SBPMat news: international interactions in meetings in San Francisco.

Posted on Friday 8 de May de 2015

Between April 6 and 10 of the present year, professor Roberto Mendonça Faria, president of our SBPMat (the Brazil materials research society), was in San Francisco (California, USA), participating in the “2015 MRS Spring Meeting“, one of the two annual meetings of the Materials Research Society (MRS). In such occasion, representing SBPMat, professor Faria held a series of meetings.

The president, vice-president, and the executive officer of MRS, respectively, Oliver Kraft, Kristi S. Anseth, and Tood M. Osman, took part in one of them. In such meeting, the directors of both societies agreed upon the continuity of the contract that makes the MRS’ publications available to SBPMat’s members, and discussed ways of establishing collaborations between the University Chapters programs of both societies. Additionally, SBPMat’s president invited the three directors of MRS to participate in the fourteenth meeting of the Brazilian MRS.

Another meeting congregated professor Robert Chang, general secretary of International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS), and professor José Alberto Giacometti, member of SBPMat Board of Counselors, in addition to professor Faria. The three professors defined that they will be co-organizers of the “Symposium U” at the XIV SBPMat Meeting, intitled “Importance of social implications of nanotechnologies in Science popularization”. The symposium already counts on two invited speakers: Guillermo Foladori, from Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (Mexico) and Noela Invernizzi, from Universidade Federal do Paraná (Brazil). In the meeting, professor Chang, who was plenary speaker at the XIII SBPMat Meeting, confirmed his presence in the meeting of this year.

In a third meeting, the president of SBPMat talked to representatives of Institute of Physics (IOP), and both parties manifested the desire of continuing the project of “Science Impact“, publication which, according to professor Faria, has been having an excellent repercussion.

SBPMat´s community people: interview with Fernando Galembeck.

Posted on Friday 8 de May de 2015

To Fernando Galembeck, Director of the Brazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory (LNNano) from 2011 to 2015, the interest in research started to appear during his adolescence, when, working in his father’s pharmaceutical lab, he realized the economic importance that new products, resulting from efforts in scientific research, had on the company. Currently aged 72, Fernando Galembeck, looking back at his own scientific path, can tell us several stories in which the knowledge produced by him, jointly with his collaborators, is not only transmitted through scientific papers, theses and books, but has taken form as licensed patents and new or improved products.

Galembeck received his Degree in Chemistry in 1964 from the University of São Paulo (USP). After graduating, he stayed at USP, teaching (1965 – 1980) and, simultaneously, conducting his doctoral studies in Chemistry (1965 – 1970) with a research work on the metal-metal bond dissociation. Once his doctoral studies were completed, he held post-doctoral fellowships in the United States, at the universities of Colorado, in the city of Denver (1972-1973) and California, in the city of Davis (1974), working in the field of Physical Chemistry of biological systems. In 1976, back at USP, he had the chance to create a colloids and surfaces laboratory in its Chemistry Institute. From that moment, Galembeck has been increasingly involved in the development of new materials, especially the polymeric ones, and their manufacturing processes.

In 1980, he started teaching at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), where he became a Full Professor in 1988, position he held until his retirement in 2011. At Unicamp, he held management positions such as University Vice-Dean, as well as Director of the Institute of Chemistry and Coordinator of its graduate studies program. In July, 2011, he took over the recently created LNNano, at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM).

Throughout his career, in Brazil, he held management functions at the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCT), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ), Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) and Brazilian Society for Microscopy and Microanalysis (SBMM), among other entities.

Holder of a 1A-level fellowship for research productivity at CNPq, Galembeck is the author of almost 250 scientific paper published on international peer reviewed journals, which count with over 2,300 citations, as well as 29 deposited patents and over 20 books and chapters in books. He has advised almost 80 Master’s and Doctoral researches.

He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the 2011 Anísio Teixeira Awards, from CAPES, the Brazilian agency for the improvement of graduate courses; the 2011 Telesio-Galilei Gold Medal, from the Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science (TGAS); the 2006 Almirante Álvaro Alberto Award for Science and Technology, from CNPq and the Conrado Wessel foundation; the 2006 José Pelúcio Ferreira Trophy, from Finep (Brazilian entity for funding of studies and projects); the 2000 Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit and the 1995 National Commendation of Scientific Merit, both from the President of the Republic of Brazil. He has also received several awards from companies and scientific and business associations, such as CPL, Petrobras, Union Carbide do Brasil, the Brazilian Paint Manufacturers Association, the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association, the Union from the Industry of Chemicals for Industrial Use from the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Polymer Association, the Brazilian Chemical Society – which created the Fernando Galembeck Award of Technological Innovation, the Engineers Union from the State of São Paulo and the Electrostatic Society of America.

What follows is an interview with the scientist:

SBPMat Newsletter: – Tell us what led you to become a scientist and work on issues in the field of Materials.

Fernando Galembeck: – My interest in research work started during my adolescence, when I comprehended the importance of new knowledge, of discovery. I found this when I was working, after school, at my father’s pharmaceutical laboratory, as I could see how the newest, latest products, were important. I also saw how costly it was, for the lab, to depend on imported products, which were not produced in Brazil, and that in the country there was no competence to manufacture them. Then I realized the value of new knowledge, as well as the importance and the economic and strategic significance of such breakthroughs.

This feeling was increased when I took my major in Chemistry. I enrolled into the Chemistry course because one of my school teachers had suggested that I should seek a career related to research. He must have seen some inclination, some tendency of mine. So I attended the Chemistry course provided by the Philosophy School, in an environment where the research activity was very vivid. Because of that, I decided to conduct my Doctoral studies at USP. At that time, there were no regular graduate studies in Brazil yet. The advisor with whom I defended my dissertation, Professor Pawel Krumholz, was a great researcher, who also had built a very important career working on a company. He was the industrial director of Orquima, a major company by that time. That boosted my interest in research.

I worked with Chemistry for some years and my interest in materials came from a curious occurring. I was almost graduating, in my last vacations during the undergraduate studies. I was at an apartment, resting after lunch. I remember looking at the walls of this apartment and noticing that, with all I had learned in the Chemistry course, I did not have much to say about the things I could see: the paint, the coverings etc. That was Chemistry, but also Materials, and there was not much interest in Materials in the Chemistry course. Actually, Materials became very important in Chemistry mainly because of plastic and rubber, which, at the time, did not have the importance they have today. I am talking about 1964, approximately.

Well, then I started to work with Physical Chemistry, to later work a little in a field that is more oriented to Biochemistry, that is Biological Physical Chemistry and, in 1976, I received a task from the USP Department, which was to build a colloids and surfaces laboratory. One of our first projects was to modify plastic surfaces, in that case, Teflon. Then I realized that a major part of the colloids and surfaces Chemistry existed due to Materials, because the subject lends itself to create and develop new materials. From that moment on, I was getting increasingly involved with Materials, mainly polymers, a little less with ceramics, and even less with metals.

SBPMat Newsletter: – What are, in your own opinion, your main contributions to the field of Materials? Consider, in your answer, all aspects of your professional activity, including cases of knowledge transfer to the industry.

Fernando Galembeck: – I will tell the story in order, more or less. I think that the first important result in the field of Materials was exactly a technique intended to modify the surface of Teflon, that material in which it is very difficult to stick something. There is even that expression, “Teflon politicians”, the ones for which does not matter what you throw at them, they do not stick to anything. But, in certain situations, we want the Teflon to have adhesion; we want some things to stick. So, by a somewhat complicated path, I managed to see that I already knew how to modify Teflon, but I had never realized that is was important. I knew the phenomenon; I had observed it during my PhD defense. I knew that there was a change happening in Teflon. But it was during a visit to a Unilever laboratory in 1976, when I was talking to a researcher, that I saw that there were people striving to modify the surface of Teflon and achieve adhesion. Then, bringing the problem and the solution together, as soon as I returned to Brazil, I tried to see if I what I had previously observed was really useful, and it worked. That led to the first paper I wrote by myself and my first patent application, at a time when almost nobody talked about patents in Brazil, especially in the university environment. I was very enthusiastic about this: I was approached by companies that were interested in applying what I had done; one the modification in Teflon itself, the other in a different polymer. So I felt great, because I had made a discovery, I had a patent, and there were companies which, at least, would like to know what it was to see if there was a way to use it. One more thing: soon after the paper I wrote was published, I was invited to attend a conference in the United States, which addressed exactly the issue of modifying surfaces. Polymers, plastic and rubber surfaces, a subject with which I was involved for pretty much the rest of my life, up until now.

I will mention a second fact that did not have the same effects, so far. I discovered a method that enables the characterization and separation of very small particles. That was a very interesting paper. It was released, also produced a patent, but had no practical consequences. Recently, there have been some issues related to nanoparticles, which is a very important subject in Materials now, offering a chance to apply what I did over 30 years ago. The name of the technique is osmosedimentation.

Next there was some work that I did by collaborating in projects with Pirelli Cabos. With all this story of surfaces and polymers, I think I had become more or less known and was approached by Pirelli, which contracted me as a consultant and commissioned projects I had at Unicamp. An outcome of these projects, that I think is the most important, was the development of an insulator for very high voltages. This work was not only mine, but rather of a very large team, in which I took part. There were several people from Pirelli, and several from Unicamp. The result of this project was that the Brazilian Pirelli managed to be hired to provide high voltage cables for the Eurotunnel, back in the ‘80s. I think this was a very important case, as it led to a product and brought substantial economic results. I would like to stress that this was done in Brazil, by a Brazilian team. They were not a Brazilian company, but the team was based here.

Then, there were several projects with nanoparticles, at a time when we did not even call them nanoparticles; we used to call them fine particles, or simply small colloidal particles. The first paper I released on nanoparticles was in 1978. There were other things after that, which, ultimately, led to a paper on aluminum phosphate, which resulted in dissertations and papers, as well as a license by a company named Amorphic Solutions, from the Bunge group, that basically explores aluminum phosphate. The subject started at my lab, stayed there for many years, then a company of the Bunge group here in Brazil got interested, started participating, and we collaborated. That became a major development project. Later, Bunge found it infeasible to carry on with the project in Brazil and today is in the United States. I think it is a shame that they are there, but there were some other issues involved, including a disagreement with Unicamp, who holds the patents. If you check Amorphic Solutions page on the internet you may see many applications of the product. As far as I know, they are currently emphasizing its use as an anti-corrosive material to protect steel.

About the same time, in another project on nanoparticles, clay/natural rubber nanocomposites were developed. This was licensed by a Brazilian company called Orbys, which released a product called Imbrik, a product that the company provides, for example, in order to make rubber rolls for paper manufacturing.

Another case with a product. I had done a project with Oxiteno, which manufactures raw materials for latex, the surfactants. They wanted to get an ideia of how much you can change the latex changing the surfactant. I conducted a project with them that I consider one of the most interesting among those in which I have been involved. In the end, we realized that, by changing the surfactant a bit, we changed the latex a lot. These are used in paints, adhesives, resins. So we realized we had a great variability. This work was published and promoted. It did not result in a patent because it was a comprehension project. So, another company, Indústrias Químicas Taubaté (IQT) approached me to produce cationic latex, but using a new path. Cationic latex in general is made of quaternary ammonium salts, which have some environmental restrictions. The company wanted an alternative that did not have those restrictions. By the end of the project, we produced cationic latex without environmental restrictions, and the IQT put the product on the market.

There was another case that was also very interesting, even though it was canceled. Here in Brazil, there was a large manufacturer of polyethylene terephthalate, PET, which is used for many things, including bottles. They knew about the work I had done with nanocomposites, the one with Orbys I mentioned before, so they approached me wanting to produce PET nanocomposites. We had to find out how to escape from what was already patented abroad and discovered a whole new path. The company was called Rhodia-Ster, and today it is part of another Italian company, called Mossi e Ghisolfi. The company was enthusiastic and ended up patenting it in Brazil, and then later abroad. At a certain point, they decided that they would conduct the work internally, and so they did for some years. One day, my contact within the company called me to tell this: “look, we were working with two technologies; the one held by Unicamp and another one, in another country. Both are working, but the company has reached a point where it has chosen to complete the development of only one”. When coming to the final stage in developing materials, the projects costs are too high. One have to use large amounts of materials, run many tests with customers. So, the company decided to take one project further, and, unfortunately, it was not the one in which I had worked. At the end, it was a little frustrating, but I think that it was interesting, because, during this whole time, the company invested a lot in the path we had started here. Not only that, each project brings resources for the laboratory, brings money to hire people, more jobs etc. So, these projects result in many benefits, even when they are not concluded.

Now, skipping some bits, I will reach the last result, which is fairly recent, happening after I left Unicamp and came to the CNPEM. One of CNPEM’s goals is to explore renewable source materials to produce advanced materials. There is a whole philosophy behind this, based on the depletion of natural resources, sustainability… We have worked hard in order to make new things with materials derived from biomass, and the main focus is cellulose. It is the most abundant polymer in the world, but it is very hard to work with it. You cannot process cellulose as you process polyethylene, for example. One of our goals has been to find ways to laminate cellulose, i.e., work it as closely as possible to the way we use to work synthetic polymers. A recent outcome, built upon this idea, is that we managed to produce cellulose adhesives having it as the only polymer, which is new. A patent application was entered in the beginning of the year, and we are submitting a paper on it, while aiming to work with companies that are interested in the subject. We are already discussing a project for a specific application of this modified cellulose with a company.

This is the latest case. In the middle of the way, many other projects were conducted with companies, for issues of their interest. Coating something, gluing another, modifying a polymer to achieve a certain result. But these were answers to demands from companies, instead of researches started at the laboratory.

SBPMat Newsletter: – Leave a message for our readers who are starting their careers as scientists.

Fernando Galembeck: – First of all, in any chosen career, there must be a dose of passion. It does not matter if you are going to work in the Stock Market, Healthcare or whatever you may do; above all, your taste must decide. If a person chooses a career because it will give them money or status… I think it is a bad choice. If you do things with pleasure, with interest, the money, prestige and status will come from other paths. The goal is to do what makes you happy, what makes you feel good when you do it, what makes you feel accomplished. It is true not only for the scientific career, but also to any other career. In science, it is crucial.

Another point is that you must be prepared to work hard. There is no easy way. I know some young people who are constantly seeking the great idea that will bring them success with relatively little work. Well, I’d better not count on it. It may even happen, but waiting for it is almost the same as wait to win the Lottery and get rich.

I’m over 70, therefore I have met many people and seen many things happen. Something that strikes me is how young people who seemed very promising end up not working very well. Frankly, I think it is bad for youngsters to achieve success too early, because I have the impression they get used to this idea that things will always work out fine. And the problem is that there isn’t anything, anyone, any company that will always work. There will always be the moment of failure, the moment of frustration. If the person is prepared for that, when the times come, he or she will overcome it, while others are crushed – they cannot move one. That is why we must be careful not to be deceived by our success and think that, because it worked once, it will always work. You must be prepared to fight.

When I was in college, thinking about doing research seemed a very strange thing to do, crazy talk. People did not know very well what it was, or why would someone choose to do it. Some people said that research was something like priesthood. I have always worked with research, associated with teaching, consulting and, without having ever sought to become rich, I managed to have an economic status that I deem very comfortable. But I insist, my goal was to enable the development, to produce material, not the money I would receive. Money came, as it does. So, I suggest you to focus on your work, on the results and the contribution that said work may give to other people, to the environment, to the community, to the country, to knowledge. The rest comes as a bonus.

In short, my message is: work seriously, earnestly and passionately.

Finally, I would like to point out that I think the research work, the development work, really helps you to grow as a person. It will depart you from ideas that are not very fruitful and guide you towards attitudes that are really important and helpful. A student asked Galileo once: “Master, what is the method?”, and Galileo’s answer was: “The method is the doubt”. I think it is very important in the research activity, which, for Materials in particular, is especially interesting because the final product is something you can hold in your hands. In the research activity you have to always wonder, “I’m thinking like this, but is this right?”, or “This guy wrote this, but what are his bases to write it?”. This attitude is very different from the dogmatic one, which is common in the realms of politics and religion, and very different from the attitude of someone who has to deceive, as the lawyer who works for a mobster or drug dealer. The researchers have to commit themselves to the truth. Of course there are also people who call themselves researchers and spread disinformation. Some years ago, people were talking about something called “Bush science”, an expression referring to President Bush. This Bush science was the arguments fabricated by people who gained money as scientists, but who produced arguments to sustain Bush’s policies. In other words, the problem exists in science as well, but then we get back to what I said earlier. You cannot enter this field because of money, or to achieve prestige, or to be invited to have dinner with the president; you must enter this field because of your interest in the subject itself.

Featured paper: Revealing secrets of the luminescence of a lanthanide ion.

Posted on Thursday 7 de May de 2015

Paper: Mechanisms of optical losses inthe 5D4 and 5D3 levels in Tb3+ doped low silica calcium aluminosilicate glasses. J. F. M. dos Santos, I. A. A. Terra, N. G. C. Astrath, F. B. Guimarães, M. L. Baesso, L. A. O. Nunes and T. Catunda. J. Appl. Phys. 117, 053102 (2015). DOI: 10.1063/1.4906781.

A team of scientists from Brazilian institutions has expanded the comprehension of the mechanisms that restrict the light emission efficiency in materials doped with trivalent terbium ion (Tb³⁺). This ion, found in the rare earth group, subgroup of lanthanides, displays luminescent emissions from ultraviolet to infrared. Its intense green emission, with approximately 545 nm of wave length, is particularly interesting for technological purposes.

Some years ago, for instance, Japanese researchers produced laser emissions with Tb³⁺ doped optical fibers. However, their device displayed low efficiency, due to the saturation of its optical gain, even at low excitation levels.

luminescencia tb3 — Luminescence process of a Tb³ doped LSCAS sample, excited by a blue laser, emitting green light. The pictures portray the sample in a state of (a) non-excitation and (b) excitation.

Taking up this technological issue, the team of Brazilian scientists has conducted a thorough study on the processes that cause the saturation of the green emission. For that, they used Tb3+ to dope a material which, thanks to its properties, ensures high efficiency to the emission, mainly in infrared: the low silica calcium aluminosilicate glass, also known as LSCAS.

The study involved two research groups that have been collaborating for approximately two decades, the group of spectroscopy of solids from the São Carlos Institute of Physics at the São Paulo University (USP), and the photothermics group from State University of Maringá (UEM). The results were reported in a paper that appeared recently on the Journal of Applied Physics.

Firstly, glass samples with different dopant concentrations were prepared by the UEM group.

amostras tb3 — Picture of the LSCAS samples. The base sample has a Tb3+ concentration of 0.05%.

At IFSC-USP, the samples were excited using a laser at two different wavelengths, 488 nm (visible) and 325 nm (ultraviolet), and their absorption, emission and excitation spectra were obtained. Analyzing them, the scientists from the group of spectroscopy of solids observed certain particularities in the behavior of some luminescent emissions, such as a strong saturation in a green emission, similar to the one found in the laser presented by the Japanese scientists. In other wavelengths, they noted, for example, a decrease in luminescence occurring at lower excitation levels than expected. Thus, the researchers managed to conclude that the mechanism associated in the literature to the emissions from Tb³⁺ doped materials, also known as cross relaxation, was not enough to completely explain the behavior of the emissions or even the saturation of the green emissions, and proposed the additional action of other processes.

“Additional loss mechanisms, such as emissions by defects in the matrix, energy upconversion processes, to name a few, have a significant influence in the system we have studied”, explains Tomaz Catunda, professor at USP and corresponding author of the article. “These decay paths, previously ignored by the literature, are very important in the manufacturing of optical devices with Tb³⁺ doped materials”, he adds.

The study of Tb³⁺ doped glasses by the Brazilian team started during the Doctoral dissertation of Idelma Terra, defended in 2013 at USP, which aimed to develop materials in order to increase the efficiency of solar cells. Her work was granted the 2014 “Vale-Capes Science and Sustainability Award”. The study of these materials continued in Giselly Bianchi’s Doctoral dissertation, performed at UEM, and in the Master’s thesis of Jéssica Fabiana Mariano dos Santos, defended in 2014 at EESC-USP.

The article published on the Journal of Applied Physics has joined dozens of papers born from the collaboration between the groups of spectroscopy of solids and photothermics, in some cases also involving other scientists from Brazil and abroad, focused on the optical spectroscopy of calcium aluminate glasses doped with rare earth ions and their applications in light-emitting devices.

SBPMat newsletter. English edition. Year 2, issue 3.

Posted on Monday 6 de April de 2015

Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat) newsletter News update from Brazil for the Materials community
English edition. Year 2, issue 3.
SBPMat news: XIV Meeting – Rio de Janeiro, Sept 27 to Oct 1, 2015
Simposia and abstract submission: Abstract submission for the 27 symposia and 2 workshops of the XIV SBPMat Meeting is open until May 30th. Find here the instructions for authors. Hosting: A list of hotels is available, with special conditions for participants of the XIV SBPMat Meeting. Here. Sponsors and exhibitors: 24 companies have already booked their place in the XIV SBPMat Meeting. Contact for exhibitors and other sponsors: rose@metallum.com.br. Go to the event website.
SBPMat news
Our SBPMat, represented by its president, Professor Roberto Mendonça Faria, composes the organizing committee of the 14th International Conference on Advanced Materials of the International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS – ICAM 2015). The event is to be held in Korea, in October of this year. Learn more.
Featured paper
A team of researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, and from a Cuban university managed to increase by over 25 times the current density above which the material Bi-2223 ceases to be a superconductor. For such, they prepared the material by means of spark plasma sintering, followed by thermal treatment. The authors also proposed which mechanisms occur in the microstructure of Bi-2223 for such optimization to take place. The work was recently reported in the Journal of Applied Physics. Learn more.
SBPMat´s community people
Oswaldo Luiz Alves, professor of the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) for over 40 years, is the author of relevant contributions to materials science and engineering, from the development of vitreous materials for telecommunications, to the study of the interactions between new carbon-based nanomaterials and biosystems. In an interview given to SBPMat e-newsletter, professor Alves spoke about his work to introduce the solid state chemistry in Brazil and the contributions he has made in the materials area, working on research, formation of researchers, popularizarion of science, scientific policies, etc. He also told us about his teenage years in São Paulo, and left a message to younger readers. Take a look at our interview with the scientist.
Victor Carlos Pandolfelli, professor of the Department of Materials Engineering at the Federal University of São Carlos (DEMa-UFSCar), was appointed associate editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society – one of the journals with more citations in its area. Learn more.
History of Materials research in Brazil
Cylon Gonçalves da Silva, first director of the Synchrotron Light Brazilian National Laboratory (LNLS), shared with us some anecdotes about the participation of the Brazilian industry in the construction of the laboratory – more precisely, about the use of Brazilian materials in the manufacturing of the LNLS accelerators. Read professor Silva’s article here.
Reading tips
Special A captivating report of the very interesting story of the discovery of natural quasicrystal – found in Siberia and produced… in outer space. The article won the Physics Journalism Prize, 2015 edition, of the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Here. International science stories of highlighted papers Polymer-nanoparticles hydrogel, easy to produce, has potential for controlled drug delivery (Nature Communications). Here. Magnetic hyperthermia: flower-shaped nanoparticles generate more heat to destroy cancer cells (Journal of Applied Physics). Here. News from Brazilian National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs) and Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (CEPIDs) New bioglass developed within the Center for Research, Technology and Education in Vitreous Materials (CeRTEV) improves the performance of dental and orthopedic titanium implants upon being deposited on the surface. Here.
Opportunities
Joint call for proposals by FAPESP (São Paulo) and M-ERA NET (Europe) in Materials Science and Engineering. Here.
Events
Simpósio Internacional em Materiais e Biossistemas (SIMBI) 2015. Lavras, MG (Brazil). April, 28 and 29, 2015. Site. 4th School of SAXS Data Analysis. Campinas, SP (Brazil). May, 11 to 15, 2015. Site. VII Método Rietveld. Fortaleza, CE (Brazil). July, 6 to 10, 2015. Site. São Paulo School of Advanced Sciences (ESPCA) on Recent Developments in Synchrotron Radiation. Campinas, SP (Brazil). July, 13 to 24, 2015. Site. Advanced School on Glasses and Glass-Ceramics (G&GC São Carlos). São Carlos, SP (Brazil). August, 1 to 9, 2015. Site. Primeira Conferência de Materiais Celulares (MATCEL 2015). Aveiro (Portugal). September, 7 to 8, 2015. Site. XIV Encontro da SBPMat. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). September 27 to October 1, 2015. Site. 13th International Conference on Plasma Based Ion Implantation & Deposition (PBII&D 2015). Buenos Aires (Argentina). October, 5 to 9, 2015. Site. 10th Ibero-American Workshop on Complex Fluids 2015. Florianópolis, SC (Brazil). October, 25 to 29, 2015. Site. 14th International Union of Materials Research Societies – International Conference on Advanced Materials (IUMRS-ICAM 2015). Jeju (Korea). October, 25 to 29, 2015. Site.

To suggest news, opportunities, events, papers, interviewees or reading recommendations items for inclusion in our newsletter, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.
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SBPMat’ s community people: interview with Oswaldo Luiz Alves.

Posted on Thursday 2 de April de 2015

Foto Oswaldo Alves -SBPMat — Professor Oswaldo Luiz Alves. (Credits: Gustavo Morita)

It was in the science clubs from the public school and from the neighbourhood, in the city of São Paulo, that Oswaldo Luiz Alves took an interest in sciences during his teenage years, conducting chemistry and biology experiments. At the age of 20, he graduated from one of the first technical courses in Industrial Chemistry in South America, at the Oswaldo Cruz Technical School, relying on a scholarship from the São Paulo State Education Office. During the course, he did an internship at the Biological Institute, ran by the government of the State of São Paulo, where he first got in touch with the infrared spectroscopy technique.

After a one-year experience working in the industry, he was accepted to the undergraduate course in chemistry of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), and completed it in 1973, obtaining the titles of “bacharel” and “licenciado”. During his undergraduate studies, he acted in teaching and research at the Unicamp´s Institute of Chemistry. As soon as he graduated, Alves, who was 25 years old at the time, was hired by that institute and, at the same time, started his doctorate, carrying out research on the application of vibrational spectroscopy (both Raman and infrared) in molecular complexes. In 1979, he left for France on a scholarship from the São Paulo State Research Foundation (Fapesp) for a post-doctoral internship, in which he again worked with vibrational spectroscopy. In that opportunity, he could use one of the first Fourier transform infrared spectrometers. Thus, Oswaldo Alves experienced firsthand the beginning of a time in chemistry of fruitful development of new analysis techniques, especially spectroscopic, and their applications. In addition, Alves was also motivated by another movement, which began in the 70s and which occurred mainly in the chemists’ community in Europe: the development and study of new materials within the so-called “solid state chemistry”.

Back in Brazil after almost two years in France, in which he worked as invited professor at the University of Lille, he found a scenario different from the European one. In Brazil, almost no chemist worked in the Solid State area yet. Thus, Alves dedicated himself to introducing the area and, in 1985, he founded the Solid State Chemistry Laboratory (LQES) at Unicamp’s Institute of Chemistry. Since then, the scientist has been making relevant contributions to materials science and technology, in sundry themes such as vitreous materials for telecommunications, two-dimensional materials synthesis techniques, development of integrated chemical systems, purification of carbon nanotubes and interaction between new carbon-based nanomaterials and biosystems.

Currently 67 years old, Oswaldo Alves is a full professor at Unicamp, where he works as a scientific coordinator of the LQES and the Laboratory of Nanostructure Synthesis and Interaction with Biosystems (NanoBioss/SisNano). In his 40 years of teaching, he was advisor to over 50 master’s and doctoral dissertations. He has authored over 200 articles published in scientific journals, which have more than 2,400 citations. He have also authored over 20 patents, 5 of them granted and one licensed, the latter refering to a technology aimed at the remediation of effluents from paper and textile industries. In the scientific dissemination field, he works as scientific editor of two news bulletins, “LQES News” and “Nano em Foco”.

Oswaldo Alves is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and of the Academy of Sciences of the State of São Paulo, as well as a commander of the Brazilian National Order of Scientific Merit. He is also a fellow of TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries) and of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has received awards from different entities, such as Unicamp, the Brazilian Association of Chemical Industries (Abiquim) and the Brazilian Society of Chemistry, which he chaired from 1998 to 2000, in addition to being a founder and first director of its materials chemistry division.

See our interview with the scientist.

SBPMat’s Bulletin: – How did you become interested in science? What led you to become a scientist and work in solid state/materials chemistry?

Oswaldo Luiz Alves: – It has been many years. Before I got into University I took part in science clubs of my public school and my neighborhood in the city of São Paulo (Perdizes district). In the neighborhood’s science club we had a small laboratory with materials donated by one of the grandchildren of scientist Vital Brazil, where we conducted several chemistry and biology experiments. Soon after that, I got an internship at the Biological Institute, as a formal requirement of the Industrial Chemistry technical course, where I worked with infrared spectroscopy and polarography (dropping mercury electrode) applied to the determination of pesticides. When I got into Unicamp, in 1969, after a period of experience in the industry (Bayer), it was already clear for me that I would continue studying after graduating, which made me engage in research on rare earth compounds, through a research scholarship from FAPESP, already thinking of becoming a university professor and researcher. I went straight to doctorate, withouth having a master´s degree (that was not very common in the 70s in Brazil), working with Raman-laser and infrared spectroscopies and theoretical calculations of molecular force fields. In 1979, I went to France for my post-doctoral internship at the Laboratoire de Spectrochimie Infrarouge et Raman of the CNRS to work with Raman spectroscopy with spatial resolution, SERS and CARS effect and to commission one of the first infrared spectrometers that operated with Fourier transform. At that time, there was in Europe and especially in France (Bordeaux, Rennes and Orsay) an extremely prolific activity in solid state chemistry, within the materials perspective. I was taken away!

Upon returning to Brazil, I saw the opportunity to found the Solid State Chemistry Laboratory – LQES (1985), with a lot of difficulty, for almost all of the Brazilian chemists worked with solutions. Due to that, I migrated to the Physics community, where I remained for approximately 10 years, even getting to the point of coordinating materials-related activities at the famous meetings of the Brazilian Physics Society (SBF) in the city of Caxambu. Since then, I have always been involved in solid state and materials chemistry, taking part in the Optical Fiber Project (Telebras), where I worked with quantum dot-doped glass for telecommunications, glass for non-linear optics and, in the LQES, on activities connected to two-dimensional (lamellar) materials, nanocomposites involving conductor polymers, integrated chemical systems, glass-ceramics and porous glasses, silicon nanoparticles with complex functionalities, carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide and carbon dots. In the last three themes, my efforts are geared towards the study of the interaction between such new carbons with biosystems, from a viewpoint of assessment of the risks of nanotechnologies (regulation).

SBPMat’s Bulletin: – Which are, in your own assessment, your main contributions to the field of materials?

Oswaldo Luiz Alves: – It is always very hard to make such assessments, but I believe that some points could be listed.

In terms of scientific research, my main contributions have been the research works on quantum dot-doped glass and glass for non-linear optics, the development of synthesis techniques of several two-dimensional materials and their intercalation chemistry, the development of integrated chemical systems (conductor polymer glass, semiconductor glass), purification of carbon nanotubes (effect of oxidized debris) and interaction of new carbons with biosystems (protein “corona” effect and aggregation) and silicon nanoparticles with antagonistic functionality for drug delivery.

I created the Solid State Chemistry Laboratory (LQES), a pioneer in solid state chemistry research in Brazil, where I have worked to this day as scientific coordinator. Another contribution that I believe deserves to be highlighted was my work as coordinator of the “Chemistry Program for Electronic Materials” by FINEP (Funding Authority for Studies and Projects) (late 80s). Several of the more important materials research groups that worked, or still work, in Brazil at a high level, in several states, received funding from this successful program. My participation as founder and first Director of the Materials Chemistry Division of the Brazilian Chemistry Society is worthy of mention. I coordinated the FAPESP project that funded the construction of the first line of EXAFS (XAS) at LNLS (Synchrotron Light Brazilian National Laboratory), and I had direct participation in the user formation programs in a spectroscopic technique that had never been used in Brazil. I am currently working as scientific coordinator of the Laboratory of Nanostructure Synthesis and Interaction with Biosystems (NanoBioss/SisNano).

In 2014 I completed 40 years of teaching at Unicamp’s Institute of Chemistry, where I supervised over 50 students (both for master’s and doctorate degrees), many of whom are, today, leaders in research that stand out in the national and international scenario, and who exercise their activities in several Brazilian states.

I have worked as scientific editor of two news bulletins. The first one is the LQES News, a fortnightly publication that has been running for 14 years, with its editorial line connected to the developments in science and technology (general) and innovation and nanotechnologies. The second one is the “NANO em Foco” bulletin, edited in partnership with the Brazilian Agency of Industrial Development (ABDI), published on a monthly basis and running for 7 years, with an editorial line connected to commercial products, risks and regulation of nanotechnologies. In addition to that, I have published, also in partnership with the ABDI, the “Nanotechnology Guidebook” (two editions), aimed at introducing nanotechnologies for the general public.

The several systems and materials studied and developed at the LQES have allowed the filing of 27 patents of process and application, including international ones, and a licensing of an innovative technology for the industry. In addition to that, I have taken part, as a consultant, in two processes related to the Program of Economic Subvention for Companies (Nanotechnology) by FINEP, which led to the development of 8 commercial products.

Along these many years, I participated in several activities connected to the Brazilian scientific policies, out of which we can highlight: coordinator of councils (Chemistry) at CNPq and Fapesp. Member of the Deliberating Council at CNPq (2 terms of offices) and of the Nanotechnology Council (MCTI/SisNano) in all of its compositions. I have worked, until this time, as consultant for the nanotechnology segment of the Brazilian Agency of Industrial Development and the Management and Strategic Studies Center (CGEE). I have provided consultancy to the State Council for Science and Technology of the Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation Office of the State of São Paulo, for the nanotechnology segment. I am part of the scientific council of APAE São Paulo – a non-governmental organization for prevention and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.

SBPMat’s Bulletin: – Leave a message for our readers starting their careers in science.

Oswaldo Luiz Alves: – First of all, I would like to say that a scientific career is fascinating, especially in the times we live in, where paradigms are frequently broken. Another aspect, no less fascinating, is living with the inter, multi and transdisciplinarities that, at the same time as they expand our knowledge, point out our limitations. In such relations, it is clear that a sound and in-depth knowledge of concepts, techniques and tools is fundamental. It is a process based on an attitude of openness and the acquisition of a “common language” that allows the interaction of different experts and expertises in the solution of problems, very well identified, in science, technology and innovation. Thus, we must, whenever possible, seek a balance between paper-oriented and knowledge-oriented research stances and, particularly, not forget to make a second reading of our research results, therefore seeking to examine their possible connection with the needs of the Brazilian citizens and of the national development.

Featured paper: Pushing the limits of a superconductor.

Posted on Wednesday 1 de April de 2015

Paper: 10 to 25-fold increase in the transport superconducting critical current density of spark-plasma sintered Bi-2223 superconductors. E. Govea-Alcaide, I. F. Machado, and R. F. Jardim. Journal of Applied Physics 117, 043903 (2015). DOI: 10.1063/1.4906560.

A paper recently published in the Journal of Applied Physics, signed by two Brazilian researchers and one Cuban researcher, brings relevant contributions to the study of superconductor materials – those that allow the flow of electric current without resistance (literally, with zero electric resistance).

Superconductivity occurs in certain materials under certain conditions. There is, for example, a condition called “critical superconductor temperature”, above which superconductivity does not occur. And there is also a “critical current density” (the quantity of electric current that goes through a certain area), above which superconductivity is destroyed.

In the paper reported in the Journal of Applied Physics, the authors present a route that allows the increase of the critical current density of Bi-2223 by over 25 times at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (77 K, that is, some 195 °C negative).

The method works from the Bi-2223 powder (a mixed oxide of bismuth, strontium, calcium and copper), consolidated by means of the spark plasma sintering technique (SPS) at temperatures close to 800 °C and thermally treated at 750 °C for 5 minutes. The route opens possibilities for several applications of the material. “The optimization of superconductor properties of interest, such as the critical superconductor current, seems to be very relevant for the area of applications of superconductors in general”, assesses physicist Renato de Figueiredo Jardim, author of the paper and professor of the Physics Institute at the University of São Paulo (USP).

In addition, in the article the authors proposed which mechanisms occur in the material’s microstructure to explain the increase in said superconductor property.

graos bi2223 — Electron backscattered scanning electron microscope (EBSD/SEM) image shows the microstructure of Bi-2223 consolidated by SPS at 750 °C: blade-shaped grains.

Initially, the scientists were able to confirm that, after the plasma sintering process, Bi-2223 showed elongated blade-shaped grains, made up of shells and cores. The researchers found that the shell, which is the edge of the grain, was oxygen deficient, which constitutes a problem in a certain way, given that such element is fundamental to improve the superconductor properties of Bi-2223 by optimizing its intergranular properties.

However, the brief thermal treatment given after the consolidation of the material caused significant results. “The thermal treatment was fundamental for the reestablishment, even if partial, of sound superconductor properties in the material prepared by SPS”, Renato Jardim states. In fact, the treatment decreased the width of the oxygen-deficient shell, propitiating the increase of conduction of the electric current between the grains. “The reestablishment of oxygen in the material occurs through the grain contours and is certainly not total, that is, it occurs in certain portions of the grains boundaries, establishing “pathways” with low electrical resistance, through which electric current, for example, can connect the material superconductor grains”, the professor summarizes.

According to professor Jardim, his scientific collaboration with the first author of the article, physicist Ernesto Govea Alcaide, currently a professor of the University of Granma (Cuba), is over 15 years long, and dates back to Govea Alcaide’s doctorate research, carried out between 2001 and 2005 within a CAPES/MES (Brazil/Cuba) agreement, coordinated by professors Jardim (by USP) and Pedro Mune (by the University of Oriente, in Cuba). At such time, Govea Alcaide started a systematic study of the preparation of superconductor compounds, aiming at technological applications.

“It is important to stress that superconductor materials with potential for technological applications require certain very specific characteristics, that is, the materials must have: (i) a single crystallographic phase; (ii) high texture; (iii) high density; and (iv) low electric resistance grain boundaries”, professor Jardim explains.

With such characteristics in mind, in a work stage under the bilateral agreement, Govea Alcaide began the preparation of superconductor materials. In a visit to São Paulo, Jardim tells, Govea Alcaide got in touch with the group headed by professor Izabel Machado, also an author of the article, and using the facilities of her laboratory he produced Bi-2223 samples by means of the SPS technique based on powders of such high-quality material, the production of which was already dominated at professor Jardim’s laboratory.

According to professor Jardim, a greater set of scientific articles regarding the same topic of the article mentioned here and recently published by professors Govea Alcaide, Machado and Jardim, among other researchers, has just been given an award from the Academy of Sciences of Cuba as one of the works of greater scientific contribution in 2014.

The work whose results were reported in the article in the Journal of Applied Physics relied on funding from Brazil (Fapesp, CNPq, CAPES and Petrobras) and from Cuba (Higher Education Ministry – MES).

The manufacturing of LNLS accelerators and the national materials, by Prof. Cylon Gonçalves da Silva.

Posted on Tuesday 31 de March de 2015

anel lnls 1996 — Picture of the storage ring of the synchrotron light source, in LNLS (Campinas, SP) in December, 1996, time of the start of its working, 7 months before the inauguration of the laboratory. (Credit M.B.JR)

When we started the construction of LNLS, in 1986, and much before that, in its “pre-history”, there already was the intention of involving the Brazilian national industry in the construction of the equipment. Looking back from 2015, it is difficult to imagine what the Brazilian industry was in 1985. It is even more difficult to conceive that, in some sectors, among them the metal-mechanical sector, it was more sophisticated than it is today. The opening of the Brazilian economy, required, but conducted in a confused and trapping manner by Collor Government, terminated with a good part of the most sophisticated industry that was in Brazil at that time. Out of all the materials required to construct the accelerators, two got highlight for their weight (literally): steel and copper. To the magnets and vacuum chambers, we needed steel, and to the coils of the electromagnets we needed OFHC copper with low content of oxygen.

I remember the visit made to our hangar, by an specialist in ultra-high vacuum of Balzers that states to us, in an arrogant manner, that “it is impossible to manufacture ultra-high vacuum chambers” with Brazilian steel. “You will have to import”. It is not required to say that it was a wonderful incentive so that we would look for a Brazilian supplier to our needs. Ricardo and I shared a healthy disregard to such type of specialist. I think we both thought, without speaking up, each time we´ve heard statements of such type, more or less the same thing: “Ah, yes! No way? You will see!” To the manufacturing of the magnets and vacuum chambers, there were two questions not answered. There would be in Brazil steel with the required characteristics? And the laser-cutting method that we intended to use would not affect in a negative manner the magnetic properties of the material on its edges? No one has used such technique to manufacture precision electromagnets until LNLS considered it as an option, given the very special conditions we were facing. When we started, no one had the answers to such questions. The experience showed that there was the required steel in Brazil, for the magnets (SAE1006, acquired in the national market and re-laminated by Mangels), as well as for the chambers (AISI 316L), and that the laser cutting was a feasible and very flexible technique to the production of batches relatively small of electromagnets*. This, naturally, did not occur from night to day. In another occasion, we could told the long history of the development of the processes for steel, for example, the vacuum chambers cleaning and welding, and, for the magnets, the improvement of the magnetic properties.

Another history, funnier, is the one of copper for the coils of the electromagnets. CERN has recommended the Finnish company Outokumpu to us, which was their supplier. It is clear that, with such recommendation, we were calm regarding the quality of the Finnish product. But, I was not satisfied with having to import copper. A research revealed the existence of Termomecânica in São Paulo, property of Salvador Arena. Referencing to my “specialists”, all of them were unanimous in two points: it was a best-quality company and a company owned by an exceptional businessman, one of the most dedicated to the technological development of his products, only a little moody. I thought he fitted in the profile of a potential supplier to LNLS, and there I went to explain the LNLS project and its needs to him. I was welcomed, I have heard for hours an explanation on the beautiful educational program that was the project of his heart, I could expose our project in a brief manner, but Arena was precise about it – “I do not enter in such business. I do not want anything with the government. I will not go right. Forget it, you will not reach it. Termomecânica will not supply to you.” (I put the text between quotes, safeguarding that they could not have been Arena’s exact words, but the sense is the same.)

I confess I got disappointed, but the talk was not in vain. It served to me to understand how he thought, and to outline a strategy to convince him. We imported, with the help of CERN, a ton of OFHC copper from Outokumpu (a fraction of what we needed) in the specifications required to the coils of the dipole of the ring. The copper supplied by Outokumpu was OFHC/OFE – 99.99% minimum Cu with up to 0.0010% max of oxygen. As soon as the material arrived, I called to Salvador Arena to tell him: “You did not want to supply, I imported from Outokumpu, your competitor”. What was heard on the other side of the line cannot be reproduced in the profusion of the insulting words where Arena was prodigal. Underneath, I was referred to as frivolous and unreliable, and he assured me in the most emphatic terms that he has never said that Termodinâmica would not provide us with the copper of low content of oxygen we needed. And he virtually ordered me to go back there immediately with the specifications that they would develop the material to us. And it was what they did. Thanks to Outokumpu’s import strategy, the copper supplied by Termomecânica is until today complying with its role with distinction, not only in the dipoles, but in all electromagnets of LNLS (OHFC/OF certificate – 99.95% minimum Cu + Ag with up to 0.0010% max of oxygen, but with OFE quality). Also here, there is a long story of development made by the LNLS team, from the materials up to the finished product. But, let’s leave it to another opportunity.

Prof. Cylon Gonçalves da Silva

* I thank Guilherme Franco, Osmar Bagnato, and Ricardo Rodrigues, of LNLS team, for having refreshed my memory on the types of steel deployed, as well as the technical details of OFHC copper.

Professor Victor Pandolfelli appointed Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society.

Posted on Friday 27 de March de 2015

The researcher Victor Carlos Pandolfelli, full professor of the Materials Engineering Department at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) was appointed associate editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society. The scientific magazine has occupied the first ranks in the area of Material Science – Ceramics in the Journal Citation Reports by Thomson Reuters.

According to Pandolfelli, in the 98 years of existence of the journal, it is the second time a Brazilian scientist is chosen for such position. Professor José Arana Varela, current CEO at the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), was, until the appointment of Pandolfelli, the only Latin-American to belong to the group of associate editors.

Pandolfelli is full member of Brazilian Sciences Academy, of the World Academy of Ceramics and of the Brazilian National Engineering Academy, fellow of the American Ceramic Society, and guest professor of Wuhan University of Science and Technology (China). Pandolfelli is member of the editorial committee of 12 technical magazines in the area of ceramic materials. He is member of the advisory board of the World Academy of Ceramics (2014-2018) and Latin-American coordinator of the Federation for International Refractories Research and Education (FIRE), which comprehends 11 universities in different countries, and 16 global companies in the area of refractories. He published 459 articles in scientific journals with peer review and received 12 international awards. He has one published book and 8 registered patents.

SBPMat in the organization of IUMRS’ international conference.

Posted on Wednesday 25 de March de 2015

The Brazil Materials Research Society (SBPMat), represented by its president Roberto Mendonça Faria is part of the organizing committee of IUMRS-ICAM 2015 (14^th International Conference on Advanced Materials organized by the International Union of Materials Research Societies). Particularly, professor Faria composes the international advisory board of the conference with other scientists in the world, among them, directors of Materials Research Societies of Australia, Europe (E-MRS), Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The abstract submission for the conference symposia is open until May 31.

Learn more about the conference: http://www.iumrs-icam2015.org/html/index.html

SBPMat newsletter. English edition. Year 2, issue 2.

Posted on Monday 9 de March de 2015

Brazilian Materials Research Society (SBPMat) newsletter News update from Brazil for the Materials community
English edition. Year 2, issue 2.
SBPMat news: XIV Meeting - Rio de Janeiro, 9/27 a 10/1 de 2015
Simposia and abstract submission: 27 simposia and 2 workshops (the biggest number in the records of our annual meetings) compose the XIV SBPMat Meeting. Until May 30th, you may submit abstracts to present your work in the symposia or workshops of the event. Know more. Sponsors and exhibitors: 20 companies have already booked their place in the XIV SBPMat Meeting. Contact for exhibitors and other sponsors: rose@metallum.com.br. Go to the event website.
SBPMat news: University Chapters
Two more points in the map of the university chapters of SBPMat: at UNESP campus Presidente Prudente and at UNESP campus Ilha Solteira. Eight units have already been created in South, Southeast, Northeast, and North regions of Brazil since the launching of the program in the beginning of 2014. Learn more on the new university chapters.
Featured paper
A team from federal universities of the Northeast region of Brazil developed a random laser emitting ultraviolet light using zinc oxide powder which particles worked as light scatterers. The scientists proved that the emission was induced by the mechanism of “3 photons absortion”. The work, which results were recently published on Nanoscale, opens possibilities for applications in several areas, especially medicine. Learn more.
SBPMat' s community people
Over 30 years of scientific work, Helio Chacham made relevant contributions to the area of Materials. Initially, he dedicated to the theoretical investigation of materials under ultra-high pressure. Since middle 1990, frequently cooperating with experimental groups, he has studied nanomaterials, especially 2D materials. In an interview to SBPMat newsletter, Professor Chacham talked about his main contributions in such themes. In addition, he told a little about his childhood and adolescence in Belo Horizonte, among other subjects. See our interview with this scientist.
History of Materials research in Brazil
We present the second part of the story on the history of the Synchrotron Light Brazilian National Laboratory (LNLS). Between 1986 and 1997, in Campinas city in São Paulo state, a team of scientists and other collaborators designed, constructed, and tested the source of synchrotron light and the instruments of the beamlines of the laboratory. For such, the team worked successively in a room at the university, in a house, and in an industrial hangar, before getting installed in the definitive campus of LNLS. We report a brief chronology of such epic and share statements of some of its leaders. See it.
Reading tips
International science stories on highlighted papers. New strategy of materials engineering to obtain lighter, safer and more durable lithium-ion batteries (Advanced Functional Materials). Here. Thin films of complex oxides integrated to ferroelectric crystals: potential for information storage (Advanced Functional Materials). Here. Scientists are able to dispose organic molecules within nanotubes and, from such, demonstrate application for a faster Internet (Nature Nanotechnology). Here. New method allows growing molybdenum disulfide flakes with accuracy in specific locations (Nature Communications). Here. News from Brazilian National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs) and Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (CEPIDs). In the context of a collaboration between CeRTEV (CEPID in vitreous materials) and the International Materials Institute for New Functionality in Glass, Professor Edgar Zanotto will administer a remote class on vitreous ceramic materials to an international group. Here.
Events
4th School of SAXS Data Analysis. Campinas, SP (Brazil). May, 11 to 15, 2015. Site. São Paulo School of Advanced Sciences (ESPCA) on Recent Developments in Synchrotron Radiation. Campinas, SP (Brazil). July, 13 to 24, 2015. Site. Advanced School on Glasses and Glass-Ceramics (G&GC São Carlos). São Carlos, SP (Brazil). August, 1 to 9, 2015. Site. Primeira Conferência de Materiais Celulares (MATCEL 2015). Aveiro (Portugal). September, 7 to 8, 2015. Site. XIV Encontro da SBPMat. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). September 27 to October 1, 2015. Site. 13th International Conference on Plasma Based Ion Implantation & Deposition (PBII&D 2015). Buenos Aires (Argentina). October, 5 to 9, 2015. Site. 10th Ibero-American Workshop on Complex Fluids 2015. Florianópolis, SC (Brazil). October, 25 to 29, 2015. Site.

To suggest news, opportunities, events, papers, interviewees or reading recommendations items for inclusion in our newsletter, write to comunicacao@sbpmat.org.br.
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