Research areas

Technical products for advanced applications and energy. The research in this area is aimed at the development of high value-added technology materials. The emphasis is on the nanotechnology development: new nanocomposites and nano-organized materials will enable the creation of specific properties.

The research coordinator is dr. Zorica Crnjak Orel,
Laboratory for the Spectroscopy of Materials, National Institute of Chemistry Slovenia

Coatings and adhesives. Research activities in this area are focused on the synthesis of functional polymers for use in dye, coatings and adhesives. This field is of great importance for Slovenian chemical industry, which creates a substantial part of its revenue from the sale of these materials. The research focus will be on the enhancement of synthesis procedures, reduction of organic solvent use during production and later technological processes, final formulations and water-based coating formulations for advanced applications.

The research coordinator is dr. Bogdan Znoj,
Helios Domžale, d.d.

Renewable resources, degradation and stabilization. The research area is focused on the use of materials from renewable resources in polymer production, and on the study of processes of degradation and stabilization of natural and modified natural polymer materials. The central research focus is on the treatment of biomass, including liquefaction, modification and processing of products to be used as raw materials in the production of materials or as fuel. Related is the study of degradation processes in terms of biomass processing, biodegradation and preservation of natural materials.

The research coordinator is Janez Navodnik, 
TC Poli-eko

Polymers for health care and medicine. The main research focus is on the development of multifunctional materials for surgical use and faster post-operative treatment of surface wounds, functional polymer surfaces with specific antithrombogenic properties for the production of vascular implants, biodegradable and biocompatible carriers of medicinal substances and chromatographic macroporous polymer materials for purification of biological macromolecules, such as peptides, proteins, viruses and DNA.

The research coordinator is prof. dr. Karin Stana-Kleinschek,
Laboratory for Characterization and Processing of Polymers, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor