Fraunhofer ICT

The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) conducts research and development in the fields of energetic materials, energetic systems, environmental engineering and polymer engineering. Its research focuses on the technology, design, characterisation and quality assurance of chemical energy carriers and polymer products. As contract research, the institute mainly handles plastic-related tasks such as material development and selection, product development and component design, as well as processing technology, especially with regard to the further development of direct processes and with regard to use in thermoplastics for applications in aircraft construction, vehicle construction and mechanical engineering.

With regard to nanocarbons, the Fraunhofer ICT is active in the field of manufacturing composites in plastic matrices. The areas of activity are:

• Composite development,
• Development of processing technology,
• Development of characterisation technology for nanocomposites.

Its composites work focuses on electrically conductive materials based on carbon allotropes. The spectrum ranges from antistatic plastics to highly conductive materials for bipolar plates in energy technology. Suitable filler combinations are used to improve the mechanical properties of the conductive materials. Together with composite development, the institute also carries out further development of compounding technology. In addition to optimisation of the screw configuration and the process parameters, alternative routes are also investigated, such as the use of nanoparticle suspensions for dosing particles into the molten mixture, as well as the application of ultrasound and supercritical CO2. Another topic is the characterisation of the composites' microstructure and nanostructure. The ICT is active in several projects that involve the development of online and offline characterisation methods.