Project description DEENESFRITPL Mimicking nature in processing materials The threads produced by velvet worms, the beak of a squid and spider silk have remarkable properties. It was not until recently that biologists realised that all these natural materials have one thing in common: they start out as coacervate (i.e. organic-rich droplets formed via liquid-liquid phase separation), which play an important role in the thread formation. Building on the success of earlier research that led to the development of bio-inspired synthetic coacervates, researchers in the EU-funded CoaExMatter project will develop unique material systems by extruding synthetic coacervates. This bio-inspired processing of coacervate extrusion will lead to the development of novel materials and high-performance fibres, rods or scaffolds for use in additive manufacturing. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective The threads produced by velvet worms are remarkably sticky and stiff; the beak of a jumbo squid is extremely hard; and spider silk is incredibly tough. The extraordinary material properties found in these natural systems have been of interest to researchers for a long time. However, only recently, biologists discovered that a crucial element in the processing of many of these materials are coacervates, which are concentrated macromolecular phases that form upon liquid liquid phase separation from the initial solution. An understanding is emerging that the liquid coacervate phases enable extrusion of the material and allow for conformational changes within the material before solidification. Thus, the coacervate nature is crucial for obtaining extraordinary property profiles in these natural materials. Here I propose to mimic this environmentally benign processing of coacervate extrusion for the development of completely new synthetic materials. Previous work in my group has led to the development of bio-inspired synthetic coacervates with well-controlled architecture and composition, and of various tools to study their mechanics. Here, I will take advantage of this expertise to develop unique material systems by extruding synthetic coacervates and by using the induced mechanical stress to obtain alignment and conformational changes. Analogous to the wide variety of materials found in natural systems that commence as a coacervate, this processing principle may be applicable to a wide variety of synthetic material classes. In this research program coacervate extrusion will be used to produce fibers, rods or scaffolds composed of: polyelectrolyte complexes, liquid-crystal elastomers, peptide-polymers, protein-polymers and nanocomposites. This bio-inspired processing principle of coacervate extrusion will lead to materials with unexplored property profiles and holds great promise for the development of novel high performance materials obtained by green processing. Fields of science engineering and technologymaterials engineeringfibersengineering and technologymaterials engineeringnanocomposites Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2019-COG - ERC Consolidator Grant Call for proposal ERC-2019-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Host institution RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN Net EU contribution € 2 000 000,00 Address Broerstraat 5 9712CP Groningen Netherlands See on map Region Noord-Nederland Groningen Overig Groningen Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 000 000,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN Netherlands Net EU contribution € 2 000 000,00 Address Broerstraat 5 9712CP Groningen See on map Region Noord-Nederland Groningen Overig Groningen Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 000 000,00
