New methods for producing nanomaterials
The doctoral dissertation of MSc Turkka Salminen explores the production of nanomaterials using a process known as pulsed laser ablation. The remarkable properties of nanomaterials have opened up a wide range of potential applications, for example, in cancer treatment.Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize everyday life and the way we produce materials. Nanomaterials are microscopic structures in the size range of approximately 1-100 nanometres. At the nanoscale, materials may behave in unexpected ways. Because of their small dimensions, nanomaterials have large surface areas compared to their volume.
“Nanomaterials have high surface-area-to-volume ratio, which accelerates the interaction between the materials and their environment. They can therefore be used, for example, as catalysts that increase the rate of chemical reactions”, says Turkka Salminen.
Nanoparticles can be fabricated safely and cost-effectively by immersing the target material in a liquid and removing material from the surface by irradiating it with a laser beam. No nanoparticles are released into the air, as they remain in the liquid. This significantly reduces occupational exposure to nanoparticles, the health effects of which are not yet fully understood.
“In addition, pulsed laser ablation allows the preparation of pure nanoparticles without unwanted chemical residues that are currently a common problem for chemically synthesized nanoparticles,” concludes Salminen.
Public defence of a doctoral dissertation on Friday, 12 April
The doctoral dissertation of MSc Turkka Salminen in the field of physics titled “Production of Nanomaterials by Pulsed Laser Ablation” will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences of Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in room S1 in the Sähkötalo building (address: Korkeakoulunkatu 3, Tampere, Finland) at 12:00 on Friday, 12 April 2013.
The opponent will be PhD Philipp Wagener (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany). Professor Tapio Niemi from the Optoelectronics Research Centre at TUT will act as Chairman.
Turkka Salminen (35) comes from Jämsänkoski, Finland, and works as a researcher at the Optoelectronics Research Centre.
Further information:
Turkka Salminen, tel. +358 400 342 117, ">turkka.salminen@tut.fi
The dissertation is available online at: http://URN.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-15-3051-7