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Natural sciences
- Spectroscopic methods
- Structural analysis
- Chemical characterisation of materials
- Synthesis of materials
- Macromolecular and materials chemistry not elsewhere classified
Thermoset polymers find applications in many areas such as transportation, energy, building construction and electronics industry as a result of their excellent mechanical properties, inertness to chemicals and ease of manufacturing. Despite all the benefits offered by such materials, their permanent chemical structure does not allow for reprocessing or chemical recycling, resulting in the fact that they are typically incinerated or landfilled at the end of life, which is not in line with sustainable development goals of the EU. In this interdisciplinary WEAVE project, the partners at UGent (Belgium) and Empa (Switzerland) take up the challenge to develop new generations of reprocessable thermoset materials, starting from an in-depth understanding of their material behavior at molecular and nanoscale level. In this context, they plan to apply complimentary, advanced techniques such as solid state NMR (UGent) and X-ray scattering techniques (Empa). With this knowledge, it is the aim to develop thermoset materials, which are easily reprocessable/ recyclable and offer at the same time the required material performance that is needed in energy (eg wind mill blades) and transportation sectors. Finally, the versatility of the new characterization methodologies will be applied on a very new generation of dynamic, phase-separated polymeric materials.