Marie Curie Grant to develop anti-fouling and anti-icing surfaces

The Max Planck Institute (MPI-P) and its international partners have received a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant worth 3.9 million euros from the European Commission to fund an Innovative Training Network (ITN) on “Lubricant Impregnated Slippery Surfaces” (LubISS).

The project, which is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Doris Vollmer, project leader at the MPI-P, enables a total of 15 doctoral candidates from nine different academic institutions as well as industrial partners to spend the next three years conducting research for their PhD theses on the expansive potential of lubricant impregnated surfaces. These consist of a textured or porous layer impregnated by a liquid or gel from which particles, bacteria or ice can slide off when the surface is tilted.

Anti-icing and anti-fouling surfaces of the future

To develop durable and environmentally friendly LubISS, the physical and chemical interactions between the solid surface topography, the lubricating film and the liquid under static and flow conditions is necessary. Thus, the aim of the LubISS network is to provide this understanding and use it to design durable surfaces that are tested under indoor and outdoor conditions. The direct interaction between fundamental research and application is another important aspect, as the LubISS can be used as novel anti-icing and anti-fouling surfaces. Special to the network is also the structure of the PhD program, which provides not only a scientific education but also offers a training scheme to develop different soft skills.

Collaborator of the project at the MPI-P is also Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Butt, director of the institute and head of the department Physics at Interfaces.