Michele Bonacina - Esperanto Project

Participant from EPFL

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Develop a dual self-assembly/UV printing process to create patterned large-area, bioinspired surfaces.

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Obtain bioinspired coatings from biobased precursors (academic secondment).

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Obtain unique wettability behaviour, including the reversible change of this property, combined mechanical durability (hardness, wear resistance) and functional performance (self-cleaning ‘lotus’, antireflective ‘moth-eye’).

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Develop technology demonstrators of selected surfaces, together with their detailed life-cycle costing and assessment.

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Obtain one technology demonstrator with better sustainability than the selected benchmark.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Protocol of new dual-process based on a combination of self-assembly and UV printing.

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Process for large area (>100 cm2) self-cleaning and antireflective coatings with superior durability.

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Prototype of a biobased functional coating.

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Setting of an appropriate sustainability metrics and comprehensive life cycle costing and sustainability assessment of the production of functional surfaces.

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Trained researcher expert on UV printing of functional surfaces with expertise on biobased materials, also acquired during secondments.

PLANNED SECONDMENTS

HOST 1

UM (FR), supervisor: C. Joly-Duhamel, timing: month 23, length: 6 months. Purpose: preparation of biobased photocurable formulations, and study of their photocuring kinetics with spectroscopic methods.

HOST 2

ADLER (AT), supervisor: A. Rössler, timing: month 36, length: 3 months. Purpose: characterisation of technically relevant properties (mechanical robustness) of polymers with smart surfaces.

*Enrolment in Doctoral degree: at EPFL. Dr. Y. Leterrier will act as supervisor, and Prof. V. Michaud as co-supervisor.

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This project has received funding from the EU’s Horizon 2021 programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) grant agreement No 101073432.