Advancing Research & Innovation of FORTH in Green Soft Matter (FORGreenSoft)

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Closed

Funded by

Horizon Europe · December 2022 – November 2025

Soft Matter Colloids Rheology Microscopy

Abstract

A broad range of widely used industrial products, consist of complex Soft Matter systems (polymers, colloids, emulsions, etc.) made-up of synthetic ingredients of high environmental footprint. Urgent societal needs, embodied in the European Green Deal, require the replacement of synthetic components by Green, environmentally-friendly counterparts. The transition to Green materials is of vital importance for the transformation towards a sustainable eco-friendly production and a highly needed circular economy and sustainable growth.

FORGREENSOFT aims at advancing the Research Capacity of FORTH in the area of Green, bio-based soft materials by transferring knowledge from three world-leading Institutions in the field of Green Chemistry (Max Planck of Colloids and Interfaces) as well as in specific experimental and computational methods (Max Planck for Polymer Research and University of Vienna). The later are vital in a leading research activity in Green Soft matter, but are lacking in the Host Institute. FORGREENSOFT research objectives will be achieved by a well-balanced training and personnel exchange program as well as a collaborative research program focusing on two key applications: Green antifouling coatings and water desalination membranes.

In parallel, FORGREENSOFT aims at enhancing the networking activities of FORTH and improving its capacity to successfully participate in a wider range of EU calls, to attract industrial funding, and to promote innovation. These objectives will be reached by transferring expertise from the leading partners, via the training of FORTH’s personnel in soft skills, and by local restructuring measures such as the creation of an Industry-Academia Liaison office focused on Green Soft Matter applications. Moreover, the leading partners will benefit by establishing new scientific collaborations with FORTH on promising research directions, and by extending their expertise in fields, in which FORTH has an established research record.

Team

University of Vienna

FORTH

Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Science

EUglottia

Publications

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ShearView: A compact stress- and strain-controlled linear rheometer for integrated rheomicroscopy
Journal of Rheology, 2026

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Locally tuned hydrodynamics of active polymer chains
Journal of Chemical Physics, 2025

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Polymer Thermophoresis by Mesoscale Simulations
Macromolecules, 2024

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Preprint: Yielding under the microscope: a multi-scale perspective on brittle and ductile behaviors in oscillatory shear
arXiv, 2024

The Non-Equilibrium Physics of Colloidal Sedimentation

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Closed

Funded by

FWF · March 2022 – February 2024

Soft Matter Colloids Sedimentation DDM

Abstract

Albert Einstein, the father of relativity, was also the hero of another great scientific discovery: Brownian motion. The latter is the disordered motion of small particles - even smaller than a hundredth of the diameter of a hair - inside a liquid such as water. Thanks to Einstein and his contemporaries, we now know that these particles are bumped incessantly by the molecules of the liquid, and it is because of these molecular bumps that they move in a seemingly random way on a larger scale.

One of the crucial experiments for the confirmation of this molecular hypothesis was carried out by Jean Perrin, who understood that these molecular collisions would be strong enough to avoid the accumulation of the particles all at the bottom of a container, but rather would cause a more continuous distribution with more particles at the bottom and a decreasing yet non negligible number when moving up in the rest of the container. This is the so-called sedimentation profile, for the measurement of which Perrin was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1926.

During the formation of the profile, each particle moves in a mesmerizing, and seemingly random way, for two reasons: the first one is Brownian motion, and the second one is the fact that the motion of one particle influences the motion of another particle since they are in the same liquid. This latter effect is clearly visible in a suddenly flipped snow globe, where each particle wanders and changes its direction until it finally reaches the bottom of the globe.

Despite the interest and the extensive investigation performed over the last century, we still do not know how to explain and control the fluctuations occurring during the formation of the profile. Gaining this knowledge would be important for fundamental reasons, as well as for applications, sedimentation being a very common process spontaneously occurring in the natural environment and widely exploited in many industrial applications, such as water purification or wine production.

In this project, by walking in the footsteps of Einstein and Perrin, we will combine novel quantitative microscopy approaches and advanced computer simulations to capture in full detail the richness of the sedimentation process in model samples that will be suitably produced in our laboratory. The key idea of our experiments is to combine the classical lateral observations of the sample with observations “from above”. Our expectation, based on previous theoretical work, is that this new observation geometry will provide the missing piece to the understanding of the fluctuations occurring during sedimentation. Beyond answering fundamental outstanding questions, our project will make available novel optical tools for academic research and industry.

Some of our experiments will also be performed onboard the International Space Station, where we will be able to perform our studies in microgravity as well as in controlled artificial gravity conditions.

Team

Roberto Cerbino — Principal Investigator

Enrico Lattuada — Postdoctoral Researcher

Publications

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The Hitchhiker's guide to differential dynamic microscopy
Journal of Chemical Physics, 2025

Colloids | Somex Lab

Advancing Research & Innovation of FORTH in Green Soft Matter (FORGreenSoft)

Abstract

Team

Publications

The Non-Equilibrium Physics of Colloidal Sedimentation

Abstract

Team

Publications