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Department of Functional Materials

was established as a new modern interdisciplinary research department within the Condensed Matter Division of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in January 2009.

The new department was formed by two research teams of mostly young researchers working in the field of functional engineering materials and nanostructured diamond thin films. Since 2009 the research teams have been continuously building their experimental facilities, expertise and services. The department has developed its infrastructure for educating master and PhD students in collaboration with Czech universities (MFF UK, TUL, FJFI CVUT, FBMI CVUT and VUT Brno) and joint training of international PhD students in collaboration with foreign universities, mainly from France, China and Taiwan. Currently, 3-5 PhD students graduate annually within the department. A new FIB-SEM laboratory, which was built with the help of FUNBIO-SAFMAT infrastructure project and institutional investition support of the ASCR, currently provides user access not only for research teams from the institute but also to external users.

Since 2009, the department researchers have been very active in the research within large number of national as well as European research projects. The department organized several prestigeous workshops and international research conferences in Prague. Research in the Department has always been very closely linked to engineering applications and technology transfer.

Alongside the continuous development of its research directions, the department has evolved significantly in time. Three additional research groups MSM, PPB and MNS nucleated within the department since 2009 in the field of multiferroic materials, biophysics and magnetic nanosystems, respectively. These research groups quickly developed its own identity and left the department with their facilities and students for other FZU departments before the end of the year 2018. At the same time, new research group from previous Department of metals with a long history in the research of modern structural materials joined the department with their facilities in 2017. Because of this somehow turbulent development, the current department is rather different from that envisioned in 2009. Many colleagues who significantly contributed to the rise of the department are not its members anymore.

The current Department of Functional Materials consists of 3 research groups FMC, MNB and MCM, scanning electron microscopy laboratory and mechanical workshop.

R esearch of the department focusses on active or passive functionality imprinted to the solid state materials on the structural level, in particular:

martensitically transforming shape memory alloys in various forms from bulk to thin filaments, thin films or composites and development of their engineering applications
preparation, characterization, and functionalization of carbon materials in different forms covering nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) coatings, nanodiamond particles (NDP) and monocrystalline diamonds (SCD) and graphene based layers
preparation, characterization and theory of modern structural metallic materials – starting from single crystals via oriented bi- and tricrystals up to materials with purposely created nanocrystalline structures.

A Special Topic Website presents selected research results of the department which could not be presented in the research articles, particularly to videos, animations, data resources and datapresenting tools.

Recent Key Results

Nanosegregation and embrittlement at interfaces: P. Lejček, M. Šob, V. Paidar: Interfacial segregation and grain boundary embrittlement: An overview and critical assessment of experimental data and calculated results. Progress in Materials Science 87 (2017) 83–139.

Localized deformation of NiTi by 3D-XRD: P. Sedmák, J. Pilch, L.Heller, J. Kopeček, J. Wright, P. Sedlák, M. Frost, P. Šittner, Grain-resolved analysis of localized deformation in nickel-titanium wire under tensile load, Science 353, 559-562 (2016) FREE link, See also Special Topics

Nanodiamonds for sensing and imaging in biology: V.Petráková et al, Imaging of transfection and intracellular release of intact, non-labeled DNA using fluorescent nanodiamonds, Nanoscale, 8, 12002-12012 (2016); J.Havlík, M.Gulka,V.Petráková, M. Krečmarová et al , Benchtop Fluorination of Fluorescent Nanodiamonds on a Preparative Scale: Toward Unusually Hydrophilic Bright Particles, Advanced functional Materials, 26 4134-4143 (2016); V.Petráková et al,Charge-sensitive fluorescent nanosensors created from nanodiamonds , Nanoscale 7 , 12307 – 12311(2015), V.Petráková et al Boosting nanodiamond fluorescence: towards development of brighter probes, Nanoscale 2013 Apr;5(8):3208-11;

Functional textiles with NiTi shape memory alloy filaments: L. Heller, NiTi textile technology; J Seibold, E Müller, K Volenec, P Sittner, L Heller, J Pilch Medical Device (2016) US 09216100; J. Pilch, P.Sittner, Method of heat treatment .. US20120018413 A1; J. Hanuš, A. Richter, P. Rydlo, L. Heller Pressure and/or force sensor (2015): Patent No. 304873

Diamond layer protecting zirconium cladding in nuclear reactors: P. Ashcheulov, R. Škoda, J. Škarohlíd, A. Taylor, F. Fendrych, I.Kratochvílová, Layer Protecting the Surface of Zirconium Used in Nuclear Reactors Recent Pat. Nanotechnology 10, 59 - 65(2016) See also related patent