What are the next big trends in materials science?


Though it is huge field, and covers vast topics, here are top five:
·         Bio-materials and Tissue Engineering
·         Ceramics and glasses
·         Nanotechnology
·         Functional materials (materials having their unique properties like feoorelectricity.)
·         Engineering alloys (for various applications)

Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering:


Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to the regeneration of functional human tissues. ... The classic paradigm relies on a combination of biomaterial scaffolds, cells, and bioactive molecules to orchestrate tissue formation and integration within the host environment.



Ceramics and glasses:

Ceramics and glasses are inorganic, nonmetallic materials consisting of metallic and nonmetallic elements bonded primarily with ionic and covalent bonds. ... They occupy a unique place in the spectrum of engineered materials offering many desirable alternatives to the metals and polymers in common usage.



Nanotechnology:

Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at this length scale. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick; a single gold atom is about a third of a nanometer in diameter.



Functional materials:

Functional materials can be any type of specially designed material with a determined function: semiconductors, polymers, molecular crystals or nanoparticles are good examples of them. It is their special physico-chemical properties which make functional materials so special. A special type of functional materials are synthesized with a large surface to volume ratio, in order to maximize their interaction with the environment. Typical examples are functional surfaces and functional particles. The research on their synthesis and their characterization is crucial for future technologies. 




Engineering alloys:

Metal alloys are especially common, and they are formed by combining a metal with one or more other metallic and/or non-metallic materials. The combination usually occurs through a process of melting, mixing, and cooling.






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