Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research

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Fraunhofer Institute for
Applied Polymer Research IAP
Category: research Institute
Carrier: Fraunhofer Society
Legal form of the carrier: Registered association
Seat of the wearer: Munich
Facility location: Potsdam-Golm
Type of research: Applied research
Areas of expertise: Polymer research , materials science and engineering , process engineering , plastics engineering , chemistry, physics, biotechnology
Basic funding: Federal government (90%), states (10%)
Management: Alexander Böker
Employee: approx. 248
Homepage: www.iap.fraunhofer.de

The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP , also known as “Fraunhofer IAP” for short, is an institution of the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research e. V. The institute is based in Potsdam in the Golm Science Park . Its activities are applied research and development in the fields of polymer chemistry and physics as well as biology, with the focus on questions of material and technology development.

Research and Development

The institute specializes in research and development of polymer applications. Since the beginning of the 1990s, it has been supporting companies and partners in the customized development and optimization of innovative and sustainable materials, process aids and processes. In addition to the environmentally friendly, economical production and processing of polymers on a laboratory and pilot plant scale, the institute also offers the characterization of polymers. Synthetic polymers based on petroleum are just as much a focus of the work as biopolymers, polymers from renewable raw materials and chemically, physically or biologically functionalized polymers. The fields of application are diverse: They range from biotechnology, medicine, pharmacy and cosmetics to electronics and optics to applications in packaging, environmental and wastewater technology or the aviation, automotive, paper, construction and paint industries.

With the "Application Center for Innovative Polymer Technologies" opened in 2012, the Fraunhofer IAP is deepening and expanding its core competencies in polymer research. Processes for the production of innovative materials as well as new technologies are transferred from the laboratory to the industrial scale. The work focuses on three main areas: 1. High-tech polymers with special physical properties, 2. Biocompatible materials for implants and other medical applications, and 3. Development of biotechnological processes for the efficient use of renewable raw materials.

Since the middle of 2013, the institute has been operating the Schwarzheide Biopolymers Processing Technology Center, which supports small and medium-sized plastics processing companies in introducing bio-based plastics into production processes. One focus is the development of polylactides (PLA) with improved performance properties.

Since January 1, 2016, the previous Fraunhofer facility Polymer Materials and Composites PYCO has been integrated into the Fraunhofer IAP as a research area. The main research areas and the PYCO brand will be further developed and expanded under the new umbrella. At the Teltow and Wildau locations, highly crosslinked polymers, so-called thermosets, are developed for applications in a wide range of industries, including aviation, rail vehicle construction, automotive, information and communication technology and device technology.

On January 1, 2018, the Center for Applied Nanotechnology (CAN) GmbH in Hamburg was integrated into the Fraunhofer IAP as a research area. A large number of materials in the form of nanoparticles and nanocomposites are produced and characterized under the direction of the chemist Horst Weller.

Research areas

The following research areas exist:

Biopolymers

The sustainable use of renewable raw materials is at the center of the institute's biopolymer research. This applies to both natural polymers synthesized by nature, such as cellulose, starch or lignin, as well as bio-based plastics such as polylactide, whose basic building blocks are obtained from renewable raw materials. Such biopolymers are tailor-made for a large number of fields of application, often together with industrial partners, and methods for their extraction, processing and refinement are optimized or newly developed - from laboratory to pilot plant scale. Examples are cellulosic staple fibers such as viscose, bio-based carbon fibers, nonwovens, films and moldings made from polymer blends with lignin or starch, composite materials with cellulosic fiber reinforcement, starch-based paper additives or bio-based adhesives. All developments are accompanied by a variety of chemical and physical analysis as well as material testing and structural analysis.

Functional polymer systems

Polymers with special physical and chemical properties are increasingly used as functional materials for high-tech applications. The Fraunhofer IAP contributes to the development of such materials as well as technologies and components for their application. The spectrum ranges from sensors and actuators, polymers with semiconducting properties to chromogenic, photochromic and luminous polymers that are used in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and other applications in organic electronics. The synthesis and use of quantum dots opens up new possibilities for technological developments of OLEDs and organic photovoltaics, but also for diagnostics using photonic methods. In addition, materials, functionalized surfaces and their manufacturing technologies are developed up to the pilot plant scale for use in medical technology and diagnostics.

Synthesis and polymer technology

In the field of synthesis and polymer technology, the institute specializes in the synthesis of novel polymer structures and in the development and optimization of polymerization processes. The production of particles for active ingredient containers by reactive and non-reactive processes as well as the characterization of polymers are also among the main areas of work. Based on modern synthesis and analysis technology, various questions are processed on behalf of industrial partners. Membrane technology and shape memory polymers represent further research areas.

Life Science and Bioprocesses

In the Life Science and Bioprocesses research area, biotechnological processes are used to develop functional protein systems, colloidal structures and bio-hybrid materials. The focus is also on the production or extraction of monomeric and polymeric bio-based building blocks through fermentation processes and biocatalytic conversions. Nanotechnology and interface chemistry complement classic polymer research and promote the development of new biomaterials, hydrogels, implants, bioactive surfaces, sensors and active ingredient systems. Polymer and conjugate chemistry as well as molecular biology play a decisive role here. Microbiological examinations as well as examinations with primary and cell lines expand the depth of the R&D possibilities.

Fraunhofer pilot plant center PAZ

The Fraunhofer pilot plant center for polymer synthesis and processing PAZ at the Schkopau location - a joint initiative of the Fraunhofer institutes IAP and IMWS - focuses on questions of technology development and the scaling-up of polymer synthesis and processing processes. Both the technical possibilities on a pilot scale and the bundling of competencies in both specialist areas represent unique selling points of the pilot plant center on the R&D market. Here, new products and innovative technologies are developed along the entire value chain - from monomers to the synthesis and processing of polymers to the tested ones Custom-made component.

Polymer materials and composites PYCO

The research area polymer materials and composites PYCO develops and researches materials made of cross-linked plastics as well as composites made of several interconnected materials at the locations in Teltow and Wildau. These are mainly fiber-plastic composites. The fibers, especially carbon, glass or natural fibers, are embedded as technical textiles in the form of woven, knitted, knitted, nonwovens or felts in a matrix made of resin in geometries specially adapted to the later application in order to have excellent material properties low mass to be able to achieve.

Center for Applied Nanotechnology CAN

The research area Center for Applied Nanotechnology CAN at the Hamburg location develops inorganic nanoparticle systems. Research results are converted into solution strategies for new or improved products, especially in the areas of functional materials (displays, LED and lighting, solar and fuel cells), life science (diagnostic tools, biomarkers) and home and personal care (additives for cosmetic products, Detergents and cleaning agents, special polymers as formulation aids). The main expertise lies in the production and characterization of materials in the form of inorganic nanoparticles and nanocomposites. Established particle systems include fluorescent, magnetic, electrically and thermally conductive, X-ray opaque, electrocatalytically active, metallic and ceramic nanoparticles.

Cooperations

The institute is a member of the Fraunhofer Group for Materials and Components - MATERIALS. This association bundles the competencies of the 15 institutes of the Fraunhofer Society with a focus on materials science and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM) as permanent guest members. There are also various collaborations with industrial partners and universities in Germany and abroad. Leading scientists of the institute are available with courses and a. Active at the following universities: University of Potsdam, Technical University of Berlin, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus - Senftenberg, University of Hamburg.

Infrastructure

At the end of 2018, there were 248 employees. The operating budget in the 2018 financial year was 22.5 million euros. About 30% of these came from the basic funding, 90% of which is financed from federal funds and 10% from state funds. Around 44.8% of the operating budget was income from the economy. The remainder of the funding came from a variety of sources, mostly public funding.

Alexander Böker has been the director of the Fraunhofer IAP since February 1, 2015 . He is also the holder of the chair for polymer materials and polymer technology at the University of Potsdam.

Web links

Footnotes

Coordinates: 52 ° 24 ′ 48 ″  N , 12 ° 58 ′ 5 ″  E