InsBIOration

Many functions of high-tech devices including materials for energy harvesting and storage base on designed surfaces and interfaces with tailored properties or coatings as well as on combinations of different, and even incompatible materials. Treatments to obtain sufficient adhesion or compatibility between the materials often require energy-consuming processes, the use of hazardous substances or multiple cleaning and activation steps. They are usually material-specific and irreversible; hybrid materials cannot be recycled or degraded easily. For several years now scientists have been exploring a new class of bio-inspired adhesion promoters derived from adhesive mussel proteins: dopamine, tannic acid and analogous compounds. These bio-inspired adhesion promoters form films, which adhere to virtually all types surfaces and thus promote adhesion between different materials. Nonetheless, scientific work in this field is still mostly on the stage of basic research. Factors limiting technological transfer are not identified. The adhesion mechanisms of deposited films are not fully understood. Analytical methods for comprehensive structure determination and for studying the related adhesion mechanisms are needed. Industrial applications are not known yet. The project aims to transfer DA-based excellent scientific knowledge on interfacial design to industrial production with focus on a universal material platform applicable for a wide range of materials and products. It includes work packages covering different fields of research and stages of the innovation chain: (1) fundamental understanding of adhesion mechanisms in ultrathin films of DA, TA and derivatives, (2) controlled, reproducible deposition of adhesion-promoting thin films with technical relevance, (3) adjustment of adhesion in tailored films, (4) fabrication of various multi-phase material prototypes, and (5) explore reversibility of bioadhesion, component decomposition, and biodegradation of hybrid materials. Since exact knowledge of the surface properties at each stage is crucial for the understanding of the adhesion mechanisms, synthetic and preparative work is accompanied by characterization using comprehensive, already established, adopted or newly developed methods to the special purposes of nano-biointerfaces. Finally, adhesion can be controlled and reverted, offering a possibility for detachment, biodegradation and recycling of composite materials. All work packages on the project focus on a final goal: the energy-saving and environmentally friendly fabrication of material prototypes. From the potential application fields suggested by experts, 4 promising ones were selected for the project: antipathogenic surfaces, biodegradable batteries, biocompatible supercapacitors, and polymer-metal hybrids. They serve as basic examples for the general applicability of the PDA-based material platform and are additionally optimized with regard to biodegradation or recycling after use. After these material prototypes have been prepared on lab scale, transfer to industrial production will be started by development of a technological application strategy, investigation of the up-scaling potential, and demonstration in a preindustrial environment. Obstacles for industrial application will be defined; research will be done to overcome them. The new types of degradable multi-phase materials will enable European manufacturers to develop a production line of new and innovative high-end components. Controlled degradation of the materials enables separation and re-use of reject parts during production process as well as recycling at the end of lifetime thus maintaining a conservation of resources and a circular economy. The discipline of material research will be inspired and encouraged to implement biological concepts to a greater extent in their future concepts.