Prof. Dr. Hans Werner Schmidt "Polymer Gradient Materials"
Macromolecular Chemistry I, University of Bayreuth, Germany
What |
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When |
May 11, 2016 from 02:15 PM to 03:00 PM |
Where | Seminarraum A, FMF, Stefan-Meier-Str. 21, Freiburg |
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Imitation of biological principles opens up pathways for the development of new materials. For example, marine mussels use their appendage, the mussel byssus, to attach themselves onto rocks. The byssus consists of a longitudinal compositional gradient, creating a mechanical gradient along the thread and mediating the mussel’s soft interior to the hard rock surface.
Similar to natural gradients, synthetic gradient materials offer advantages such as smooth stress distribution, reduced stress concentration, and increased fracture toughness. In this context, the talk presents methods of fabricating longitudinal polymer gradient materials (PGMs) on a centimeter scale. This approach was utilized for the preparation of poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS)-based PGMs with soft-hard and even more complex gradient structures. In addition, other thermally and photochemically curing polymer systems were used that cover a much larger modulus range than PDMS-based systems. Fluorinated PDMS-based PGMs show besides a modulus gradient a gradient in wettability. Furthermore, biocompatible protein gradient films were prepared with potential for biomedical applications.
invited by Jürgen Rühe