Value Addition through Nanotechnology for the Sri Lankan Rubber Industry Global Initiatives in Nanotechnology

1. SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Sustainable nanotechnology
2010 ISSUE 1 | PAGE 1 News Bulletin
Prof. A.P. de Silva, SLINTEC Science Advisor Visit to Sri Lanka,
December 2009
NANOTECHNOLOGY
NEW OR OLD?
Prof. A.P. de Silva - Chair of Organic Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical
While the word nanotechnology is
Engineering Queen’s University, Belfast, a member of the SLINTEC Advisory Team visited relatively new – the word was coined
facility on 14th December 2009. Following were his observations: by the Japanese scientist Norio
Taniguchi (1912-1999) in a 1974
“Though I had the happy chance to be involved at some level during the conception, seeing the institute paper on production technology that
in the flesh was a brilliant experience. The state-of-the-art offices, laboratories and shared spaces create a creates objects and features on the
order of a nanometer– the existence
very positive first impression. A deeper positive impression was formed when I met the scientists,
of functional devices and structures
engineers and administrators. Ravi Fernando deserves congratulations for assembling a team of capable of nanometer dimensions is not new.
scientists who are also pleasant people. This optimum blend of personality and intellect will help the Prof. Taniguchi originally stated his
development of a truly creative SLINTEC. Listening to the presentations of the science team gave me idea as follows: " 'Nano-Technology'
confidence that such a creative institute can arise.” mainly consists of the processing of,
- 16th December 2009, Prof. A. P. de Silva separation, consolidation, and
deformation of materials by one
Value Addition through Nanotechnology for the Sri Lankan Rubber Industry atom or by one molecule." Nature
gives us many examples and there is
By Dr. U. N. Ratnayake much to learn from. Most famous is
Commercial appearance of rubber products based on nanotechnology is still in their early the Lotus effect though there are
stages in comparison to thermoplastic products. It is crucial to initiate R&D to apply with a many other examples. Learning from
view of adding value. If not we will miss a great opportunity to uplift our rubber industry nature is a key nanotechnology
through nanotechnology. It is our view at SLINTEC that we should not let this happen! research activity in many countries.
Humans did at an early stage take
It is important to identify areas where nanotechnology can effectively be applied to
advantage of nanosized materials
enhance the natural rubber production and to make value addition to our rubber products
though not quite knowing about the
which leads to a significant competitive edge on the global stage. Natural rubber latex
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structure-property relationships.
collection and preservation is one of area in rubber industry where nanotechnology can be
Lycurgus cup is a classic example in
applied to improve the productivity. Lotus effect to antimicrobial properties, well under-
this regard.
stood in nanotechnology could be brought into enhance productivity.
Rubber compounds are used in wide range of applications, particularly in automotive tires, tubes, engine mounts etc.
Reinforcing fillers play a major role in improving mechanical properties of these compounds. At present carbon black
is the principal reinforcing filler along with silica. There is demand for new, less weight and environmental friendly
reinforcing fillers. Layered silicate, an important nanoparticle for various applications, has shown potential for replac-
ing a carbon black. Rubber nanocomposites based on other nano particles like carbon nanotubes and metal oxides etc.
2
are possibilities. Incorporation of carbon nanotubes not only results in high strength but also yield superior thermal
and electrical properties. Metallic nano particles such as Al, Fe and Ti can be used to make functional (i.e. electrical,
magnetic and oxidative resistant) rubber materials.
Discussed above are few examples how rubber industry can benefit from This is currently to be seen in the
nanotechnology. However, now is the time for scientists and industrialists British science museum. The glass
to rise up to this challenge and apply this technology without delay for the makers have fabricated this glass cup
upliftment of the Sri Lankan rubber industry. Imagine gloves made with using nanosized metals. The
functionalized rubber from a Sri Lankan plantation with proprietary difference in new Nanotechnology is
technology enabling man to mimic the Geckos feet and lets you climb the man’s ability to understand and
walls like Spider Man …..burgeoning international growth by delivering manipulate – a feat that is continu-
massive advances and technical excellence in surface protections. ously evolving.
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2. SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Sustainable nanotechnology
2010 ISSUE 1 | PAGE 2 News Bulletin
Global Initiatives in Nanotechnology www.susnanotec.lk
By Dr. Shehan de Silva LAUNCH OF SLINTEC
The beginnings of nanotechnology research, which was largely confined to humble lab spaces in academic institutions IP TRACKER
has evolved to gain critical mass, and has achieved its tipping point. Poised squarely to transform every facet of industry
known to man, and the environment we live in, it will define its own revolutionary age. That said current market
applications have been more evolutionary by nature, due to the integration concerns in transitioning from the lab to
process line. As the world awaits its truly nano iPod, immediate applications in nanomaterials have mushroomed on a
global scale. Given the current penetration of nanotech enabled applications we are in a position to map the progress
from its infancy until up to today's activities and beyond.
Momentum
The initial investment of $422 million by Bill Clinton through the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) set the
benchmark at the time for research investment in this field. Followed by the injection of $849 million by president Bush
during 2003 for the same initiative, this set the stage and demonstrated a singular vision for Nanotechnology in the
U.S., which today has been observed and replicated globally. A keen observer would have noticed that Japan was in Researchers need to be dynamically
fact on par or even more committed, which became apparent after the Single-wall carbon nanotubes were discovered tracking ‘What is happening
in 1991 by Sumio Iijima of NEC prestige. Followed by their allocation of $900 million each year over five years. Japan’s elsewhere’. SLINTEC had developed
efforts in nanoscience and nanotechnology were initiated by the Atom Technology Project, a ten-year endeavour that ‘IP TRACKER’ with collabaration of
started in 1992 and was sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and managed by a quasigov- Lanka Software Foundation. This
ernmental organization, which included METI’s national institutes. software helps to track Intellectual
Property & Patents that are globally
China’s investment commitment for the five-year plan ending in 2005 registered. At the Launch of this
is $280 million; Korea’s ten-year plan ending in 2010 is $2 billion, $620 product SLINTEC handedover 50 CDs
million for Taiwan’s five-year plan ending in 2007. Malaysia allocated to National Science Foundation to
$23 million to its 8th five-year plan to nanotechnology. Thailand is distribute to researchers and
earmarking $25 million for nanotechnology for the five-year period planners at Ministry of Science &
ending in 2008. Interestingly Asia's public investment in nanotech- Technology, Universities & NSF.
nology is now surpassing the public investment in nanotechnology
of all its western competitor combined.
Nano Quiz
Trends What is this legendary sword
Having achieved the tipping point (or the point of no return as the case may be with Gray Goo) there are obvious trends known as?
in the nanotech industry, which warrants a second look.
For example, China is committed to fundamental research in the
area though it is very much the market driving forces that it is
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interested in, in its search for its differentiator. In basic research
and advanced technology, exploration and innovation are What is the new technique
emphasized; In applications, the development of nanomaterials developed by metalsmiths in India
is the main objective for the near future. Development of and Sri Lanka perhaps as early as
bionanotechnology and nanomedical technology is a main 300BC that produced a high-carbon
objective for the medium term, whereas the development of steel of unusually high purity?
nanoelectronics and nanochips is a long-term objective.
What is the area in Sri Lanka, where
Thus, nanotechnology will facilitate the differentiation of Sri Lanka's commodity exports and the shift towards a knowl- thousands of sites that made steel
edge based economy. The first movement in nanotechnology has started. This first movement in nanotechnology will using Monsoon wind were found?
redefine Sri Lankan industry and establish us as the trailblazers of our age.
Expect more on this from our next
"Nanotechnology may well rival the development of the transistor or telecommunications in its news letter…
ultimate impact." -- Charles M. Vest, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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3. SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Sustainable nanotechnology
2010 ISSUE 1 | PAGE 3 News Bulletin
Novel Probes for Molecular Electronics: Measuring charge state of SLINTEC
a single atom
8th KNOWLEDGE
SEMINAR
By Dr. A. R. Kumarasinghe
Since the invention of scanning tunneling microscope (STM) by
Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM Research Laboratory,
Zurich, Switzerland, in 1981, the passion for untangling the
secrets of the nature and the scientific quest for discovering new
phenomena on molecular level using STM has never slowed
down. STM is a powerful instrument which uses a mechanical
device to sense the structure of a surface. The microscope is under high vecuum and kept
exceptionally cold (Figure 1)
To this extent, the principle is the same as that of braille-reading but much more detailed of the topography of the
surface is obtained in STM using quantum mechanical tunneling effect of electrons. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
is an offspring of STM developed by Binnig and co-workers in 1986. It employs a tiny tip to measure the
attractive/repulsive force between atoms of the tip and those on a surface. In other words, AFM tip can measure forces
at atomic level. Unlike for STM, AFM does not require the material to be conductive. In order to generate an image of
a surface, AFM takes the advantage of atomic forces acting between two atoms when they are brought to close
proximity. However in STM, as the tunneling current which is originating from the tip is used to generate an image, it
requires the sample to be conductive to evade the problems arising from possible surface charging effect. Due to the
sensing mechanism used in AFM, it can be applied to acquire surface information of practically almost all surfaces
varying from insulators, semiconductors to metals. It can even be used to observe topographical features on biologi- Prof. A.P. de Silva’s seminar, themed
cal samples with very high precision. “Useful Nanotechnologies Based on
Molecular Information Handling”,
A fascinating experiment briefly explained below demonstrates the specifics given above on STM and AFM. The
was held at the Auditorium, Dept of
experiment has been recently conducted by a group of scientists led by Gerhard Meyer at IBM’s nanoscience and
Chemistry, University of Colombo.
nanotechnology division in collaboration with scientists from the University of Regensburg in Germany and Utrecht
The seminar attracted more than 120
University in Netherlands. Their pioneering work was published in Science, June 2009, involves measuring the
people from undergraduates, gradu-
amount of electric charge or the charge state on a single atom. Measuring a charge state of a single atom practically
ate students, academics and industry
is unthinkable as more than a billion billion electrons pass through a 60 W light bulb every second!
personnel. In his lecture, he
One of the paramount requirements in molecular electronics is minimizing the interaction between the molecules described his own pioneering work
and the underlying substrates to ensure that the electronic properties of molecules are not disturbed. In this regard, that started in the chemistry labs of
bulk insulators and thin insulating films are ideal candidates. In case of insulating substrates, it requires characteriza- University of Colombo and culmi-
tion tools that do not depend on conductivity. Low-current STM is one option. However, non-contact AFM can be nated in Belfast. He noted that a
used to image molecules on insulating films or bulk insulators. The group of scientists at IBM imaged and identified current 60M$ market activity based
differently charged individual gold and silver atoms by measuring the tiny differences in the forces between the tip of on this work by a Swiss firm was first
an AFM and a charged or uncharged atom located in close proximity below it. used in Sri Lankan Ambulance
services during the days of conflict.
For this experiment, they used an extension of non-contact The presentation demonstrated
mode AFM, i.e., Scanning Kelving Probe Microscopy (SKPM), at what one can do if there is a will,
low temperature. In SKPM the electrostatic force is measured as focus and the right attitude within a
a function of applied voltage. As high stability is necessary for conducive atmosphere. The promise
such measurements, they conducted the imaging process at and the potential of Chemistry in
5K(- 268 0C). In the setup of the present work, the AFM uses a Computing surpassing the current
qPlus force sensor consisting of a tip mounted on one prong of systems in place were presented by
a tuning fork, Prof AP based on his own concepts of
Continued to next page... “Lab-as-a-Molecule” and was a
preview of things to come.
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4. SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Sustainable nanotechnology
2010 ISSUE 1 | PAGE 4 News Bulletin
Novel Probes for Molecular Electronics: Measuring charge state of SLINTEC
a single atom Continuation from page 3 UP COMING EVENTS
the other prong being fixed. The tuning fork is actuated mechanically and oscillates with amplitudes as small as 0.02 SLINTEC 9th
nm which is about one-tenth of an atom’s diameter. As the AFM tip approach the sample, the resonance frequency of KNOWLEDGE
the tuning fork is shifted due to the forces acting between sample and the tip. By scanning the tip over the surface SEMINAR
and measuring the difference in the frequency shift, a precise force map of the surface can be derived. For sensing the by
minute differences in the force caused by the charge state switching of single atom requires an extremely stable
measurement conditions. For example, difference between the force of a neutral gold atom and a gold atom charged
Dr. Rohitha Jayasuriya
-12 Pace University School of Law
with an additional electron was found to be only about 11 x 10 N (11 piconewton) measured at the minimum
Please send your reservation to
distance to the tip of about half a nanometer above the atom. They claim that their measurement accuracy is better champag@susnanotec.lk
that 1 piconewton, which is roughly equal to the gravitational pull that two adults exerts on each other over a
APCTT-ESCAP WORKSHOP
distance of more than half a kilometer. Moreover, by measuring the variation of the force with the voltage applied
& DELEGATIONS VISIT TO
between the tip and the sample, the scientists were able to distinguish positively from negatively charged single SLINTEC
atoms (Figure 2).
This breakthrough is another crucial advance in the
field of atomic-scale science. According to Leo
Gross, who conducted the experiment at IBM, the
impact of such innovative works lies beyond nano-
scale computing as charge state and the charge
distribution are critical in photoconversion (i.e.,
solar cells) and catalysis. “Mapping the charge
distribution on the atomic scale might deliver
insight into fundamental processes in these fields”.
Figure 2
SLINTEC featured in Nano Globe - Nanotechnology Now - Nanotechnol-
ogy Columns
Sri Lanka, though with limited infrastructure built for R&D and limited funding from the government so far shows its
commitment in developing nanotechnology with a unique private - public partnership and passionate scientists. The
Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) was set up in 2008 with 50% funding from Sri Lanka National Science
Foundation (NSF) and 5 other industry partners.
Sri Lanka, a country of about 20M people primarily still an agricultural based developing economy with over 70% of
its population living in the rural area. Its GDP per capita is about 2000USD (lower than Vietnam whose GDP per capita
is 3340USD). Despite of its recent political instability, its Ministry of Science and Technology and National Science
Foundation recognizes the importance of nanotechnology and started to establish its S&T policy to ensure Sri Lanka
will not missed the upcoming revolution. I find Colombo a very clean and comfortable city, where I don't see chaos in
traffic, hotels ban smoking indoor, people follow the traffic rules, very friendly towards each other and to visitors.
Initiated and supported by the Sri Lanka Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) led by its Minister Prof. Tissa
Vitharana, the first "Consultative Workshop on Promoting Innovation in Nanotechnology and Fostering its Industrial
Application: An Asia-Pacific Perspective" was organized by the APCTT-ESCAP, Sri Lanka Ministry of Science and
Technology, National Engineering Research and Development Center (NERD Center) and the National Science
Foundation (NSF) on Dec 2-3, 2009 in Sri Lanka capital Colombo. The event was inaugurated by Sri Lanka traditional
lighting the candles ceremony symbolizing the lighting the darkness of ignorance followed by the opening address
given by the Minister Tissa Vitharana who shared his vision of nanotechnology for improving quality of life for Sri
Lankans (see photo attached).
Continued to next page ...
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5. SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Sustainable nanotechnology
2010 ISSUE 1 | PAGE 5 News Bulletin
SLINTEC featured in Nano Globe - Nanotechnology Now - Nanotechnol- APCTT-ESCAP WORKSHOP
ogy Columns Continuation from page 4 & DELEGATIONS VISIT TO
SLINTEC
The event is an invitation only event with about 50 invited participants from UN Asia and Pacific member countries
and one representative from each major R&D institution in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka NSF launched its Nanotechnology
Initiative in 2007 and set up the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) as a private company with LKR 420
million (about USD3.7M) in 2008 with a unique public-private-partnership (PPP) structure where 50% of institute
funding comes from 5 private companies including Hayleys, MAS Holdings, Brandix, Loadstar and Dialog. Within a
year, the center has now nicely set up with necessary facilities needed for nanomaterials synthesis, characterization
and prototyping. It recruited overseas Sri Lankan scientists and executives with passion, vision and network as well as
technical and business capabilities to accelerate the nanotech incubation process in the institute. It also recruited
experienced faculty members from local universities to be R&D program managers. It is aggressively seeking for
industry collaboration to ensure its R&D efforts stayed focused. It has an impressive advisory board including distin-
guished scientists such as Prof. Ravi. P. Silva (UK), Prof. A.P. de Silva (UK), Prof. Gehan Amaratunga (UK) and Prof. Kumar
Wichremasinghe (USA). The institute is also very active in seeking international cooperation to ensure its interna-
tional competitiveness. It signed recently a research agreement with Ritsumeikan University (Japan), research group
of Prof. Susumu Sugiyama, a well-known MEMS expert in Japan.
"We are very fortunate to have a team of passionate and talented scientists and management focusing on application
development of nanotechnology and we follow our milestones very seriously. We exploit Sri Lanka rich natural
resources such as titanium, graphite and other activated carbon towards nanomaterials application. We aim to
deliver sustainable nanotechnology for global competitiveness of Sri Lankan industry and the world will see the label
`Made in Sri Lanka` in future high-tech products enabled by nanotechnology", CEO Mr. Ravi Fernando shared with us
during the conference delegation visit at SLTINTEC(see photo attached). The research areas of the institute include
Textile & apparel, Solid tires, Fertilizer, Rubber gloves, Activated carbon, Nano materials, and Biosensors. Details of the
institute can be found at its website.
I am most impressed by the Sri Lanka nanotechnology policy is its emphasis on private - public partnership (PPP) and
incorporating responsible development and regulatory framework.
http://www.nano-globe.biz
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