1. business and industrial
2. chemicals industry
3. plastics and polymers

JANUARY 2015
Research, Development and Commercialisation
MCI (P) 045/03/2014 • ISSN 0219-1830
Institute of
Materials Research
and Engineering
www.imre.a-star.edu.sg
CORPORATE NEWS
RESEARCH
‘Smart’
packaging that
extends shelflife and reduces
food wastage
AWARDS
Nanoscale in 3D
PEOPLE
President’s
Science
Award 2014
UPCOMING EVENTS
OUTREACH
Profile –
Experience
counts for a lot
Seminars and
workshops to
look out for!
IMRE-LION
Workshop
CORPORATE NEWS
Materials to help you transform your ideas into creative solutions and sharpen your company’s edge in 2015!
2014 was a year of collaborations. Since its establishment, IMRE has built a comprehensive suite of technical accomplishments. In recent years,
we have gained momentum in terms of furthering our interactions with industry and forming effective and strategic partnerships.
At the beginning of the year, we launched the new Materials Centre of Innovation (MCOI) together with SPRING Singapore. The Materials COI
works side-by-side with SMEs by providing solutions and new products that SMEs can use commercially. Our industry-themed IMRE Nanoimprint
Foundry also continues to help develop specially engineered plastics and surfaces for commercialising nanoimprint technology. By translating
IMRE’s competencies to industrial applications, we give SMEs the flexibility to adapt quicker in today’s fast-growing technology environment.
Japanese consumer giant, LION Corporation, also signed its first Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) in Singapore, with IMRE, to
conduct joint research to develop environmentally friendly household products.
We partnered with local construction company, SunHuan Construction Pte Ltd, to deploy advanced phase change materials to cool its
new ‘green’ building.
IMRE will continue to lay the groundwork for the foundation of our industry relevant R&D partnerships to grow our industry engagement. And as we look forward to 2015, I would like to thank all our partners and stakeholders for their continued support and wish
them an abundance of happiness, health and prosperity in 2015.
‘Smart’ packaging that extends shelf-life and reduces food wastage
IMRE has invented a new active plastic packaging that is as good as metalised packaging, but at only 20 percent of its cost. The new packaging can also be
coupled with other IMRE technologies like a sensor that can accurately indicate the freshness of packaged meat, fish or poultry. The new packaging was
recently announced during the launch of the second phase of the IMRE-led industry consortium on coatings and packaging.
help detect minute chemical concentrations associated with the freshness
of meat, fish or poultry to give a more
accurate indication of food spoilage
and expiration.
The phase two of the consortium,
which was launched on 17 November
2014, will further explore, develop, advance and test new materials for food
packaging. The researchers at IMRE are
also working to adapt the packaging
material to applications in other areas
like electronics and medical packaging.
For more information on the research,
please contact
Dr Li Xu
[email protected]
What is the Industrial
Coating And Packaging
(ICAP) consoritum?
The Industrial Coating And
Packaging (ICAP) consortium
is a platform that helps
companies reduce R&D
risks and investments in
new coating and packaging
technologies by synergistically
pooling R&D resources in precompetitive projects.
The signatories representing the new members of the consortium, and senior staff of IMRE at the ICAP phase two signing ceremony.
I
MRE recently signed an agreement
with key industry partners to develop and test a new packaging material
for industry use. The companies which
have come onboard are Mitsui Chemicals Asia Pacific, Ltd (Japan), Toyo Ink
SC Holdings Co., Ltd (Japan), Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd (Japan), Piaget
Chemicals & Manufacturing Pte Ltd
(Singapore) and Dou Yee Enterprises
(S) Pte Ltd (Singapore). The compa-
nies are part of the IMRE-led Industrial
Coatings and Packaging (ICAP) consortium.
Dr Li Xu, the principal scientist leading
the R&D said, “We want to develop a
protective plastic that is as effective as
metallised plastic films in the market,
but at 20 percent lower cost.”
“Improvements to mundane materials like the plastic wrapping in your
local supermarket are often taken for
The new plastic packaging material (left) is as good as metallised plastic films but costs
20 percent less, can be used for a variety of perishables to extend shelf-life (middle). The
packaging can be coupled with other IMRE technology like a ‘freshness’ sensor (right)
that can tell more accurately when meat goes bad.
granted but technology proves that
such innovations could significantly
change the world we live in,” said Prof
Andy Hor, Executive Director of IMRE.
“Our new material will help reduce
food wastage considerably, and allow
consumers to more accurately identify
when food actually spoils.”
The newly developed packing plastic
incorporates nanotechnology that is
based on non-toxic ferric compounds.
The plastic also has a unique dual purpose high-barrier plate silicate sheet,
which effectively blocks moisture and
oxygen from seeping into the packaging, and scavenges oxygen to create
an anaerobic environment that makes
perishables last longer than they would
in regular plastic packaging. IMRE has
also developed a sensor strip that can
Benefits of joining ICAP
Pool Resources – Synergistic pooling of R&D resources to achieve
common goal by reducing R&D risks and investments.
Access to Advanced R&D – Access to advanced coating technologies
and packaging technologies in a platform conducive for solving
technical and fundamental problems at the pre-competitive level.
Competitive Advantage – The latest in coating and packaging
technologies enhances core competencies and competitive advantage.
Networking – The consortium creates technology and business
networking opportunities with the coating and packaging industry
value chain.
Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) • A*STAR • Singapore • Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) • A*STAR • Singapore • Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) • A*STAR • Singapore • Institute
Page 01
Institute of
Materials Research
and Engineering
CORPORATE NEWS
PEOPLE
Profile – Experience counts for a lot
Review, evaluate and
plan for the future
Dr Ramam Akkipeddi is no stranger to industry networking and collaborations having engaged and
worked with many of IMRE’s partners as a senior scientist who has helped build IMRE’s infrastructure
in micro-fabrication and materials characterisation for over 15 years. How does his new role as Head,
Industry Alliance sync with what he has done? We find out from the man himself.
What is your role as Head, Industry
What are your immediate plans as
Do you have a wishlist?
Alliance?
Head, Industry Alliance and how
I hope to encourage IMRE to put
Translational and application oriented
can IMRE gain from this?
more emphasis on translational
pursuits are directions in which IMRE is
We have begun organising networking
work, by initiating more applica-
now putting greater emphasis on. The
sessions, with thematic presentations
tion-oriented projects, which would
creation of an Industry Alliance platform
on topics related to IMRE’s strengths to
then naturally call for good science,
adds further momentum to this move
industry. We also organise “technical
scope for new technologies and in-
by linking up with the stakeholders
clinics” where partners can approach
dustry involvement. I would also like
regularly to communicate the materials
IMRE specialists with technical issues
to see corporate laboratories and
knowledge and demonstrate the tech-
in hand, so that we can work together
other entities consider IMRE not
nologies developed in IMRE. Thus, my
to develop solutions or provide advice.
only as a vibrant organization, with
At IMRE, it is important to integrate in-
high-calibre scientific knowledge in
formation on the cluster of industries
the materials arena, but also an in-
aligned to IMRE’s thrust areas. These
stitute known for its impactful and
approaches can help engage industry
disruptive technologies.
Members of the External Review Committee and IMRE representatives holding
discussions about IMRE’s future plans for research and technological developments.
role is to think of new ways to promote
I
by encouraging prototyping, either in-
MRE was host to members
of the SERC External Review
Committee (ERC) who were here
to review research carried out in
A*STAR’s Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) research institutes. Prof Sir Keith
O’nions, Chairman of Cambridge
Enterprise and former President
and Rector of Imperial College
London, Dr Kazuo Murano, Former Chairman, Fujitsu Labs, Mr
Bruce Brown, Former CTO,P&G,
Prof Harold G. Craighead, Jr. Prof
of Engineering, School of Applied
and Engineering Physics, Cornell
University, Prof Sukekatsu Ushioda, President, National Institute for Materials Science and Mr
Jon Brodd, Founder & CEO, Cima
NanoTech were invited to review
and evaluate IMRE’s research
and technological development
plans. The ERC was established
to help shape the agenda of the
SERC research institutes going
forward and to position them to
take maximum advantage of future opportunities.
PEOPLE
Welcome to IMRE!
and exhibit our capabilities to industry,
house or by working with our partners,
so that it draws interest from industry.
in multi-party R&D sharing and economies of scale, and encourage the for-
Was the switch from research to an
mation of consortia or collaborative
industry-related role a difficult one?
projects in domains of IMRE’s strengths.
Over the past 10 years, I have enjoyed
Did your work as a scientist in IMRE
managing the nanofabrication and ma-
prepare you for this role?
terials characterisation platform, with a
clear mission of rendering consultancy
services to industry. This gave me ample
opportunities to regularly interact with
the industry. I have always wanted to
take up an advisory or a scientific ad-
My “hands-on” research experience has
helped me to a great extent in acclimatising to the needs of and to better engage industry, based on my accumulated
technical understanding. My 30 years of
background in electronic materials has
ministrator role in an organisation, as I
also facilitated my knowledge on themes
enjoy communicating and sharing my
like materials growth, device fabrication
experiences with my peers. After putting
and material characterisation, which have
in years of research activities, I now see
been very useful to me in understanding
a great opportunity to grow the industry
the fundamental technical needs of in-
engagement further and facilitate IMRE
dustry so that we can better address the
research units in advancing active indus-
over-arching challenges that they face.
try collaborations.
RESEARCH
Publication Highlights
New active film for effective marine antifouling
Sreenivasa Reddy Puniredd, Dominik Jańczewski, Dewi Pitrasari Go, Xiaoying Zhu, Shifeng Guo, Serena Lay Ming Teo, Serina Siew
Chen Lee and G. Julius Vancso; “Imprinting of metal receptors into multilayer polyelectrolyte films: Fabrication and applications
in marine antifouling”; Chem. Sci., 2015, 6, 372-383
Left to Right (Clockwise): KUANG Jinghao (PF), DING Guoqiang (SI), HUANG Xiaohu
(DG), HE Jiating (SI), ZHU Qiang (SI), LIU Zhennan (SI), Afriyanti SUMBOJA (SI)
Not in photograph: TEO Yanru Gladys (IDM)
Our New Learned Colleagues
Masters /
Bachelors;
13%
5
1
4
3
5
2
PhD;
87%
1
0
4
1
1
1
1
1
5
Europe
Americas
Asia
Singapore
1
lyl amine to create
an efficient antifouling surface and to
improve the performance of antifouling
paints.
How: Antifouling
paints reduce hull
fouling
because
LbL films with the concept of imprinting and non - imprinting
they contain copper,
approaches and their saturation isotherms of copper loading
among other metand antifouling performance against cyprids.
als such as zinc and
What: Researchers from IMRE have
nickel. Copper is a heavy metal that
developed an imidazole containing
is toxic to marine invertebrates afpeptide, such as L-histidine methyl
fecting their reproduction, growth,
ester, bound to metal ions that can
and abundance. It is also a pollutant
be used in an active antifouling film.
in the marine environment, espeThe active film is grafted on polyalcially close to docks and harbours,
The imidazole
containing biocide peptide,
grafted on polycation
to bind metals, shows
promise as an alternative
antifouling agent...
because it leaches from the hulls of
boats into the surrounding water.
The research team used the very efficient imidazole containing peptides,
such as L-histidine methyl ester grafted on polyallyl amine to construct
thin layer by layer (LbL) architectures
with high affinity to bind Cu2+ ions.
Enhanced binding ability is achieved
Institute of
Materials Research
and Engineering
RESEARCH
through a metal imprinting process
involving covalent immobilisation of
receptors within the film structure in
presence of metal ions. Highly crosslinking density groups of methyl esters in the polyanion, can overcome
the stability issues of the thin films
generally encounters. This is a feature of particular interest in attempts
to develop an efficient antifouling
surface and improved stability of the
films and are highly stable in sea salts
environments for prolonged periods,
and the copper leaching rate is very
slow, for about 90 days, suggesting
opportunities to use this covalent
cross-linking approach to design
functional imprinted films for antifouling and many other applications.
Why: Designing and fabricating new,
effective and environmentally friendly
coating systems as alternatives to tributyltin (TBT) based antifouling paints
is important. The imidazole containing biocide peptide, grafted on polycation to bind metals, shows promise
as an alternative antifouling agent,
that effectively protects against fouling of barnacles and other marine organisms, and is also less damaging to
the environment than existing formulations. The technology can also benefit metal extraction processes, for
example, in the water purification or
natural resources recovery industries.
For more information about the publication, please contact
Dr Sreenivasa Reddy
Puniredd
[email protected].
edu.sg
Nanoscale in 3D
Researchers fromIMRE, NUS, andSUTD inSingapore havedeveloped
a new approach to printing microscopic stereograms in full colour.
The team has created possibly the smallest ever stereogram that
does not require the viewer to don special glasses, but creates the
3D effect when viewed through an optical microscope.
Using ‘biaxial’ nanostructures, the
team engineered polarisation-sensitive
‘plasmonic pixels’ that change colour
depending on the polarisation of light
illuminating it, allowing the first demonstration of a three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic stereoscopic colour microprint.
To print these 3D images, a layer of hydrogen silsesquioxane was spun on a
silicon wafer surface and patterned with
a series of holes defined by electron
beam lithography. After post-processing,
the remaining nano-pillars are capped
with aluminium, forming an array of
plasmonic pixels. Central to the colour
creation are ‘plasmon resonances’, produced when light hits the thin aluminium layer to interact with the pixels. Each
pixel produces a colour, determined by
the nanostructure size or shape and the
spacing between adjacent nanostructures. By employing ellipses or closelyspaced squares, a different interaction
occurs when the pixel is illuminated,
where each pixel produces a different
colour under each polarisation. A full-colour ‘dual image’ can then be created by
arranging the pixels in a desired pattern;
each image only revealed to the observer
under the design polarisation.
Stereograms typically comprise two sideby-side images viewed separately by the
left and right eye to create the illusion of
depth. Examples include red and green
prints that reconstruct 3D objects when
viewed with a pair of red and green
glasses. Here, stereograms were formed
using a fade-free colour printing method, which also enables multiple colour
microprints to be printed and viewed
within the same area without using
red and green filters. Moreover, compared to laser printers which print images using droplets of ink spaced about
Steering light along tiny golden bead strings
A. Teulle, M. Bosman, C. Girard, K. L. Gurunatha, M. Li, S. Mann, E. Dujardin; “Multimodal Plasmonics in Fused Colloidal Networks”;
Nature Materials, 2014, DOI: 10.1038/NMAT4114
microscopy.
Large
networks of gold
particles with diameters of only ~10
nm were made using
the chemical expertise at CEMES (see
A network of gold beads, each 10 nm in diameter. From left
image). These long
to right, this network is 750 nm long. The colours around the
network show where different light energies are localised. Blue
bead strings were
represents 0.38 eV, red 0.70 eV and green 0.89 eV of energy. The
then carefully fused
energy map and network image were obtained using electron
microscopy.
together and measured in Singapore.
What: A multidisciplinary team of
It was shown that these networks
IMRE and CEMES scientists have
form pathways along which the light
demonstrated that long chains and
energy can travel in the form of ‘surnetworks of gold nanoparticles can
face plasmons’.
be used to confine light energy and
The sizes of the networks can vary
guide it over long distances. In an
from very small (containing only a
article published in the journal, Nafew dozen beads) to lengths of sevture Materials, the team of researcheral micrometers. The colours on the
ers applied a recently developed
chain indicate locations where light
technique called ‘monochromated
of different colours are concentratSTEM EELS’, which can observe optied. The distance from left to right
cal phenomena with unprecedented
was about 750 nm, which itself is
detail.
only one hundredth the width of a
How: The behaviour of light at
human hair.
nanometer length scales is imposWhy: The work opens up the possible to observe with light microsibility to control light energy and its
scopes, which is why the researchers used monochromated electron
travel distance by tuning the shape
The work opens up
the possibility to control
light energy and its travel
distance by tuning the
shape and size of the
bead string networks.
and size of the bead string networks.
The findings in this work show that
different colours of light are concentrated at specific points in the networks. In a larger effort to further
miniaturise and speed-up functional
circuits, these networks should prove
very useful, since it has now been
demonstrated that light energy can
be addressed and accessed at specific nodes in these miniaturised optical
networks.
For more information about the publication, please contact
Dr Michel Bosman
[email protected].
edu.sg
Reference table for quick estimation of concentration
and size of nanosilver
D. Paramelle, A. Sadovoy, S. Gorelik, P. Free, J. Hobley and D. G. Fernig; “A rapid method to estimate the concentration of
citrate capped silver nanoparticles from UV-visible light spectra”; Analyst, 2014, 139, 4855-4861
Optical microprints of a square and cross
printed onto the same area formed from
(a) ellipses; (b) coupled nanosquare pixels
illuminated under x and y-polarised light.
(c) SEM image of boxed region in (b).
Nanosquares of the same size and gap
widths are separated by the dotted lines. (d)
Overlaid images decoupled by polarisers.
Scale bar: 20 μm. (e) Overlay of images in
(d) forms a stereoscopic image with depth
perception. (f) SEM image of boxed region in
(e). Scale bar: 1 μm.
20 micrometers apart, this approach
shrinks the separation to 400 nanometers - roughly 50 times smaller than its
commercial counterparts to produce an
ultra-high resolution print of 62,500 dpi.
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
For more information about the research, please contact
Dr Goh Xiao Ming
[email protected]
or refer to the following publication:
Xiao Ming Goh, Yihan Zheng, Shawn. J. Tan,
Lei Zhang, Karthik Kumar, Cheng-Wei Qiu, Joel
K.W. Yang; “Three-dimensional Plasmonic Stereoscopic Prints in Full Colour”; Nature Communications, 5, 2014, Article number 5361.
The spectral control and polarisation-sensitive
encoding capability of these pixels may enable
application in colour displays, data storage and
anti-counterfeiting technologies.
What: One of the limitations to the
use of silver nanoparticles is an easy
method to calculate concentrations, to
allow non-destructive analysis. Current
methods could for example, require the
use of expensive and time consuming
equipment such as ICP-MS. With the
creation of the table, it is possible to
obtain a good concentration estimate
using just a UV-vis spectrometer, and
the research community could conduct
easier and more productive research
with silver nanoparticles. The developed methods are also applicable to
other types of nanoparticles or structures.
How: IMRE scientists have created a
standardised table of extinction coefficient data for silver nanoparticles,
which allows for easy and quick estimation of the concentration and size
of modified and mono-dispersed silver
nanoparticles from their optical spectra.
The data was obtained by determining
the silver content of citrate - stabilised
silver nanoparticles, using sodium cyanide-mediated etching. Quantification
of silver ion concentration enabled the
calculation of extinction coefficients. In
this case, experimentally calculated extinction coefficients are in good agree-
Calculation of silver nanoparticle concentration. The extinction coefficient of citrate
coated nanoparticles can be calculated using the table and the diameter of the
nanoparticles estimated by λmax or by TEM.
...the research
community could
conduct easier and more
productive research with
silver nanoparticles.
ment with collated literature values.
The results are also in good agreement
with the theoretical calculations using
Mie theory.
have great potential for vivo applications. Silver nanoparticles also have antimicrobial properties, and as such the
use of ‘nanosilver’ has in recent years
been popularised in consumer products. Current and future applications
include, their use in clothing, fabrics,
personal care/health products, and antimicrobial surfaces.
For more information about the publication, please contact
Why: Silver nanoparticles, much like
gold, have become popular for applications such as in vitro diagnosis, and
Dr Paul Francis Free
[email protected].
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Page 03
Institute of
Materials Research
and Engineering
AWARDS
OUTREACH
Visits and Events
IMRE-LION Workshop
01 Oct 2014
IMRE organised a workshop with LION that
featured experts from both organisations. The
workshop included seminars that provided insights into the advance­ments of materials used
in consumables. The objective of the workshop
was to in­troduce the various research activities
conduct­ed in LION and IMRE, and to foster as
well as further develop existing collaborations.
IMRE adjunct scientist, Prof Ho Ghim Wei, was honored
with the L’Oréal Singapore For Women in Science
National Fellowship for Physical & Engineering Sciences.
The award was for her efforts in the research and
education of nanomaterials science and engineering.
One of LION’s representatives giving a seminar
on the design and development of eye drops.
5th IMRE Scientific Research
Forum: Nanofabrication &
Surface Modification
Shawn was selected as one of the 10 innovators
from Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand,
whose superb technical work ranks among
the state-of-the-art scientific and technological
innovations in the region.
Dr Shah Kwok Wei, an IMRE scientist, received a
commendation at the IET Innovation Awards 2014.
He was nominated under the ‘Built Environment’
category, for his work on phase change materials
(PCM), a ‘smart’ technology that helps cool
buildings by absorbing heat during the day and
releasing it at night.
02 – 03 Oct 2014
IMRE’s fifth annual Scientific Forum centered on
the theme “Nanofabrication and Surface Modification”. The over 100 featured posters accompanied a variety of seminars presented by IMRE
scientists on subjects such as thermoelectrics and
plasmonic nanostructures. The research seminars
were followed by technology development talks
from A*STAR’s commercialisation arm, ETPL, and
IMRE spin-off companies such as Tera Barrier and
Sofshell. The forum was successfully organised
by this year’s IMRE Scientific Research Forum
committee, chaired by Dr Anton Sadovoy.
An IMRE researcher explains her research
on biomarker detections during the
poster presentations.
MCOI presents: “Sustainable Active Packaging and
Functional 3D Printing Technologies” Seminar
29 Oct 2014
Prof Loh Kian Ping, an IMRE adjunct scientist, was
awarded the prestigious President’s Science Award
2014 for his outstanding work on graphene
chemistry at the President’s Science and Technology
Awards 2014 ceremony.
The Materials Centre of Innovation (MCOI),
together with Singapore Logistics Associa­tion
(SLA), Singapore Plastics Industry As­sociation
(SPIA) and Singapore Chemical Industry Council
(SCIC), organised the “Sustainable Active Packaging and Func­tional 3D Printing Technologies”
seminar. The event presented the latest developments in sustainable packaging materials and
3D print­ing technologies from IMRE. The seminar also served as a platform for in­dustry participants to explore various potential applications
of IMRE’s innovative materials in their products.
Industry participants were given a
glimpse of IMRE’s research facilities by
Dr Pan Jisheng.
The Next Generation Carbon Fibre and Future Demand
for Composites and Carbon Fibres Seminar
18 Nov 2014
With its customised artificial cell membrane,
IMRE’s spin-off, ACM Biolabs, will be able to help
pharmaceutical and biomedical companies do away
with live cells, thus, significantly lowering the cost
of drug research.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Diary of upcoming events @ IMRE
28 Jan 2015
5th ASEAN event series
“Bridges - Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace”
For more information and registration, please scan the QR code
03-05 Aug 2015
5th M3 @ Singapore
Theme: The Next 50 years of Materials Research (in
commemoration with SG50)
For more information, please scan the QR code
To find out more about IMRE’s seminars and events, please visit
www.imre.a-star.edu.sg/eventsall.php
IMRE invited Prof Andrew Walker, CEO of
the Composites Centre at University of
Manchester, UK , to give a seminar on the
future development and demand of composites and carbon fibres in the automotive, aerospace and construction industry.
The seminar included talks on re-evaluating modern material requirements of new
products, and tailoring the next generation of carbon fibre to keep up with the
increasing demands of such materials.
Prof Walker discussing with invited
industry participants on future research
opportunities of carbon fibres.
Global Innovation Imperatives (Gii) Event in Singapore:
WITS Forum 2014
03 – 05 Dec 2014
IMRE hosted the inaugural Global Innovation Imperatives (Gii) event, which was organised by the
Singa­pore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC)
and the American Chemical Society (ACS). This
year, Gii focused on Water Treatment, through
the Water Innovation Treatment & Solutions
(WITS) forum. The forum included talks on global
water resources development and man­agement
that were presented by key lead­ers of industry,
universities and agencies. It was concluded by a
roundtable meeting on the draft of the whitepaper on “Global Challenges, Local Solutions”.
Prof Ellene Tratras Contis, the co-chair
of the forum, addressing issues of water
treatment and innovation at the forum.
Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) • A*STAR • Singapore • Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) • A*STAR • Singapore • Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) • A*STAR • Singapore • Institute
Page 04