Novel Material Developed to Supersede LED and Fluorescent Lamp

Pukyong National University announced on March 16 that professor Kwon Han-sang at its Department of Advanced Materials System Engineering published his recent study in the Scientific Reports journal.

His research published in the subsidiary of Nature at this time is related to a type of functionally graded material (FGM) developed by him and his team. The FGM is a “nanocomposite” material in which raw materials such as iron, ceramic, aluminum and plastic are mixed in different amounts for special functions.

He and his team conducted tens of thousands of mixing experiments by varying the contents of conductive metals and non-conductive ceramics and finally came up with the energy-converting FGM.

“This material is capable of generating electricity when given light, generating light when electricity is applied, and outputting a specific light beam in another form,” the professor explained, continuing, “When put to commercial use, it will be able to take the place of sensors and light sources used in daily lives such as LEDs and fluorescent lamps.”

 “In the long term, it can be utilized in not only solar cells, piezoelectric elements and thermoelectric materials but also electronic devices and components producing energy on their own by collecting and emitting light, collecting heat and generating electricity.” Professor Kwon added.

At present, he and his team are working on prototypes that can replace LEDs while repeating performance tests. Patent applications are in progress at home and abroad, too