Hannover Messe 2017 - Fraunhofer IGB

Hannover / April 24, 2017 - April 28, 2017

Hannover Messe

Research and Technology

C16/22, Hall 2

At the joint Fraunhofer stand at Hannover Messe Research & Technology (Hall 2, booth C16/C22) Fraunhofer IGB showcases its developments in surface modification. In the "Surface" area of the booth, we will demonstrate plasma-functionalized and coated materials such as anti-icing coatings that reduce ice-adhesion. Our service is to develop complete processes for our customers – from layer and process development to scale-up and sample coatings.

Our topics

Anti-ice coatings

The function of technical installations such as rotor blades of wind turbines, aircraft wings, solar panels, or overhead lines but also of outdoor and sports equipment, can be affected severely by ice adhesion. With plasma coatings, embossed or printed structures developed at Fraunhofer IGB surfaces and textiles can be effectively protected against icing. Water-repellent micro- and nanostructured layers for example reduce ice formation by more than 90 percent. Surfaces can either be coated directly in the plasma chamber or pasted with a self-adhesive anti-icing foil from shock and impact resistant polyurethane (PU).

more info about Anti-ice coatings

Plasma-functionalized and coated materials

To provide surfaces with new properties, Fraunhofer IGB especially applies plasma treatment technology. This way, we are able to etch surfaces, e.g. to clean them, or to graft chemical functionalities onto the surface, i.e. to alter wetting characteristics, or to polymerize thin films onto the surface, providing functions such as scratch-resistance, dirt-repellency, or corrosion protection. Further applications include inorganic oxygen or water vapor barrier layers for packaging materials that can be combined with another layer so that liquid and paste-like contents drain off completely from their containers. We offer the development of a complete process – from layer and process development to scale-up and production of sample coatings.

more info about plasma technology

Surface analysis

To an increasing extent innovative products are finished with a tailor-made surface design, for which the processes and surface composition have to be controlled down into the submicroscopic or atomic range. This is because adhesion, wettability, wear and corrosion are affected even by the smallest contaminations. Surface analysis at Fraunhofer IGB provides a wide range of highly specialized methods, procedures and types of equipment. We characterize the following properties of surfaces and interfaces, e.g. ultra-thin layers, powders, particles and membranes:

• chemical characteristics (e.g. elemental surface composition)
• physical characteristics (specific surface, film/layer thickness, wettability)
• morphological characteristics (e.g. roughness and topography) and
• the antibacterial effect of surfaces.
• biological properties such as biocompatibility, cell adhesion or the antimicrobial finishing

more info about surface analysis