Stretching rubber's potential

(PhysOrg.com) -- Imagine stretching your television to get a larger screen. Now imagine rolling it up in a drawer when you’re done watching it. Futuristic ideas perhaps, but it is something that would happen if Leo Lau has a say in it.

As director of Surface Science Western, Lau is pushing the frontier for uses of rubber with potential applications in the food and electronics industry. The challenge received $1.7 million in provincial support last week.

“We want to develop a new technique to reduce chemical and energy consumption,” says Lau. Creating new surfaces resistant to oil and water, for example, would reduce the need for chemical cleaning.

Lau is also working on an elastomer (elastic polymer) which, in addition to elasticity attributes, will be electrically conductive even when stretched. “You’ll be able to stretch it and bend it and it will still be a conductor,” says Lau, noting potential uses in cameras and televisions. “It’s low cost and light weight; you can roll it up and store it; it can be adapted to a number of industries.”

Lau will be partnering in research with LANXESS, anchor tenant in Western’s new Convergence Centre in the Research Park.

London West MPP Chris Bentley, also Ontario’s attorney general, was at Western to announce the funding from the Ontario Research Fund program. The new financial support will help cover operating costs of Lau’s research.

“London continues to be a leader in cutting edge research,” says Bentley. “New discoveries will continue to be made and we want those people, those ideas and those jobs to stay right here in our community.”

Lau is collaborating on the project with numerous other researchers, all trying to find innovative ways to reduce the environment load in manufacturing new products and help Ontario maintain a profile of leadership in the growing polymer market.

“I can’t do this by myself. I have a wonderful team and world-class facilities to apply this research and make it successful,” says Lau, adding he will be training 20 to 30 students to assist with the work. “We only make this project feasible, to make it successful we need the students.”

"Cross-disciplinary research like Professor Leo Lau's helps expand the advanced manufacturing sector in Ontario, while providing a competitive advantage that will create jobs and ensure future prosperity," says Ted Hewitt, Western's Vice-President (Research & International Relations).

"We are very thankful for the province's recognition of the role research can play in economic recovery, as demonstrated by this investment."

Provided by University of Western Ontario