Objective The performance and physical attributes of a material and product can be tailored to so far unmatched material strengths and properties by creating new nano fibrous structures from polymers by electrospinning. The electrospinning process uses an electric field to produce charged jets of polymer solutions or melts. Bending instabilities of the jet, caused by the surface charge, lead to extremely high local extension rates of the jet and produce fibres with diameters of the order of a few nanometer that consist of highly aligned polymer strands. However, the biggest unsolved problem of the electrospinning process is the sensitive equilibrium between surface tension, viscosity, elasticity and conductivity of the polymer solutions. These are controlled by molecular parameters as the molar mass, chemical microstructure, conformation in solution or supramolecular structures via intermolecular interactions. The optimal combination of these parameters is, as yet, unknown. Within this project, a novel and unique technical platform will be developed and installed, that is generally capable to image and analyse high speed free surface flows in miniaturised dimensions. This platform will then be utilized to analyse electrospinning process parameters and to connect them to the material properties and the molecular structure of the polymer solution. Only such a fundamental understanding of the relation of these properties to the flow and mass transfer phenomena on the micro-time and -dimensional scale will allow to design in the second part of this project the required structural and material properties of nano-scale fibres for: -novel fibre/matrix composites for the creation of ultra-high-strength hydrogel membranes; -short fibre morphologies created by a novel controlled disruptive spinning process at the boundaries of the parameter space; -tailoring of fibre properties from renewable resources by modification of the chemical side-chain structure of polysaccharides. Fields of science engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcompositesnatural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciencesnatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculescarbohydrates Keywords composite materials electrospinning nano fibres polymer alignment Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-SG-PE6 - ERC Starting Grant - Computer science and informatics Call for proposal ERC-2007-StG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Coordinator KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN Address Oude markt 13 3000 Leuven Belgium See on map Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Vlaams-Brabant Arr. Leuven Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Christian Clasen (Prof.) Administrative Contact Sofie Heroes (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution € 1 228 736,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN Belgium EU contribution € 1 228 736,00 Address Oude markt 13 3000 Leuven See on map Region Vlaams Gewest Prov. Vlaams-Brabant Arr. Leuven Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Christian Clasen (Prof.) Administrative Contact Sofie Heroes (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window
