Centre for Functional Materials and Nanotechnology | ZHAW Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology ICBT

«Teaching does much, but encouragement does everything.»
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -

Prof. Dr. Christian Adlhart, Head of Centre

We focus on the synthesis, functionalization, and characterization of nanostructured materials such as mesoporous silicates, polymeric Janus nanoparticles, nanofibres, or aerogels. Such materials are used as host-guest systems for sensitive molecules, for smart self-assembling systems, as scaffolds for tissue engineering as well as in the filtration technology.

A part of this centre is the Metrohm endowed professorship.

Sections

Functional Materials and Nanotechnology
We develop nanofiber based aerogels or sponges. Such materials offer a broad range of applications from chemistry to biology: e.g. as aerosol filters, as insulation material, or as scaffolds for tissue engineering.
Polymer Chemistry
We focus on the synthesis, functionalization, and characterization of nanostructured polymeric materials and host-guest systems. This includes the development of new methods based on template syntheses, pseudomorphic transformation, and co-condensation.
Metrohm Foundation endowed professorship
We focus on the synthesis of polymer particles, as well as the surface functionalization of various materials. One of the most important application areas is chromatography.
Filtration Technology
The Filtration Technology Research Group develops and tests new adsorption and filtration materials for industrial gas and liquid separation for pharma, food, and water treatment. We also train and advise industrial customers.

Publications

Brodard, Pierre; Dabros, Michal; Marti, Roger; Vanoli, Ennio; Zinn, Manfred; Frey, Urban; Adlhart, Christian; Kind, Lucy; Koch, Franziska; Burgio, Floriana; Stenqvist, Johan; Saxer, Sina; Pieles, Uwe; Shahgaldian, Patrick; Wendeborn, Sebastian,

2019.

Materials science at Swiss universities of applied sciences.

Chimia.

73(7-8), pp. 645-655.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2019.645
Mousavi, Sara; Shahraki, Farhad; Aliabadi, Majid; Haji, Aminoddin; Deuber, Fabian; Adlhart, Christian,

2019.

Nanofiber immobilized CeO2/dendrimer nanoparticles : an efficient photocatalyst in the visible and the UV.

Applied Surface Science.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.02.119
David, Robert O.; Marcolli, Claudia; Fahrni, Jonas; Qiu, Yuqing; Perez Sirkin, Yamila A.; Molinero, Valeria; Mahrt, Fabian; Brühwiler, Dominik; Lohmann, Ulrike; Kanji, Zamin A.,

2019.

Pore condensation and freezing is responsible for ice formation below water saturation for porous particles.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

116(17), pp. 8184-8189.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813647116
Mousavi, Sara; Shahraki, Farhad; Aliabadi, Majid; Haji, Aminoddin; Deuber, Fabian; Adlhart, Christian,

2019.

Surface enriched nanofiber mats for efficient adsorption of Cr(VI) inspired by nature.

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering.

7(1).

Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2018.102817
Wu, Dalin; Honciuc, Andrei,

2018.

Design of Janus nanoparticles with pH-triggered switchable amphiphilicity for interfacial applications.

ACS Applied Nano Materials.

1(1), pp. 471-482.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.7b00356