Precise analysis of charging events on complex surfaces

Our aim is to develop new tools that serve to better understand electrification by liquid and solid contact electrification, especially on complex surfaces like plant leaves or multifunctional materials under dynamic conditions. This requires combining methods that operate over different size and time scales to deliver combined information on surface morphology, chemistry, mechanics and, electrical measurements without compromising for example the living status of a leaf. Such tools will lead to a better understanding how dynamic charging processes occur and which consequences they have and, moreover, give information on how they could be tuned and exploited for example for energy harvesting.

Functional materials

Surface effects like spontaneous charging result from the properties of matter near the surface. Those can be tuned by physical and chemical modifications. Our aim is to develop new strategies to change surface functionality, especially electrification phenomena. This includes for example including programmable biodegradable materials and avoid commonly used fluorinated polymers. Further materials properties affect the behavior such as mechanical and aeroelastic properties that we consider in an functionalization approach spanning over multiple hierarchies.

Integrated systems

We aim to exploit different surface effects at the device level to improve energy harvesters, sensors, chemical reactors, and actuators. To achieve this, we will combine the knowledge that we generate with principles of soft robotics, microfluidics, and electronics. A particular focus is on integrated systems that are capable to convert wind and rain energy as micropower sources for devices operating in plant ecosystems, like microenvironmental sensors.

Effects of charging phenomena on organisms and nature

We aim to include tools from plant science and biology to understand charging behavior of natural surfaces but vice versa also target the question how the generated transient electric fields affect plants. Further understanding could lead to new bioinspired and biohybrid technologies that exploit charge formation on biological surfaces.