We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join an interdisciplinary project focused on the development of flexible, biocompatible piezoelectric membranes for in situ monitoring of micro-scale tissue signals and regenerative stimulation, particularly for bone tissue engineering (piezoelectric scaffolds).
Although the biomedical relevance of piezoelectric materials has been clearly demonstrated over the past decade, commercially available thin films still exhibit insufficient piezoelectric performance and limited scalability toward market-ready devices, despite strong socio-economic demand from the medical device and specialty polymer sectors.
This project introduces a novel strategy: controlled orientation of lithium niobate nanoparticles (npLN) directly during PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) membrane processing via electrospinning, combined with in situ and ex situ molecular structure control.
Objectives
- Optimization of the electrospinning process; investigation of PVDF/npLN blends; in situ monitoring of nanoparticle orientation and PVDF crystallization.
- Measurement of dielectric parameters (permittivity, loss factor, tan δ) via dynamic dielectric analysis; quantification of PVDF/npLN interfacial quality.
- Determination of nanoparticle orientation using Raman spectroscopy.
- Development of a proof-of-concept device for micro-pressure variation monitoring.