SPP 1420:  Biomimetic Materials Research: Functionality by Hierarchical Structuring of Materials

• Subject Area: Materials Science and Engineering ; Biology ; Chemistry ; Mechanical and Industrial Engineering ; Mathematics ; Physics
• Term: from 2009 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 73847914

The aim of the Priority Programme is to explore the possibility of generating new material classes of great potential by combining the degrees of freedom of hierarchical structuring inspired by nature with the variety of materials offered by engineering. The goal of this biomimetic approach is to obtain new or unusual combinations of material functions and properties. This shall be achieved by structuring a given material, rather than by changing its chemical composition (“function by structure”). The long-term vision of the Priority Programme is to fill “white spots” in material property charts by hierarchically structured materials, and to obtain the function-form-relationship in organs or plant bodies with predominantly mechanical function to improve the understanding of living systems.
There is no restriction on the choice of constituent materials, as long as the principle of hierarchical structuring over at least two levels is followed. Typically, (at least) one of the material properties is mechanical; the other one may be also mechanical or acoustical, electrical, optical or thermal, to name but a few options, and the hierarchical structure is crucial in obtaining this property combination. Passive mechanical properties (such as stiffness, strength, toughness etc.) are considered as well as active properties connected to actuation or motility.
A variety of challenges are being addressed. First, it is necessary to study some natural materials as examples on how hierarchical structuring is used by nature to achieve unusual property combinations. Furthermore, theoretical and experimental tools of materials science need to be developed to address the issue of hierarchy. New approaches for synthesis of hierarchical materials and demonstrators have to be developed. The scope of the Priority Programme is thus divided into three focus areas: (1) characterisation of natural hierarchical materials as a kind of “idea park”, (2) development of principles to design, simulate and manufacture hierarchical materials with property-relevant structural features, (3) development of manufacturing technologies for materials solutions based on hierarchical structures.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Australia, Austria, France, India, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA

Projects

• Adhesion mechanisms in micropatterned dry adhesives with hierarchical structure (Applicants Arzt, Eduard ;  Kraus, Tobias )
• Bio-inspired autonomous devices for movements and stress generation (Applicants Burgert, Ingo ;  Neinhuis, Christoph ;  Tauer, Klaus )
• Branched natural fibrous composites for improved technical components (Applicants Hufenbach, Werner ;  Milwich, Markus ;  Neinhuis, Christoph ;  Speck, Thomas )
• Crustacean skeletal elements: variations in the constructional morphology at different hierarchical levels (Applicants Neugebauer, Jörg ;  Raabe, Dierk ;  Ziegler, Ph.D., Andreas )
• Effects of water on molecular and supramolecular structure and mechanical properties of fibrous protein materials (Applicant Masic, Ph.D., Admir )
• Hierarchical anti-adhesive materials by mimicking insect traps (Applicants Gorb, Stanislav N. ;  Steinhart, Martin )
• Hierarchical Architecture of Sponge Spicules: Bio-inspired assembly of multifunctional structures by biocatalytically active and structure-guiding proteins (Applicants Schröder, Heinz C. ;  Tremel, Wolfgang )
• Hierarchical composites by gluing of nano- and mesocrystals (Applicants Cölfen, Helmut ;  Fratzl, Peter ;  Schlaad, Helmut )
• Hierarchical simulation of biopolymers in contact with mineral surfaces (Applicants Peter, Christine ;  van der Vegt, Nico )
• Hierarchically structured porous ceramics and composites from nanocasting of plant cell walls (Applicants Paris, Oskar ;  Plank, Johann ;  Zollfrank, Cordt )
• Hierarchy of microstructural features as the origin of fracture resistance in dentine and ceramic composites (Applicants Fleck, Claudia ;  Müller, Wolf-Dieter ;  Zaslansky, Paul )
• Impact resistant hierarchically structured materials based on fruit walls and nut shells (Applicants Bührig-Polaczek, Andreas ;  Fleck, Claudia ;  Speck, Thomas )
• Multiscale structure-functional modeling of musculoskeletal mineralized tissues (Applicants Gerisch, Alf ;  Raum, Kay )
• Scientific coordination in the Priority Programme SPP 1420 "Biomimetic Materials Research: Functionality by Hierarchical Structuring of Materials" (Applicant Fratzl, Peter )
• Self-assembly of hierarchical magnetic nano- to microstructures: biogenic and biomimetic synthesis of magnetite chains (Applicants Faivre, Damien ;  Schüler, Dirk )
• Synthetic dental composite materials inspired by the hierarchical organization of shark tooth enameloid (Applicants Epple, Matthias ;  Raabe, Dierk )
• Wet but non slippery (3): Bioinspired adhesives that work in humid and flooded conditions (Applicants Barnes, Jon P. ;  Butt, Hans-Jürgen ;  del Campo Bécares, Aránzazu ;  Fery, Andreas )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Peter Fratzl