FOR 5301:  The next generation of functional self-healing materials – Restoration of optoelectronic and transport properties in flexible energy storage and conversion materials (FuncHeal)

• Subject Area: Chemistry
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 455748945

Within the research unit FuncHeal, novel, functional self-healing materials will be investigated which are to be used in flexible energy storage and conversion materials. The aim is to gain a detailed understanding of the healing of functional materials in order to enable the next generation of self-healing materials. In contrast to previous approaches, the research unit should not only heal cracks and damage, but also make it possible to restore functions and properties. Various approaches will be investigated for this purpose. This includes, among other topics, the healing of electrode materials in batteries and the restoration of the optical properties of organic solar cells. The challenge here lies in the complexity and the composition of the materials, as they do not only consist of a self-healing polymer, but of a multitude of different components. The aim is to produce functional systems that can ultimately also heal these properties or functions after damage. To this end, the research unit combines expertise from various areas. In addition to the synthesis of functional materials, a further focus will be a detailed molecular understanding of the processes taking place during damage and healing. Various methods are applied for this target – from spectroscopic investigations to theoretical calculations. In addition, the investigation and definition of self-healing and its efficiency will be a central research focus.

• DFG Programme: Research Units

Projects

• Computational modeling of degradation and recovery processes of self-healing functional materials (Applicant Gräfe, Stefanie )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Schubert, Ulrich S. )
• Nanostructured block copolymer gel electrolytes based on polyethers (Applicant Schacher, Felix H. )
• Optical (micro)spectroscopy for characterizing structure and electronic properties of self-healing materials for energy conversion and storage (Applicants Dietzek-Ivansic, Benjamin ;  Popp, Jürgen )
• P1 - Self-healing electrodes for electro(chemical) energy storage (Applicants Balducci, Andrea ;  Schubert, Ulrich S. )
• P3 - Reversible photoactive materials for flexible bulk-heterojunction solar cells (Applicants Hager, Martin ;  Peneva, Ph.D., Kalina )
• Stress and strain resisting polymer solar cells: Towards high flexibility (Applicants Hoppe, Harald ;  Presselt, Martin )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Ulrich S. Schubert