Falling Walls Falling Walls Science Summit 2022

Breaking the Wall of High-Strength Biomaterials

Stephan V. Roth

Engineering & Technology

By exploring the nano-world in real-time with X-rays of PETRA III, a team of KTH (Stockholm) and DESY produced an ultra-strong material that is made of bio-degradable cellulose nanofibres, the essential building blocks of wood. The novel production method transfers the exceptional properties of these nanofibres to the macroscopic, lightweight material. This research can potentially transform production chains towards more sustainable processes and materials (e.g. in packaging, medtech).

Tags: Climate change, Engineering, Environment & Nature, Green Tech.

Stephan V. Roth

DESY

Prof. Dr. Stephan Volkher Roth is researcher at DESY, Hamburg and adjunct professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. He studies physics in Bonn (1997) and obtained his PhD at Technische Universität München (2001). After his Postdoc at ESRF in Grenoble, France, he moved to DESY, in 2004, where he became staff scientist in 2006. His research interests are sustainable biomaterials, nanoparticle formation, hybrid nanostructures, and metal-polymer nanostructures with the aim of correlating the nanostructural evolution in thin films with its optical and electronic functionality.