stability and mechanical properties, and low cost are promising substrate materials for flexible electronics such as portable and wearable antennas. This project aims to prepare sustainable and flexible materials for the antenna from nanocellulose derived from sugarcane waste to monitor health conditions. The student will gain experience in synthesising nanocellulose and substrates and characterising them. This project will be run in collaboration with researchers at the School of Electrical Engineering, who will use the substrate for design antenna and test their properties.

 Supervisor Dr Nasim Amiralian

The use of antiviral materials is not a new approach, however, a major disadvantage with most of the commercially available products such as bleach and alcohol is reduced activity upon drying while ideally, the antiviral material should remain on the surface for a longer time. This project will involve the design and synthesis of nanoparticles with antiviral properties, their characterisation and investigation of their antiviral properties. It will also focus on developing approaches to immobilise the nanoparticles and avoid their release into the environment.

 Supervisor Dr Nasim Amiralian & Dr Lauren Geurds

Cellulose nanocrystal is a growing generation of renewable material used to develop high-performance products in various industries due to its rod-shaped morphology, highly crystalline rigidity, surface area, and excellent mechanical properties. Mainly, the available hydroxyl groups on the surface of CNC can be used for chemical modifications by introducing small molecules, particles, and polymers, creating well-designed systems with specific properties. This project investigates the potential of sugarcane waste as a source of cellulose to produce modified CNC-polymer brush systems to template metallic nanoparticles (NPs). In addition, the CNC-templated metallic NPs will be further explored as conductive hydrogel systems. The project will involve designing, synthesising, and characterising the modified CNCs that could potentially be used for the wearable antenna.