Research projects at the IAM-KWT
EXC 3120 BlueMat: Water-Driven Materials
Funding period: since 2026
Funding provider: DFG
BlueMat project aims at developing a novel class of sustainable, interactive, architected “Blue Materials” deriving their functionality from multiscale structures of hard matter interacting with water. The developed materials will mimic natural processes such as water-driven mechanical actuation, capillarity-driven water transport, humidity-dependent colors, and photocatalytic water splitting, as observed in animals and plants, and extend them to functionalities not found in nature, such as control of acoustic and electromagnetic waves, tunable thermal emission and electrical energy storage and generation.
Photonic CuₓO structures as colorimetric CO/CO₂ sensors
Funding period: 2024-2027
Funding provider: DFG
This project investigates colorimetric, photonic-based gas sensors based on highly porous ceramic 3D structures functionalized by atomic layer deposition (ALD).
Interface-engineered bioinspired transparent ceramic composites
Funding period: 2023-2026
Funding provider: DFG
This project investigates the production of ceramic composites by combining advanced colloidal technologies with atomic layer deposition (ALD).
Additive manufacturing combined with colloidal assembly
Funding period: 2020-2024 (as part of the SFB 986)
Funding provider: DFG
This project focuses on the fabrication of multiscale and multiphase photonic structures by combining additive manufacturing processes with colloidal assembly (AMCA) and atomic layer deposition (ALD).
The AMCA process combines the principles of colloidal self-assembly with the scalability and shape flexibility of direct writing to specifically control both the 3D geometry in the size range from centimetres to micrometres and the particle organization in the micro- to nanometre range. This integrates the optical properties of nanoscale and microscale building blocks into macroscopic multiscale 3D photonic structures.
The ALD process simultaneously enables precise control of chemical composition and layer thickness in the atomic to sub-nanometric division as well as the development of customized atomically mixed and nanostructured systems.
The main goal of the project is to fabricate ceramic photonic structures for structural paint and reflective thermal barrier coatings (rTBC) on flat and curved substrates, locally controlling the ordering of the building blocks.
The novel manufacturing approach combining AMCA and ALD is also relevant to other technological divisions, including catalysis, sensing, and energy storage and generation.
Advanced nanostructured materials for sustainable pollutant reduction
Funding period: 2022-2023
Funding provider: DAAD-CAPES
This international research cooperation pursues the target of solving challenges related to the leaching of nanoparticles during the operation of catalytic systems for pollutant reduction.
Development of catalytic material systems for the continuous production of green hydrogen
Funding period: 2023
Funding provider: DAAD-GIZ
This bilateral project investigates potential solutions from a materials science and chemical engineering perspective to address the challenges of sustainable and efficient hydrogen production. The target is to promote the implementation of green hydrogen as a sustainable energy source in our society.
In-situ characterization of phase transitions in nanostructures
Funding period: 2023
Funding provider: ZHM
This project targets the development of a method for the in-situ characterization of phase transitions at high temperatures and under controlled atmosphere using high-resolution, fast in-situ X-ray diffraction. This should provide a fundamental understanding of phase transitions and reactions during the processing of nanosoluble metals and aerographite.