Fraunhofer IAP / Till Budde
PFAS-free polymer membranes for semiconductor production
28/08/2024
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP have developed an innovative, PFAS-free polymer membrane that represents an environmentally friendly alternative to the PFAS-containing membranes previously used in the semiconductor industry.
Envato/Tatiana_Mara
Innovation in 3D: Laser Powder Bed Fusion
08/05/2024
An innovative 3D printing process is breaking down traditional manufacturing boundaries and opening up unimagined possibilities from aerospace to medical technology: laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). In our interview, Tim Lantzsch from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT explains current applications of this promising additive manufacturing technology.
Washington State University
Conductive, cotton-based fiber for smart textiles
12/12/2023
A single strand of fiber developed at Washington State University has the flexibility of cotton and the electric conductivity of a polymer, called polyaniline. The newly developed material showed good potential for wearable e-textiles.
TU Bergakademie Freiberg / Andreas Hiekel
Basis for innovative PFAS filter made of clay
06/12/2023
PFAS filters available for industrial waste are usually made of activated carbon (PFAS = perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds). As this is comparatively expensive, researchers are looking for alternative filter materials for the so-called "eternal toxins", whose hazardous residues only degrade very slowly in the environment.
coffeekai
Recycling model for the plastics industry
30/11/2023
Prof Dr Klaus Kümmerer from Leuphana University Lüneburg and his colleague Prof Dr Hans-Josef Endres from Leibniz University Hanover want to develop a sustainable recycling model for the plastics industry.
bellaSeno
3D printing: composite material for bone healing
28/11/2023
After a bone fracture, some patients experience healing disorders. To enable effective treatment in these cases, the Fraunhofer Institute IFAM (Germany) is researching a new composite material for use in the operating theater as part of the SCABAEGO joint project.
RUB, Marquard
Autonomous measuring instruments systematically detect new materials
31/10/2023
Despite highly specialized methods that can simultaneously produce a range of materials on a single sample and then measure them automatically, every minute counts when analyzing them: because days or even weeks can pass before the characterization of a sample is complete. The new algorithm can be integrated into existing measuring instruments to boost their efficiency significantly.
envato/svitlanah
PFAS ban: "Most of the PFAS substances used industrially do not pose a risk to humans or the environment"
31/10/2023
The intended European Union ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is causing discussion throughout Europe. Many companies in the medical technology sector fear that they will no longer be able to reliably manufacture products as before. We talked to expert Dr. Martin Leonhard, who chairs the medical technology section of the German industry association SPECTARIS.
Nick Fewings / Unsplash
Plastic production via advanced recycling lowers GHG emissions
17/10/2023
Producing new plastic by advanced recycling of post-use plastic (PUP), instead of fossil-based production, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and increase the U.S. recycling rate, according to research by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory.
Fraunhofer FEP
Roll-to-roll: system traverse for 2D inline process monitoring
05/10/2023
Within the joint project KODOS (funding reference 13N14607), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, a solution for in-line process monitoring and mapping of process parameters was developed with SURAGUS GmbH at Fraunhofer FEP.
Rimidolove
Sustainable materials and recycling in the medical industry
19/09/2023
Recycling instead of disposing sounds easy. But where are the difficulties and what opportunities exist for the industry to become more sustainable, despite strict safety regulations?
Willfried Kunz and Patrick Altschuh
KIT’s high-performance computer optimizes materials for medical technology
17/08/2023
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has unveiled a cutting-edge €1.2 million computer dedicated to materials research. This powerful tool can predict material properties even before they are produced, significantly enhancing the potential for optimization, including in the realm of COVID rapid tests.
UBT / Chr. Wißler
Digital AI system for tailoring polymers
25/07/2023
Prof. Dr. Christopher Kuenneth together with research partners in Atlanta, USA, have now developed a digital system that promises extraordinarily high economical, technological and ecological benefits: from around 100 million theoretically possible polymers, their system can precisely select those materials that have an ideal property profile for targeted applications at unprecedented speed.
University of Stuttgart, FSM-Labor
Intelligent rubber materials
20/07/2023
Autonomously switchable polymer materials have recently been developed by materials scientists at the University of Stuttgart and pharmacists at the University of Tübingen.
Fraunhofer IWU
2.5D printing: "It only takes about five minutes to print an orthosis"
15/05/2023
Customized finger orthoses that can be printed quickly: Lukas Boxberger from the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Dresden focuses his research on this subject. In the future, the WEAM orthosis will support the customization of standard orthoses. In this interview, he explains the processes and materials that will turn this concept into a reality.
Lunghammer - TU Graz
Smart artificial skin in application check stage
09/05/2023
The smart skin developed by Anna Maria Coclite has many potential applications – from robotics and cosmetic surgery to prosthetics. With an ERC Proof of Concept Grant, the researcher is now exploring its possible practical applications.
Fraunhofer IAP
Smart materials for aligner therapy
25/04/2023
Clinically effective, custom-made, discreet and comfortable - the demands on aligners for the therapy of malocclusions are high. This also applies to the material of these orthodontic splints. A team has now developed a highly innovative material that enables completely new treatment concepts and reduces costs. The scientists focused on polymers with shape memory properties.
MPI-IS
Sustainability for biodegradable artificial muscles
28/03/2023
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, at Johannes Kepler University and at University of Colorado Boulder developed fully biodegradable, high-performance artificial muscles. Their research project marks another step towards green technology becoming a lasting trend in the field of soft robotics.
DITF
Carbon fibers based on wood
14/03/2023
The DITF have developed a sustainable and cost-saving process to produce carbon fibers from lignin. This is an inexpensive raw material that is available in large quantities and is a waste product in paper production. The process offers high energy-saving potential and is particularly environmentally friendly. It uses natural, renewable raw materials and does not require solvents.
Laura Schirrmeister
Degradation of plastic waste using newly developed biocatalysts
14/02/2023
The plastic materials polyurethane and polyvinyl alcohol can now be degraded under mild conditions with the help of enzymes as biocatalysts. Scientists from the University of Greifswald have developed corresponding methods together with the German company Covestro and teams from Leipzig and Dublin, as recently published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., in two separate articles.