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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
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Dr. Patricia Flemming is the recipient of the 2024 Doctoral Thesis Award from the Association of Supporters of the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (abbrev. IPF in German). The award recognizes her dissertation titled “Understanding and tailoring temperature-induced responsive transitions in polyelectrolyte brushes on the nanoscale”, supervised by Prof. Dr. Andreas Fery at the IPF and defended in 2023 at the TU Dresden.
Stimuli-responsive polymers—often referred to as smart materials—possess the remarkable ability to reversibly alter their physicochemical properties in response to environmental cues, such as temperature shifts, pH variations, or the presence of certain enzymes. These materials hold immense potential for the development of novel soft robotics (e.g., artificial muscles), intelligent drug delivery systems, and switchable catalysts.
In her work, Dr. Flemming designed, fabricated, and characterized an ultrathin polymeric coating with an extraordinary responsiveness to temperature changes. Even minor variations in temperature trigger a significant, reversible shift in the coating's thickness and surface topology. Remarkably, the coating exhibits two distinct modes of thermo-responsive switching, depending on the type of ions present in the surrounding aqueous solution. To monitor these responsive transitions on a nanoscale, Dr. Flemming employed advanced in-situ techniques, including spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. Based on these insights, she was able to fine-tune the switching characteristics by applying secondary stimuli, such as an optimized pH value, or ionic strength.
Structurally, the coating is composed of polyelectrolyte chains that can be covalently anchored on flat substrates, such as silicon wafers, or on nanoparticles. Dr. Flemming’s research demonstrated that varying the density of these anchoring points strongly affects the conformation of the polymer chains, which in turn affects their responsive properties.
In addition to advancing the fundamental understanding of the responsive mechanisms of tethered polymer chains, Dr. Flemming’s work has significant practical implications. The developed multi-responsive coating offers a promising platform for designing soft sensors and actuators as well as smart, functional textiles.
Dr. Patricia Flemming, patricia@kvp-flemming.de
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-851327
Dr. Patricia Flemming
Stephan Floss
IPF
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Dr. Patricia Flemming
Stephan Floss
IPF
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