25 years of Chemistry and Physics of Interfaces

Mar 13, 2025, 5:50 PM → Mar 14, 2025, 10:00 PM Europe/Berlin

FIT (IMTEK - University of Freiburg)

Welcome

About 25 years ago in early 2000 a small group of surface enthusiasts moved to Freiburg to start 

CPI - Chemistry and Physics of Interfaces. 

Let's celebrate this anniversary!. 

We are looking forward to welcome you all in Freiburg for a day of science, meeting friends and good fun.

Jürgen Rühe

Thursday, March 13

6:00 PM → 9:05 PM CPI Poster Session

Convener: Oswald Prucker (IMTEK - University of Freiburg)

6:05 PM - Push, Push, Push - Magnetic micro actuators by two-photon lithography

6:05 PM Advances in Glaucoma Surgery with Surface Attached hydrogels using Multiscale Flexible Foil.

6:05 PM AI^2 nterfaces - Advanced interfaces through reversible adhesion for modular livMatS

6:05 PM Anti-soiling Surfaces for Ecosense Sensors

6:05 PM Binding, Sieving, Detaching - Enrichment of Exosomes Using Novel Reversible Cryogel-Beads

6:05 PM Bioinspired Environmentally Responsive Polymer Actuators for Intelligent Shading

6:05 PM CHicable, Cleavable Polymer Networks

6:05 PM Design of small molecules able to functionnalise and crosslink ANY polymer

6:05 PM Durable anti-fogging polymer coatings based on CHic chemistry that are user- and environmetally-friendly that are

6:05 PM Exploring activation strategies for C,H-insertion crosslinking (CHic)

6:05 PM From Analysis to Actuation: A Physics-Based Model for Hygromorphic Bilayers

6:05 PM Hairy surfaces via polymer drawing

6:05 PM Hot precision down to the nanoscale: CHic-based scalable thermal structuring of polymers

6:05 PM Humidity- and Temperature-Driven Actuator with Tunable Locking

6:05 PM Hydrogel Bead Technology for Biomedical Applications

6:05 PM Making Long Lasting: Shedding of Damaged Layers in Locally Controlled Way

6:05 PM Recyable rubbers through vulcanization using C,H insertion crosslinking (CHic)

6:05 PM Tailoring thermo-responsive cross-linked Liquid Crystalline Actuators

6:05 PM Thermo-responsive Micro-latching System via Two-photon Crosslinking

6:00 PM → 9:00 PM Mixer / Registration

Friday, March 14

8:30 AM → 9:00 AM Arrival / Registration

9:00 AM → 10:20 AM Session 1: Scientific Talks

9:00 AM 25 years of Chemistry and Physics of Interfaces

n/a

Speaker: Prof. Jürgen Rühe (IMTEK - University of Freiburg)

9:40 AM Chemistry and Physics of Chemically Doped Thiophene-Based Conjugated Copolymer Thin Films

Conjugated polymers are promising materials for flexible and printed electronic devices due to their optoelectronic and physical properties; however, they must often be chemically doped to achieve metal-like electrical properties. In this work, novel thiophene-based copolymers are studied to determine how copolymer design and doping method impacts solubility, morphology, and electrical conductivity. Results show that increasing the distance between alkyl spacing length increases the film conductivity, with conductivities eclipsing that of the benchmark system of poly(3-hexylthiophene) by several orders of magnitude. These studies also show that sequential doping offers higher conductivity at lower concentrations of anionic F4TCNQ with a strong dependence on the nature of the solvent used for doping that appears universal amongst the copolymer designs. Overall, this work provides fundamental insight into how copolymer design, doping method, and strength of polymer-solvent interaction energy impacts morphology and electrical performance, paving the way for printed electronics.

Speaker: Prof. Michael Kilbey (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)

10:00 AM Paper - a circular material in new applications

Paper has been known for thousands of years for its unique profile of properties. Despite its classical applications, it has recently been in focus in very challenging and visionary areas. I will show how tailored chemistry and physics of interfaces can be used to create new functional papers, opening the door to completely new applications that progress from paper-based microfluidic sensors, to paper-based fog-collectors and paper-based soft-robotics.

Speaker: Prof. Markus Biesalski (TU Darmstadt)

10:20 AM → 11:00 AM Coffee Break

11:00 AM → 12:30 PM Session 2: Scientific Talks

11:00 AM Greetings

Speakers: Dr Christine Neuy (microtec Südwest), Georg Klopfer (Hiss Diagnostics)

11:10 AM Coupling of light into mechanical work for generating local fluid flows

Here we review how hydrodynamic forces can be used locally, and as effectively and with the same precision as an optical trap, but retaining the possibility to simultaneously employ large scale flows. Especially, we will focus on light driven diffusion-osmotic and thermo-osmotic mechanisms allowing dynamically and reversibly creating container boundaries for particles and flows just using a large assay or chamber, without the need to prototype a channel geometry using solid state materials. All of this is to be achieved by applying suitable and simple optical stimuli, ranging from homogeneous illumination up to a combination of a series of laser spots of different wavelength, shape and intensity, that generate and shape the flow patterns to be used for particle and cell operations.

Speaker: Prof. Svetlana Santer (University of Potsdam)

11:30 AM Solar Gate: A plant-inspired autonomous shading system at the Biomimetic Shell @ FIT

The movement of plants is an increasingly interesting inspiration for moving technical systems and has been successfully applied in architecture. The Solar Gate shading system is inspired by the hygroscopic movement of pine cone scales and silver thistle bracts, which have very robust and resilient movement patterns. After detailed analysis and abstraction of the form-structure-function relationship of the plant models, we used 4D printing to manufacture the Solar Gate. This autonomous, hygroscopic solar shading system is part of the Biomimetic Shell @ FIT.

Speaker: Prof. Thomas Speck (University of Freiburg)

11:50 AM Powder Aerosol Deposition and Polymers - Is there Hope for a Common Future?

In powder aerosol deposition (PAD), pressure differences are used to accelerate aerosolized particles to supersonic speeds. Typical particles are micrometer-sized and consist of brittle materials like ceramics. When the particle jet hits a substrate, and the particles fracture and form dense, nanocristalline films with good substrate adhesion. The use of polymers in PAD is heavily under-researched. We here present our progress in PAD with polymers - both as substrates and particles, thus demonstrating that PAD is a viable avenue towards thin-layered, sinter-free polymer-ceramics composite materials.

Speaker: Prof. Karen Lienkamp (Saarland University)

12:10 PM Functional polymer gel for decomposing organophosphates and removing orthophosphates from water

There has been increased activity in applying fundamental principles of polymer physics and polymer chemistry to help solve pressing environmental issues using eco-friendly approaches. The optimal performance of such materials requires detailed knowledge and tunability of their chemical composition and topology. We will present a simple methodology for orthophosphates from water that utilizes polymer networks made of commercially available compounds that decompose organophosphates and capture/release orthophosphates from water on demand.

Speaker: Prof. Jan Genzer

12:30 PM → 1:30 PM Lunch Break

1:30 PM → 3:00 PM Session 3: Scientific Talks

1:30 PM Cellulose as Controlled Release Membranes: Overcoming Property and Processing Barriers

Most polymeric materials are derived from fossil fuel feedstocks. Pressures from climate change, plastic pollution, recyclability, and end-of-life issues lead to several challenges. Cellulose has emerged as a versatile biopolymer for hydrogels, membranes, fibers, and films. An underlying question, however, is whether cellulose-based materials can compete with conventional synthetic materials, especially in products where its replacement would put the cellulose-based product at a price disadvantage. This talk will focus on using cellulose as a controlled-release membrane for granular materials (such as fertilizer) where release is driven by osmotic pressure. The goal is to provide insights into the potential and the challenges in adapting cellulose to uses beyond what nature ever intended.

Speaker: Prof. Ryan Toomey (University of South Florida)

1:50 PM Grafting

n/a

Speaker: Oswald Prucker (IMTEK - University of Freiburg)

2:10 PM Video messages

Speaker: Various Friends

2:30 PM A comprehensive sustainability approach for automotive and WEEE plastic waste

Today's global plastics economy is largely linear and 90% based on fossil raw materials, resulting in large amounts of plastic waste. For durable products such as automobiles and electrical appliances, this waste is mostly incinerated in Europe, contributing to global warming and destroying valuable recyclable hydrocarbons. To enable the transition to a circular economy for this sector, LyondellBasell (LYB) is taking a comprehensive approach to the circular economy. This includes a new closed-loop preparation center, where the know-how for the conversion of plastic waste into high-quality raw materials for high-performance materials is being developed. In this context, collaboration with the FMF is key to developing analytical strategies for impurities in recycled plastics to ensure that no harm is caused to processors and consumers and that requirements in regulated applications are met.

Speaker: Dr Erik Licht (LyondellBasell)

3:00 PM → 3:30 PM Coffee Break

3:30 PM → 5:15 PM Session 4: Scientific Talks

3:30 PM Field-Assisted Processing of Polymer Composites: Nature-Inspired Design for Living Multifunctional Materials

Nature excels at creating multifunctional materials with hierarchical structures that seamlessly integrate properties like strength, flexibility, sensing, and energy efficiency. Inspired by these capabilities, our research focuses on leveraging field-assisted processing techniques to develop polymer composites exhibiting hierarchical structures, with a goal of imparting life-like multifunctionality. By applying external fields—electric, magnetic, or mechanical—we strategically manipulate fillers within polymer matrices to create tailored microstructures. These engineered materials mimic nature's design principles, enabling functionalities such as energy harvesting, adaptive actuation, and sensing. This talk will explore the underlying principles of field-assisted processing, showcase key examples from our work, and sample notable advancements from current literature to highlight the potential of these bioinspired materials in advancing smart systems and sustainable technologies.

Speaker: Prof. Zoubeida Ounaies (Pennsylvania State University)

3:50 PM AI/ML in Polymer Materials and Additive Manufacturing

Creating and curating new data appends the way we approach materials science. In additive manufacturing (AM), the fabrication of parts and objects with high complexity and high performance is advantageous over other methods. Using nanocomposites enables highly improved properties even with “commodity polymers” that do not need to undergo high-temperature processes or extensive reformulation. With artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), optimizing the formulation and manufacturing methods is possible. In this talk, we demonstrate the approaches toward understanding Nanostructuring in composites and hierarchical approaches in optimization via AI/ML and other training/learning sets for specific properties and applications, such as flow chemistry reactions. Introducing more sensors (monitoring instruments) in AM processes and real-time ML with online monitoring allows a feedback loop and deep learning (DL) for autonomous fabrication and data analytics.

Speaker: Prof. Rigoberto Advincula (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)

4:10 PM From CPI and back - a 20-year scientific journey

I will flashlight my scientific journey at the interface of academia and industry. Starting from CPI and polymer brushes to biointerface science and applications ranging from medical devices to membrane technology, enzymes and more. To close the loop, my current role as head of BASF's European academic research network "JONAS", has brought me back to CPI. Recent research efforts focus on circularity and sustainable polymers.

Speaker: Dr Rupert Konradi (BASF SE / JONAS)

4:30 PM Vēnī, vīdī, imprimāvī 3D: Why we need 3D Printing to be better than the Romans

With the development of the Glassomer technology, we have introduced a novel processing paradigm for glass. At this point, it may be a good moment to reflect on what this new material system will allow us to do and how Advanced 3D Printing techniques such as Volumetric Additive Manufacturing will allow us to do. And maybe we should start with the most well-known piece of glass history.

Speaker: Prof. Bastian Rapp (IMTEK - University of Freiburg)

4:50 PM Closing Remarks

Speaker: Prof. Jürgen Rühe (IMTEK - University of Freiburg)

6:00 PM → 10:00 PM Dinner & Get Together