Projects

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Atomic thin membranes for water and ion transport. University of Antwerp

Erik C L Neyts
Condensed Matter Theory, Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling - Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Membranes are used for different separation processes with applications in areas as diverse as water desalination, gas separation, energy technologies, microfluidics and medicine. Due to its atomic thickness and its exceptional mechanical properties, graphene and related materials have opened up new possibilities in membrane technologies. Such membranes will be investigated for water and hydrogen transport, ion sieving and hydrogen isotope ...

SMART BIOMATERIALS TOWARDS MINIMALLY INVASIVE BREAST RECONSTRUCTION KU Leuven

Paula Moldenaers
Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology Section

The development of biomaterials for adipose regeneration has gained increasing attention as a result of the exponential growth of adipose tissue reconstructions performed in health care. In addition to cosmetic considerations, these reconstructions are also attempted for women undergoing lumpectomies after breast cancer treatment, which is highly relevant as breast cancer is the most prominent cancer striking women worldwide. Recently, an ...

Transition metal dichalcogenides as unique 2D platform for collective quantum behavior. University of Antwerp

Milorad Milosevic
Condensed Matter Theory
Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D-TMDs) are atomically-thin materials at the forefront of research, owing to their special electronic and optical properties, their tunability by electric gating and mechanical strain, and easy heterostructuring. It is much less explored that they also exhibit a wealth of collective quantum phases, characterized by a collective behavior of the electrons that is entirely different from their ...

Single-cell biomechanics: photoacoustic and photothermal approaches (OptoCellMech) KU Leuven

Christ Glorieux
Laboratory for Soft Matter and Biophysics

Cells, as functional units of any living tissue, are considered as the building blocks of life. They constantly generate, sustain, and respond to mechanical forces when interacting with their microenvironment, during tissue development and wounding healing. Of fundamental importance in the field is the ability to quantify biomechanics at single cell level. Acoustic waves travel through different materials at specific sound velocities and ...

Understanding the relationships between liquid crystalline behavior, morphology and the resulting properties of liquid crystalline polymer-graphene oxide composites KU Leuven

Paula Moldenaers
Soft Matter, Rheology and Technology Section

Ever since the discovery of the fascinating liquid crystalline phenomenon, its occurrence in optoelectronic applications continues to rise. However, the biggest challenge lies in developing liquid crystals (LCs) with outstanding material properties. This research project uniquely aims to combine the excellent electrical properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoplatelets with the superior optical and mechanical properties of liquid ...

Spectroscopic identification of defects in materials for perovskite-based hybrid solar cells. University of Antwerp

Etienne Goovaerts
Biophysics and Biomedical Physics, Experimental condensed matter physics (ECM)
Organometal trihalide perovskite solar cells have in the few years since their first introduction (in 2009) demonstrated very high power conversion efficiencies, up to 21% with potential for further increase. It is announced to become a game changer in the field of thin film photovoltaics, but this will critically depend on avoiding defect formation in the perovskite layer as well as at the interfaces with adjacent layers. The defects act as ...

SUPramolecular control of electronic propERties of a GRAphene platform for personalized Medicine (SUPERGRAM) Ghent University

Richard Hoogenboom
Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry

This project aims at developing a highly sensitive sensing platform for early detection of sepsis. To

push the boundaries of sensitivity towards recognition of single biomarker binding events, noncovalent

supramolecular modification of a graphene sensing platform with aaptamer receptors will

be developed. The perfection of graphene minimizes background noise while non-covalent

modification is required to not disturb ...

Three-dimensional atomic modelling of functional nanocrystalline structures from a single viewing direction. University of Antwerp

Sandra Van Aert
Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
The aim of this project is to retrieve the 3D atomic structure of nanocrystals from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images acquired along a single viewing direction. This goal is extremely challenging but can be considered as a major breakthrough to investigate materials that degrade or deform during the acquisition of images along different viewing directions, such as in electron tomography. So far, 3D imaging at the atomic scale was ...

Diamond NV color center spin resonance magnetometers: from fundamentals to advanced operation principles. Hasselt University

Milos NESLADEK
Materials Physics
The aim of this project is to develop novel generation of ultrasensitive magnetometers based on quantum detection principles employing the photocurrent detected magnetic resonance (PDMR) using NV color centers in diamond, a method at which development I have been strongly involved. The quantum detection principles offer dramatic improvements in the sensitivity compared to the Giant Magneto Resistance sensors or Silicon Hall probes. The current ...

Fractionation and purification of lignin fraction in a bio-refinery: Membrane-approaches as an economic and environmental alternative to classic separation techniques KU Leuven

Bart Van der Bruggen
Materials Technology TC, Group T Leuven Campus, Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Process Engineering for Sustainable Systems Section

This study aims at recovering valuable compounds from lignocellulosic waste by fractionation of constituents such as lignin and hemicellulose, using a membrane-derived strategy. Two approaches will be integrated to enhance the fractionation potential: Diafiltration; and the use of membrane cascades. Both techniques will be compared with single stage membrane separation. Furthermore, the fractionation potential will be explored after ...