There is a growing demand for polymeric materials developed via more sustainable and circular approaches – for example those derived from biomass, waste, etc. – and for improved strategies related to lifetime extension (e.g. healing and repair) and end-of-life management (e.g. recycling and reuse). Advancements in these areas contribute to mitigating the negative environmental and societal impacts associated with polymeric materials across natural, built and industrial environments while simultaneously enhancing resource efficiency and delivering high-performance solutions for critical application domains such as mobility, energy, space and defence.
The group applies safe-and-sustainable-by-design principles (SSbD), to support the development of polymeric materials, including both macromolecules and performance additives, with the aim of addressing critical societal and industrial needs.
The group's activities focus, for example, on the tailor-made generation of new monomers, pre-polymers, fillers, and polymer filaments derived from renewable resources. This includes molecular level design, dedicated formulation strategies and specifically adopted processes to reduce the environmental impact of both manufacturing and end-of-life scenarios.
The first research challenge is to generate materials with enhanced safety and sustainability, including the design of monomers, (pre-)polymers, (nano)fillers and their associated preparation methodologies. This also encompasses the extraction, isolation and chemical modification of such materials sourced from biomass.
The second research challenge lies in the optimization and scale-up of these materials, supported by in-depth characterization and considering industrially relevant processing, performance and production/manufacturing to realize the desired socioeconomic impacts.
The third research challenge addresses lifetime extension and end-of-life management, where the focus includes strategies for material repair, reuse, recycling, reprocessing, and materials recovery.
The SPPM group is dedicated to the development of advanced polymeric and particulate materials guided by SSbD principles. Our research focuses on creating materials that are environmentally responsible across their entire life cycle — from renewable feedstocks to lifetime extension and end-of-life management. Our core expertise includes:
Our approach integrates molecular design, processing innovation, and life cycle thinking to support the transition toward a circular materials economy. Through close collaborations and interdisciplinary methods, we aim to deliver sustainable solutions for a wide range of applications, from structural composites to functional coatings.
An emphasis is placed on advancing the fundamental understanding of these materials through advanced characterization techniques, including spectroscopy/spectrometry (e.g. FTIR, NIR, NMR, MS), GPC, thermal analysis, rheology and mechanical testing, complemented by structural analysis (e.g. scanning probe, optical and electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction) and specialized testing (gas sorption and permeation analysis).
In the Sustainable Polymeric and Particulate Materials group, focus areas include:
Mugemana C., Cardona C.I., Ozyigit S., Hao J., Grysan P., Delfrari D., Dieden R., Verge P., Shaplov A.S., Ruch D., Fuentes C.A.
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