The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has developed a technology that can combine nanoparticles like toy blocks, and it is expected to be used in various industrial fields such as battery electrode materials, catalyst systems, pharmaceuticals/bio, semiconductor packaging, and insulating materials for power devices.

The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute announced on the 16th that Dr. Seung-Geon Yoo's team at the Insulation Materials Research Center has developed an innovative 'composite particle synthesis technology' that overcomes the limitations of existing wet chemical processes.

This technology is attracting attention as a process that stably attaches inorganic nanoparticles to the surface of polymer microparticles through simple mechanical collisions, making it easy to combine them like assembling toy blocks.

Conventional composite particle synthesis relies on a multi-step wet process using solvents, which has several problems such as process complexity, increased costs, and environmental pollution.

Accordingly, Dr. Yoo's team, inspired by the principle of crater formation on the lunar surface, introduced a 'dry process' method that combines polymer microparticles (cores) and inorganic nanoparticles (shells) surrounding them through mechanical collisions.

This technology succeeded in establishing optimal attachment conditions by precisely controlling various variables such as particle size ratio, collision speed, rotational energy, surface energy, and roughness.

The research team tested dozens of inorganic nanoparticles We have secured a technology to quantitatively analyze the degree of adhesion, surface coverage, and stability of interfacial bonding by combining polymer microparticles of various sizes and properties, and to evaluate thermal, mechanical, and chemical durability.

As a result, it became possible to manufacture multifunctional, high-reliability composite particles with magnetic, photocatalytic, and adsorption properties.

This technology is evaluated as having great potential for use in various industrial fields, including battery electrode materials, catalyst systems, pharmaceuticals, bio, semiconductor packaging, and insulating materials for power devices.

In particular, this study was published as an Inside Front Cover paper in the world-renowned academic journal 'Advanced Materials', and its excellence was recognized internationally.

The journal's Impact Factor is 27.4, which ranks in the top 1.9%, and the results of this research are expected to have a significant ripple effect on the industry in the future as an innovative technology in the field of advanced materials.

Dr. Seung-Geon Yoo explained, “Thanks to the eco-friendly dry process that does not use any solvents, we can easily combine the composite materials we need like toy blocks, which has secured high reproducibility and economic feasibility in terms of mass production and commercialization.”

He also added that “since the range of attachable materials is very wide, the barriers to entry into the industry are low and it can be applied in various fields,” and that he plans to accelerate the discovery of companies in demand for technology transfer and commercialization.

This study was conducted with government support from the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Science and ICT, and was conducted as a joint research project with Professor Dong-Wook Lee's team at UNIST, Dr. Seung-Ryeol Jeon's team at KIST, and Professor Yang Shu's team at the University of Pennsylvania.