The PEM Technology Gateway is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the 
ERDF Northern & Western Regional Programme 2021-2027

Materials Development

PEM research centre staff are researching novel materials with industrial applications ranging from battery materials to antibacterial coatings for mobile phones, wastewater treatment and use in surgical operating theatres

Materials Development

PEM research centre staff are researching novel materials with industrial applications ranging from battery materials to antibacterial coatings for mobile phones, wastewater treatment and use in surgical operating theatres

The PEM research centre has internationally recognised expertise in the following areas:

five women in white lab coats working in a lab

Coating materials

The development of advanced materials that can be used to coat existing products and thus conferring enhanced performance is a corner stone of PEM research centre materials research.

These coatings include a:

  • Thermal insulating coating synthesised using high surface area graphene-silica composite aerogels       that have near-IR reflective and thermal insulating properties
  • Coatings with antimicrobial activity that employ photocatalysis/photoactivated titanium dioxide.   

Materials for advanced
oxidation processes

Current pharmaceutical effluent treatment methods using conventional physical, chemical, or biological treatment systems are not efficient, are legislatively constrained and are not economically viable. PEM staff are working with several companies to address this problem and are employing various advanced oxidation processes such as photocatalysis and photo-fenton reactions to treat pharmaceutical effluents.

women in safety glasses and white lab coat writing notes, with three people in the background

Advanced additive
manufacturing material development

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a fast-growing sector. An increasing number of organisations are adopting AM products and services. Although a wide range of homogenous and heterogeneous material mixtures are employed in AM, there is still a need for developing targeted materials for use with each specific AM process. 

FUNDING

Discover our funding opportunities and processes that are helping to drive innovation and efficiency across industries.


INSIGHTS

The PEM Centre has helped a multitude of organisations to empower their product development. You can read all about the work we've done so far.