{"id":31164,"date":"2024-11-05T12:57:48","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T11:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/fstm-en\/?post_type=news&p=31164"},"modified":"2025-04-17T16:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T14:31:15","slug":"sustainable-responsive-materials-to-transform-industry-and-medicine","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/fstm-en\/news\/sustainable-responsive-materials-to-transform-industry-and-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable responsive materials to transform industry and medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How would the future look if buildings were to dynamically adapt to environmental conditions? If threads would show users how tightly they are stretched, e.g. for perfect suture after a surgery? If filters could clean themselves in factories?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three renowned scientists, Prof. Jan Lagerwall<\/a> from the University of Luxembourg, Prof. Maria Helena Godinho<\/a> from NOVA School of Science & Technology and Prof. Eugene Terentjev<\/a> from Cambridge University have recently received 8.4 million euros of funding from the European Research Council (ERC) to create and study liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) of a new kind which enable such functionalities. The new LCEs originate from bio-sourced polysaccharides like cellulose, they will be recyclable and\/or degradable as required, and they are highly responsive, changing color, shape, stiffness or damping properties in response to stimuli like heat, light, humidity or strain. This allows them to perform multiple functions, in highly diverse contexts. The project will also investigate new methods to process LCE precursors that are realistic for industrial upscaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By disrupting\u2014in multiple ways\u2014the conventional paradigm of how to make LCEs, the project will ensure that the new materials are eco-friendly, cost-effective, and ready for large-scale production. Through the project entitled \u201cAtypical liquid crystal elastomers: from materials innovation to scalable processing and transformative applications\u201d (ALCEMIST), the three researchers will thus unlock the full potential of LCEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIncredible potential of liquid crystal elastomers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Liquid crystal elastomers are rubbers that extend and contract on their own. Like conventional rubbers, they can do mechanical work, but they require no externally imposed force to charge them. These materials have the potential to be used in various impactful applications, from energy-efficient engines to reversible adhesives, to adaptive buildings and advanced medical tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will demonstrate the potential of LCEs in six scenarios, selected for their striking broad impact, for instance heat engines running on industry waste heat, kinetic buildings that autonomously adapt to variations in environmental conditions, and suture threads that change colour upon stretching, ideal for robotic surgery\u201d, comments Prof. Terentjev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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