Usuário(a):Lfgorup/Testes

The Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Electrochemistry and Ceramics (LIEC), from Chemistry Department at Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar) . The laboratory was founded in 1986 by a pioneer initiative of Prof. Elson Longo, Prof. Luis Otávio Bulhões and Prof. José Arana Varela. They planed to create a multidisciplinary research laboratory to promote the development of ceramics materials, theoretical chemistry and electrochemistry. The initial financial support was provided by Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM) . Today, LIEC is one of the most important laboratory for the development of materials chemistry and nanotechnology of Brazil and is member of two important laboratories network, CMDMC (Centro Multidisciplinar para o Desenvolvimento de Materiais Cerâmicos), supported by the CEPID program from São Paulo State Foundation (FAPESP) and INCTMN, an INCT program, from CNPq (National Brazilian Agency). Several innovations were generated in the LIEC. For instance, our laboratory was the first to obtain a full density SnO2 ceramics. The high densification obtained for oxide was fundamental for the developments of new electronic ceramics devices based on this wide band gap semiconductor such as varistor (a non ohmic resistor) as well as in the utilization of this oxide as high performance refractory for the melting of optical grade oxides glasses. In 2000 we were studying the crystallization process of PbTiO3 using Raman spectroscopy and just by chance we discovered that this material in the amorphous state has a strong visible photoluminescence at room temperature. This discovery was published and received special interest since the photoluminescence behavior was reported in a disordered material and this property was associated to electronic states related to the structural disorder. In the beginning of this century, our Lab started to study nanostructured ceramics materaisl. In the present days, our laboratory use the "bottom-up" approach for the development of nanostructured materials. Based on a highly interdisciplinary research program, we are developing synthetic routes to design nanoscale building blocks (mainly transition metal oxides nanocrystals) and methods for hierarchical organization of building blocks into increasingly complex integrated assemblies. We use the bottom-up approach to explore new science and applications in diverse areas, including nanoelectronics, nanocomposites and catalyses. LIEC keep a strong program for the development of new technologies and it transference to private companies. As example of this interaction is the development of new refractory for the Compania Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), the major steel producer in Brazil. With the support of the Praxair/White Martins gas company, we studied and developed a new class of refractory materials for glass furnace, introducing the sol-gel impregnation technology to process advanced refractory materials . More recently, we started the development of new gas sensor, based on nanostructured material, for Petrobras. In 1992 and 1993 started to operated our first x-ray diffraction system and scanning electrons microscopy, respectively. Today, our laboratory has an modern facility allowing to our researchers and students a perfect environment to explore the frontiers of the materials science. Recently, we inaugurated in our facility, a new electron microscopy laboratory, with a FEG- HRTEM, AFM and FE-SEM equipments. This initiative was supported by Petrobras and FAPESP.