Internship Projects in 2014 Project 1.  Title: Inkjet Ink formulation    Short Description/Objectives: The Laboratory for Nanotechnology (LNT) of the Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City engaged in a program to develop inkjet technology for 3 years. This technology, well-known for desktop printers, expands towards various materials deposition thanks to its non-contact and controlled volume capability. One core activity of the LNT at present is the development of metal nanoparticles based ink. This type of ink is largely studied for printing of conductive traces on many substrates, including thin plastic films. The LNT is well advanced in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles (silver, gold and copper) and it is now pushing in the direction of formulating an ink based on these nanoparticles. Ink formulation is highly empirical and requires accumulation of experimental evidence from many samples
Dimatix printer	Silver ink
The basic requirement is for the trainee to have a strong chemical background with optional strength in chemical engineering or organic chemistry. The training is aimed at developing and testing water-based inks based on silver nanoparticles. The first phase includes the literature review on ink formulation (relatively scarce beyond the general principles). The trainee will then propose an experimental matrix to formulate an ink based on fixed specifications (surface tension, viscosity, load…). The remaining part of the training will consist in testing the formulated inks and reach a first level conclusion on the directions to follow to improve the ink formulation. The trainee will get a very valuable experience in the field of inkjet inks which also relates to many other key similar materials (all types of inks) as well as many types of dispersions. 1 Tutor: DANG Thi My Dung, Pr. Dr. Habil. DANG Mau Chien Language: English, French Duration: 6 months Contact Name: DANG Thi My Dung Email address: dtmdung@vnuhcm.edu.vn Phone: +84.908.99.48.63 Website: http://www.hcmlnt.edu.vn
Project 2.       Title: Metal nanoparticles spectroscopic properties    Short Description/Objectives:   Metal nanoparticles present the interesting properties of absorbing light in the UV and visible ranges. This is coming from the collective resonance of electrons near the surface enhanced by the very small scale of the particles. This so-called plasmon resonance allows revealing the existence of nanoparticles in a liquid while at the same time contributing to their characterization as this resonance is sensitive to nanoparticles size and shape. The Laboratory for Nanotechnology (LNT) of the Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City is now a recognized actor in Vietnam on the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. It developed chemical synthesis of gold, silver and copper nanoparticles with diameter control as well as some routes for nanoplates synthesis. The LNT is now exploring ways to enhance its capability in extracting the properties of these nano-objects from the UV-visible spectra.
UV-vis spectrophotometer	UV-vis spectrum for Ag NPs
The trainee will familiarize first with the measurement of UV-visible spectra. In parallel he/she will review important literature related to the characterization of metal nano-objects by UV-visible spectroscopy as well as the available freeware for computing such spectra (based on Mie's theory of light diffusion by sub-wavelength particles). The trainee will thus use well characterize nanoparticles (from TEM for example) synthesized in the LNT and compare the measured spectra with the computed ones. This will allow understanding the capability of existing computing codes and how to adjust the input parameters to match the observed data. The trainee will gain important capability and insight on metal nano-objects, an important category of nanosized materials. 11 Tutor: DANG Thi My Dung, Pr. Dr. Habil. DANG Mau Chien Language: English, French Duration: 6 months Contact Name: DANG Thi My Dung Email address: dtmdung@vnuhcm.edu.vn Phone: +84.908.99.48.63 Website: http://www.hcmlnt.edu.vn
Project 3. Project: Building testing chamber for environmental sensor characterization Group: Environmental Sensors Short description/Objectives: Our group is developing environmental sensors including gas sensors, sensors for monitoring water quality, sensors for food analysis, etc. We need to develop testing chambers and chip holders to characterize these sensors. Currently, we need to build up a testing chamber for gas sensor characterization. The testing chamber will simulate the required environment hence the temperature, humidity, gas concentration inside the chamber should be well controlled. Besides, the gas regulators and the chip holder where the device is mounted are also installed. Therefore, we are looking for 1-2 candidates to perform this task. The candidate should have good practical skills on mechanical and electronic technology. ----- Duration of internship: 3-4 months Language: English Supervisor: DOAN Duc Chanh Tin Email address: ddctin@vnuhcm.edu.vn
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