Functional Materials at the IFF

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) have been researched at the IFF for a decade now. The focus is on highly scalable production methods and on the system integration of these materials, which are often referred to as "artificial muscles". In particular, manufacturing innovations are addressed in the areas of material synthesis, functionalization, dispersion technology and coating technology. The topic is currently embedded in the DFG-funded SFB1244  "Adaptive Sleeves and Structures for the Built Environment of Tomorrow", which was installed at the beginning of 2017 at the University of Stuttgart. The EAPs are intended to represent an controllable breathing activity for adaptive building structures in the form of structured actuator fields. As a result, ventilation and humidity in rooms can be better controlled and thus be handled by the users.

The main challenge is to transfer the intrinsic microscopic properties of the EAPs reproducibly to macroscopic, convertible systems in the form of shapeshifting surfaces. By means of flexible, lighter, and in their effect mechanisms optimized actuator fields, further potential target applications can be adressed.

Contact:
Dipl.-Ing. Raphael Neuhaus
Phone.: +49 711 970-3627
E-Mail

Innovation is increasingly taking place at process levels. Thanks to nanomodified high-performance materials, plastics are made more robust, metals are lighter and energy storage is made more efficient.

To achieve this result, conventional materials are modified with nanoscale fillers. These fillers such as graphene, nanotubes or nanosilver fibers are synthesized, functionalized, dispersed and applied in highly modern laboratories.

Innovation findet zunehmend auf Prozessebene statt. Dank nanomodifizierter Hochleistungswerkstoffe werden Kunststoffe robuster, Metalle leichter und Energiespeicher effizienter gestaltet.

Contact:
Dipl.-Ing. FH Ivica Kolaric
Phone: +49 711 970-3627
E-Mail