Selected Publications
- P. Samyn, G. Schoukens, L. Vonck, D. Stanssens, H. Van den Abbeele, “How thermal curing of an organic paper coating changes topography, chemistry and wettability”, Langmuir, Vol. 27 No. 13 (2011), 8509-8521.
- P. Samyn, G. Schoukens, D. Stanssens, L. Vonck, H. Van den Abbeele, “Hydrophobic waterborne coating for cellulose containing hybrid organic nanoparticle pigments with vegetable oils”, Cellulose, Vol. 20 No. 5 (2013), 2625-2646.
- P. Samyn, “Review paper: Wetting and hydrophobic modification of cellulose surfaces for paper applications”, Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 48 No. 19 (2013), 6455-6498.
- P. Samyn, K. Shroff, O. Prucker, J. Rühe, M. Biesalski, “Fluorescent sensibility of microarrays through functionalized adhesive polydiacetylene vesicles”, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, Vol. 214 (2014), 45-57.
- V.K. Rastogi, D. Stanssens, P. Samyn, “Mechanism for tuning the hydrophobicity of microfibrillated cellulose films by controlled thermal release of encapsulated wax”, Materials (special issue: Advances in cellulosic Materials 2014), Vol. 7 No. 11 (2014), 7196-7216.
FRIAS Project
Sustainable use of forest resources as nano-scale building blocks for functional biocomposites and coatings
The integration of sustainable and biorenewable resources into functional polymer nanocomposites offers high potential for replacement of traditional polymers based on petroleum derivates, and will have an impact on general concerns about global warming, energy supply and recycling. In this research, polymeric wood constituents including lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose are converted into nanomaterials that are created by top-down or bottom-up engineering. The integration of renewable nanocomponents into biopolymer matrixes will allow to create fully bio-renewable polymer nanocomposites with structural or functional properties. The project involves the processing of nanoscale cellulose materials and selection of biopolymer matrixes, but the main focus of this research is put on fundamental fiber-matrix engineering by introducing novl nanoscale surface modifications that control adhesive and hydrophobic interactions. The fundamental rheological properties of nanocomposite blends are extensively studied in order to optimize the processing conditions for melt-extrusion and injection moulding. We specifically aim at designing fully bio-based coatings for packaging papers by applying an innovative biopolymer coating in combination with nanocellulose additives such as microfibrillated cellulose and cellulose nanowhiskers. We aim at controlling barrier-properties water-repellence, gas diffusion and printability of paper surfaces by controlled thermal release of encapsulated vegetable oils. In our approach, we follow a multidisciplinary approach by combining materials engineering, polymer chemistry, nanotechnology and mechanical sciences in order to provide practical and more fundamental insights in the design of bio-based nanocomposite materials and coatings.