Within the Excellence Initiative of the University Bremen, Principal Investigator Prof. Thorsten M. Gesing was awarded an explorative project “Development of High-Temperature Inorganic Thermochromic Compounds” in collaboration with Prof. Dr. A. Staubitz. With this grant, the synthesis and investigation of thermochromic systems – compounds changing their color in response to temperature will be explored. The funding will begin in October 2016. Dr. John Djamil will be the leading Post-doctoral researcher in this project supported by PhD students of both groups.

The idea of this project is to explore chemical compounds with regard to their temperature-dependent optical behavior as potential indicators in composites like lightweight construction materials. These are essential in aviation and automotive industries, but thermal failure prediction for such materials is extremely difficult due to their inherent complexity. With this approach, safety can be increased and waste reduced.

The strategy to achieve this goal will be to develop inorganic thermochromic compounds with defined properties. Color changes will be thoroughly studied along with the underlying structural parameters and electronic properties, aiding a better understanding of thermochromic transitions. Further aspects include the analysis of the thermochromism of these materials in matrices and their influence on the structural and mechanical parameters of composites

As this project represents a highly interdisciplinary research area, it perfectly fits into the MAPEX initiative and invites all members for fruitful exchanges.