Project description
Breaking barriers in sustainable adhesion
Traditional coatings often face a difficult trade-off between adhesion and removability: they are either easy to peel but too weak, or permanently bonded and require toxic, destructive processes to remove, preventing effective recycling. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SWITCHCOAT project aims to address this by developing a dual-layer system with ‘switchable’ adhesive strength. By using a specialised coacervate adhesive layer protected by a liquid-repellent top coat, the system will provide strong bonding during use and allow easy release through controlled dehydration. Beyond engineering these layers, the project will use advanced microscopy to elucidate the molecular interactions underpinning this performance. Ultimately, SWITCHCOAT seeks to enable recyclable substrates and reduce environmental impacts across diverse industries, including biomedicine.
Objective
Conventional coatings face a fundamental trade-off between adhesion and removability: peelable layers sacrifice bonding strength, while coatings with permanent adhesion require toxic, costly, or destructive removal processes. This limitation not only hinders substrate recyclability but also increases environmental impact and processing costs.
The SWITCHCOAT project aim to break this barrier by developing a dual-layer coating system with switchable adhesive strength using a novel coacervate adhesive layer that is strongly anchored to substrates. The coacervate adhesive layer design will allow debonding through dehydration and include a top liquid-repellent layer (LRC) that both protects the coacervate layer and provides functionality. I will focus the coacervate layer design with a tailored affinity linked to LRC and both for hydrophobic and hydrophilic substrates. Interfacial adhesion between the substrate, coacervate, and LRC layers will be quantitatively measured using Scanning Droplet Adhesion Microscopy (SDAM), which allows both force measurements and visualization of interface dynamics during bonding and debonding. Complementary Photo-Induced Force IR spectroscopy (PiF-IR) will provide spatially resolved and molecular-level insights into interfacial interactions. I will then evaluate the physicochemical stability. Finally, I will explore the controlled dehydration condition for on-demand removal.
The anticipated outcome of SWITCHCOAT is a sustainable coating technology capable of delivering strong bonding during use (>10 J/m²) while allowing on-demand debonding (<1 J/m²). This innovation enables recyclable substrates, reduces environmental impact, and advances high-performance coating applications across diverse industries (e.g. biomedicine), while providing a mechanistic understanding of multilayer adhesion by linking molecular-scale interactions to macroscopic adhesion. It has broad relevance to soft materials, surface and interfacial science.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
02150 Espoo
Finland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.