Materials

Goal and motivation of IMS-Materials

Increasing requirements to the properties of new materials challenge to develop novel materials and find new approaches for their fabrication. IMS-Materials is focused on development of materials and in addition to academic basic research, in collaboration with industry, applied and contract research is carried out.

Highlights

• Tartu teadlased valmistasid koos prantslastega imeõhukese, kuid võimeka tehislihase

Capabilities

All steps from materials development to device design and fabrication are covered

Equipment

• potentiostats/galvanostats/frequenzy analyzers
• SEM equipped with EDX
• FT-IR spectrometer
• KF titrator
• dynamic mechanical analysis tool
• chemistry lab equipped for organic synthesis
• glove box
• planetary ball mill
• spin-coater
• R&D micro-printing system
• hot-rolling press

Skills

• Electroactive polymers
• Ionic liquids
• Microfabrication
• Energy harvest and flow capacitors
• Electroactive materials for soft robotics

Members

Tarmo TammProfessor of Materials Engineering

Urmas JohansonResearch Fellow in Materials Technology (electrochemistry)

Anna-Liisa PeikolainenResearch Fellow in Materials Technology (carbon materials, chemistry, microfabrication)

Indrek MustAssociate Professor of Soft Robotics

Student projects

List of currently active and timely projects are here

Portfolio

Selected projects

Basic research

• IUT 2024 - Stimuli-Responsive Smart Polymer Composite Materials and their Applications in Lab-on chip Devices and in Robotics-ongoing
• PUT1696 - 3D printed Na-ion polymer microbatteries with carbon xerogel electrodes - ongoing
• MOBTP 10 - Developmnt of biocompatible ionic electromechanically active polymer actuator (01.01.2017 - 31.12.2017)
• ETF9236 - "Development and characterization of conducting polymer based composite materials for electromechanical applications" (1.01.2012−31.12.2015)
• ETF7533 - "Design of conducting polymers of specific properties for promising applications" (1.01.2008−31.12.2011)
• ETF5830 - "Modeling of the specific properties of concuting polymers of technological interest" (1.01.2004−31.12.2007)

Applied & contract research

• LLTTI17205 - Non-combustible mouldable silicone foams for public transportation seat upholstery -ongoing
• LLTTI17114 - "Development of reinforced porous concrete" -ongoing
• "Soft materials for miniaturizable wearable sensory and feedback application in sports and rehabilitation (01.09.2012 - 30.06.2015)
• "Toodetavate kinga- ja saapapaelte kvaliteedi parendamisele suunatud järeltöötlemistehnoloogiate väljatöötamine" (1.03.2012−30.10.2014)
• "Scannersock (15.01.2016−30.04.2016)
• "Analysis of corroding ship tubing"(4.04.2016−31.05.2016)

Selected publications

• Põldsalu, I., Rohtlaid, K., Nguyen, T.M.G., Plesse, C., Vidal, F., Khorram, M.S., Peikolainen, A.-L., Tamm, T., Kiefer, R. Thin ink-jet printed trilayer actuators composed of PEDOT:PSS on interpenetrating polymer networks, Sensors and Actuators, B: Chemical, 2018.
• Kisand, K., Sarapuu, A., Peikolainen, A.-L., Seemen, H., Kook, M., Käärik, M., Leis, J., Sammelselg, V., Tammeveski, K. Oxygen Reduction on Fe- and Co-Containing Nitrogen-Doped Nanocarbons, ChemElectroChem, 2018.