News

December 2024

Understanding fast phenomena of fluid transport in porous media using MHz X-ray microscopy at EuXFEL

Patrick Huber and Stella Gries from Hamburg University of Technology and DESY are investigating how liquids are distributed in thin layers of porous silicon, one of the materials used in BlueMat. They are particularly interested in the capillary forces that cause liquids to rise upwards in small, interconnected tubes, even against gravity. These processes take place so fast that they cannot be detected using standard synchrotron experiments. As silicon is opaque and the pores are highly branched, intense X-rays are needed to analyse it. Together with the team from European XFEL they conducted experiments using MHz X-ray microscopy. The results should help to produce new customised materials, for example for energy storage, e.g. as anode material in batteries, or for new methods of energy harvesting through the repeated wetting and drying of nanoporous materials.

Watch the interview about the experiment at EuXFEL here

November 2024

Success for BlueMat researcher

Prof. Christian Cyron, Head of the Institute of Continuum and Materials Mechanics at TU Hamburg and Head of the Institute of Materials Systems Modeling at the Helmholtz Center Hereon, together with Prof. Gerhard A. Holzapfel (TU Graz) and Prof. Sebastian Kozerke (ETH Zurich), has successfully acquired a prestigious ERC Synergy Grant. Hereon is coordinating this ERC Synergy Grant.

Their project - MechVivo - Mechanical characterization of soft tissue in vivo by microstructural imaging and physicinformed neural networks: bridging the gap between biomechanics and clinical practice - aims to develop a completely new functional principle for the non-invasive determination of the mechanical properties of tissues in living organisms. If the project is successful, it may represent a breakthrough for the usability of biomechanical computer simulations in clinical practice.

More information about the funding can be found at: erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/synergy-grant

Read the press release here

October 2024

Support for BlueMat - Alexander Schlaich started as a new professor at TUHH

Water plays a major role in Prof. Alexander Schlaich's research: however, the physicist, who works directly at the interface between the natural sciences and engineering, is particularly interested in the liquid medium at a molecular level. “One focus of my research is water-based materials, which can form the basis for green technologies. This relates to energy generation and storage, for example. However, we are also developing models for materials that can be used in (bio)sensor technology or as movement-generating actuators such as artificial muscles. This is done with the help of external triggers such as electrical energy, changes in ambient humidity, temperature or salt concentration,” says Prof. Schlaich, explaining his work. By understanding the molecular relationships in complex materials, resources can be used more efficiently and environmentally friendly concepts can be implemented.

Water in new dimensions

Hamburg University of Technology offers him an excellent scientific environment for his research, in particular through established and planned research networks. Alexander Schlaich, who has been working as a junior research group leader at the Center for Simulation Science (SC SimTech) as part of the Cluster of Excellence “Data-Integrated Simulation Science” at the University of Stuttgart since 2021, has already been involved in researching porous media: “The aim here is to use the large surface area of small cavities to remove water contamination, desalinate seawater or store energy, for example.” As such, his expertise fits perfectly with the requirements of the BlueMat initiative, which aims to develop sustainable and interactive material systems inspired by nature from the special properties of water and aqueous solutions. Prof. Schlaich has been directly appointed by TUHH and will help to drive BlueMat forward in terms of quality and profile.

Read press release here

New webpage about water science is online!

Our partner European XFEL has published a new website unraveling the uncommon, anomalous properties of water. Based on the experiments of the 2022 Topical Call on Molecular Water Science, scientists explain their intention and findings in short videos.

Water is key to life on our planet. It plays a central role in biology, for climate and many industrial processes. Although water has been subject to intense research across many disciplines, many of its fundamental properties are still not well understood. The ultrashort, intense, and spatially coherent X-ray pulses of European XFEL have the potential for rapid advances in our understanding of molecular water and will play an important role in BlueMat's work.

European XFEL decodes molecular mysteries of the elixir of life

BlueMat full proposal submitted in August

We are excited to share that we’ve received confirmation from the DFG that our BlueMat proposal has been accepted for review! This achievement comes after over a year of hard work since submitting the draft proposal and receiving its positive evaluation. During this time, we have streamlined our research program, focusing on the fundamental properties of water-material science, expanded and strengthened our team, and optimized our strategies to promote young scientists, equity, and diversity. The final proposal has now been printed and is ready to be sent.

Our team of spokespersons - Patrick Huber, Irina Smirnova, and Christian Cyron - along with the strong support of Jasmin Koldehoff, is fully prepared to take BlueMat forward. The vision of BlueMat is to redefine water's role in materials, creating a new class of sustainable, interactive systems called Blue Materials. These materials harness water’s unique properties to drive innovations in mechanics, fluidics, photonics, and energy. We aim to bridge fabrication methods to create scalable, multiscale materials while establishing a comprehensive imaging framework and a robust computational ecosystem. By combining quantum-level insights with cutting-edge imaging, we will demonstrate the transformative potential of Blue Materials in areas like robotics, desalination, energy harvesting, and climate-responsive design.

With the full support of TUHH and the city of Hamburg, and our partners, including BAM, DESY, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, the Max-Planck-Institut für Struktur und Dynamik der Materie, the University of Hamburg, the University of Fine Arts Hamburg, and European XFEL, we are ready to make a lasting impact. We look forward to the Excellence Cluster review in Bonn on January 17th and are confident we will convince the reviewers and DFG of our vision. The decision on funding will be made on May 22, 2025, and we hope to begin our seven-year journey starting January 1, 2026!

September 2024

New publication by Patrick Huber's research group in PNAS:

Deformation dynamics of nanopores upon water imbibition

Capillarity-driven flows in nanometer-sized pores play a dominant role in many natural and technological processes, ranging from water transport and transpiration in trees, clay swelling, and catalysis to transport through microfluidic structures and fabrication of battery materials. Here, we show by a combination of experiments and computer simulations of water imbibition in nanopores that the competition between expansive, surface stress release at pore walls and negative, contractile Laplace pressures of nanoscale menisci lead to an unusual macroscopic behavior of the porous medium, which is generic for any liquid/nanoporous solid combination. The results allow one to quantify surface and Laplace stresses and to monitor nanoscale flow and infiltration states by relatively simple length measurements of the porous medium. See also DESY press release.

View full article

New publication by Irina Smirnova's research group in Advanced Functional Materials:

Transparent Cellulose Aerogels from Concentrated Salt Solutions: Synthesis and Characterization

The aerogel-team of the Institute of Thermal Separation processes developed a novel method for the production of transparent cellulose aerogels, which is purely salt induced and allows to tailor the aerogel microstructure to a large extend. The production process requires in contrast to state of the art methods no pretreatment of cellulose or use of expensive cellulose-solvents. For details, follow the link.

View full article

May 2024

15.05.-17.05.2024 BlueMat at the CRC986 international workshop

From 15.05.-17.05. the CRC986 international workshop with more than 100 participants took place. Exciting lectures and many stimulating scientific discussions were held in the best weather with a fantastic view over the port of Hamburg. BlueMat co-organized this event and many of the presentations contributed to BlueMat's scientific goals. We anticipate many fruitful collaborations in the future.

17.05.2024 - New publication by Patrick Huber's research group: "Self-Assembly of Ionic Superdiscs in Nanopores"

Patrick Huber's research group has published a new study on discotic ionic liquid crystals in ACS Nano - see also the DESY press release.

April 2024

World's largest pilot plant for the production of bioaerogels is inaugurated at TUHH (link). In the future, aerogel production will also be integrated into the BlueMat initiative in order to develop methods for the scalable production of porous materials and transfer them to different types of materials. Aerogel and hydrogels are considered in BlueMat for mechanical actuation and thermal insulation.

March 2024

TUHH has established a new research initiative “BlueMat: Water-Driven Materials” which will support the application for a cluster of excellence.

February 2024

The draft proposal “BlueMat: Water-Driven Materials” for a cluster of excellence has been successful in the first round of evaluations. The key objective of the Excellence Strategy is to strengthen top-level research in areas that are internationally competitive, to institutionally strengthen German universities, and to advance the development of the German higher education system. The BlueMat team will now prepare a full proposal. The final decision will be announced in May 2025.