Projects

A tandem project of Prof. Dr. Petra Schwille (MPI of Biochemistry) and Prof. Dr. Rumiana Dimova (MPI of Colloids and Interfaces). About/Topic Every nerve impulse in your body is carried by ions, not electrons and evolution has refined this process to be fast, efficient, and built entirely from biodegradable materials. Bio-Cable takes inspiration from this principle: we use bacteriorhodopsin, a light-harvesting protein found in microbes, to build micro-wires that switch their ion conductance on and off…

A tandem project of Dr. Christopher Synatschke (MPI for Polymer Research), Dr. Wenyang Xu, and Dr. Xiaowen Wu (MPI of Colloids and Interfaces). About/Topic Separation technologies are indispensable to modern industry—from purifying drinking water to recovering critical resources. Yet today’s high-performance membranes rely on petroleum-derived materials and energy-intensive manufacturing and are ill suited for recycling. CellDopaMem will develop next-generation materials through a green process using bio-based components to achieve high performance membranes. Persons Project summary CellDopaMem…

A tandem project of Dr. Yuwei Zhang (MPI for Sustainable Materials) and Prof. Claudia Weidenthaler (MPI für Kohlenforschung). About From mercury-contaminated silver mines to water-depleting lithium brine extraction, conventional mining has left a legacy of environmental damage that is no longer sustainable. As global demand for lithium surges, cleaner alternatives are urgently needed. This project explores a ball-milling–based approach to recycle lithium from spent Li-ion batteries. By uncovering the mechanochemical transformations that enable efficient lithium recovery,…

A tandem project of Dr. Constanze Neumann (MPI für Kohlenforschung) and Prof. Dierk Raabe (MPI for Sustainable Materials). About Electronic waste contains many valuable metals in higher amounts than the ores currently used to source them. But since a large variety of metals is present in waste, it is extremely challenging to find financially viable approaches to recover them. RECOVERMOF will use reversible MOF formation to recover valuable metals from waste with minimal CO2 generation. Persons…

A tandem project of Prof. Siegfried Waldvogel (MPI for Chemical Energy Conversion) and Prof. Bettina Lotsch (MPI for Solid State Research). About Carbon and metal waste streams are precious resources that can be transformed into high-value porous materials—metals organic frameworks (MOFs)—using only electricity and water. By exploring sustainable electrosynthesis routes of MOFs and their precursors from industrial waste streams, we aim at advancing both innovative circular-materials manufacturing and sustainable, scalable MOF synthesis. Persons Project summary Metal–organic…

A tandem project of Prof. Sohini Kar-Narayan (MPI for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems) and Prof. Xinliang Feng (MPI of Microstructure Physics). About/Topic By integrating chemically programmable 2D c-MOFs with high-resolution aerosol jet printing, we establish a new platform for recyclable, digitally manufactured microelectronics. Persons Project summary The rapid expansion of the microelectronics industry has intensified electronic waste generation, underscoring the need for sustainable materials and fabrication strategies. Conventional conductive materials, including noble metals, metal oxides,…

A tandem project of Dr. Gaoyuan Hou (MPl of Colloids and Interfaces) and Prof. Dr. Ralph Bock (MPI of Molecular Plant Physiology). About This project explores how algae can serve as a platform for the development of next-generation sustainable materials. Persons Related News

A tandem project of Dr. Florian Hartmann (MPI for Intelligent Systems) and Dr. Tobias Priemel (MPI of Colloids and Interfaces). About Inspired by the egg case of the praying mantis, this project translates nature’s low-energy fabrication strategies into sustainable 3D printing. We aim to combine recombinant proteins, bioinspired crosslinking, and additive manufacturing to create stiff, tough, and fully biodegradable protein-based materials as alternatives to conventional commodity plastics. Persons Project summary Conventional plastics play a central role…

A tandem project of Dr. Ruiting Li (MPl of Colloids and Interfaces) and Prof. Dr. Matthias Stein (MPI for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems). About By embedding bio-based building blocks directly into the polymer architecture, This project aims to develop and understand new possibilities for degradable polymers and establishes a novel class of sustainable photonic materials. Persons Project summary The design of next-generation materials must increasingly integrate degradability, disassembly, and recyclability to reduce resource consumption and…

A tandem project of Dr. Li Li (MPI of Microstructure Physics) and Dr. Aishwarya Singh (MPI for Chemistry). About Can atmospheric CO2 be converted directly into fuels using only sunlight and air? COF-AERO-FUEL explores a radically new approach to artificial photosynthesis by combining recyclable covalent organic frameworks with aerosol microreactors. By operating directly within airborne microdroplets, this project aims to bypass energy-intensive CO2 capture and open new pathways for sustainable, decentralized carbon conversion. Persons Project summary…

A project of Dr. Benjamin Steininger (MPI of Geoanthropology) About CHEMIEWENDE represents the humanities and cultural theory in the SusMax network. The project places the current search for sustainable postfossil materials in the context of the (geo-)historical role of science-based materials for (so far fossil) modernity and Anthropocene from the 19th to the 21st century. Persons Project summary Science-based matter, such as artificial building materials, fibres, fertilizers, plastics, ammunition, pharmaceuticals, has been driving the modern era…

A tandem project of Dr. Martina Delbianco (MPl of Colloids and Interfaces) and Jun.-Prof. Stefanie Duvigneau (MPI for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems). About Our research aims to develop a sustainable method for producing tailor-made polysaccharides from industrial waste, using a combination of bacterial fermentation and enzymatic polymerization to create high-quality biopolymers with defined chemical structures. Persons Project summary This project aims to develop a novel approach for the production of tailor-made polysaccharides from waste materials.…

A tandem project of Dr. Shahrouz Amini (MPl of Colloids and Interfaces) and Dr. Tim Maximilian Schwarz (MPl for Sustainable Materials). About Ceramics are integral to modern life due to their strength, durability, and biocompatibility, with applications in medicine, electronics, optics, and machinery. Yet, their energy-intensive production and waste management pose major challenges. Drawing inspiration from echinoderm growth, our team will explore novel concepts for ceramic architectures that can expand and remodel, paving the way for…

A tandem project of Prof. Dr. Frauke Gräter (MPI for Polymer Research) and Dr. Yu Ogawa (MPI of Colloids and Interfaces). Persons Project summary Wood is under perpetual mechanical stress, being it forces from gravity, wind or other stresses. How these mechanical forces are sensed, and what the direct role of cellulose is therein remains largely unknown. However, for sustainable materials, repair of the material is key to its longevity, and sensing mechanical damage a prerequisite.…

A tandem project of Prof. Dr. Dierk Raabe (MPI for Sustainable Materials) and Prof. Dr. Beatriz Roldán Cuenya (Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society). About/Topic Plastics and metal wastes are two significant sustainability challenges of our time. This project pioneers a circular and fossil-free solution: converting mixed polymer waste into a hydrogen-rich reductant to recover valuable metals from industrial residues via plasma-assisted processes, thereby eliminating CO2 emissions and microplastic pollution while enabling the production…

A tandem project of Prof. Dr. Dierk Raabe (MPI for Sustainable Materials) and Prof. Dr. Peter Benner (MPI for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems). About/Topic This project pioneers disruptive theory-guided pathways toward circular metals by merging artificial intelligence approaches with complex sustainable metallurgy-related basic scientific challenges. It unites two core research streams: first, the development of AI-guided, microstructure-oriented alloy design to transform mixed post-consumer scrap into high-performance materials; and second, the use of AI-accelerated Fourier Neural…

A tandem project of Dr. Wenyang Xu (MPI of Colloids and Interfaces), Dr. Yongkang Wang, and Dr. Arsh S. Hazrah (MPI for Polymer Research) About/Topic Uncover and manipulate the water surrounding cellulose for a green, sustainable nanocellulose production. Persons Project summary Nanocellulose, derived from cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, holds enormous potential as a sustainable alternative to fossil-based, non-degradable materials. However, fully unlocking this potential is challenged by the unsustainable nature of current production…

A tandem project of Prof. Dr. Karsten Reuter (Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) and Prof. Dr. Peter Benner (MPI for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems). About/Topic This project explores new ways to turn plant waste into valuable base chemicals that can help in the design of sustainable, bio-inspired materials. The main focus is towards the understanding of how catalysts work in complex environments. This represents a typical condition found for green industrial processes using plant-based feedstocks, where the…