Publications by Holger Frauenrath

Polymer-bridged Nanofibrils in a High-molar-mass Polyester via Co-assembly of Benzenetricarboxamide End Groups and an Additive

John Christopher Plummer, Holger Frauenrath, Daniel Görl, Michael Alan Giffin

Benzenetricarboxamide (BTA) derivatives are versatile compounds widely employed as nucleating agents in commercial semicrystalline plastics and as supramolecular ligands in self-assembling telechelic polymer-based organogels, hydrogels, and bulk elastomers ...

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY2025

Supramolecular modification of sustainable high-molar-mass polymers for improved processing and performance

Holger Frauenrath, Daniel Görl, Nicolas Candau, Yevhen Hryshunin, Oguzhan Oguz, Marianne Liebi

The plastic waste crisis is among humanity’s most urgent challenges. However, widespread adoption of sustainable plastics is hindered by their often inadequate processing characteristics and performance. Here, we introduce a bio-inspired strategy for the m ...

Nature Research2025

Dynamics of hydrogen-bonded end groups in bulk polymers revealed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy relaxation dispersion experiments

John Christopher Plummer, Holger Frauenrath, Laura Piveteau

The dynamic nature of supramolecular networks of telechelic polymers offers new avenues for the design of novel materials with enhanced melt strength and extensibility, increased energy at break, or self-healing properties. However, monitoring the kinetics ...

2025

Multifunctional Aluminum Pre-treatments from End-Functionalized Phosphonic Acid Self-Assembled Monolayers

Holger Frauenrath, Julian Nicolas Bleich, Reuben Yeo Jueyuan

Aluminum alloys are used in advanced engineering applications as they possess a combination of favorable properties, including high strength, lightweightness, good corrosion resistance, machineability, and recyclability. Such applications often require for ...

2024

Performance polyamides built on a sustainable carbohydrate core

Véronique Michaud, François Maréchal, Jeremy Luterbacher, Holger Frauenrath, Lorenz Perry Manker, Maxime Alexandre Clément Hedou

Sustainably producing plastics with performance properties across a variety of materials chemistries is a major challenge-especially considering that most performance materials use aromatic precursors that are still difficult to source sustainably. Here we ...

Nature Portfolio2024

Synthesis of polysiloxane elastomers modified with sulfonyl side groups and their electromechanical response

Holger Frauenrath, Yauhen Sheima

Dielectric elastomer transducers are elastic capacitors that respond to mechanical or electrical stress. They can be used in applications such as millimeter-sized soft robots and harvesters of the energy contained in ocean waves. The dielectric component o ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2023

Thermoplastic Toughening of a Semiaromatic Polyamide with an Amino-telechelic Polyethylene

John Christopher Plummer, Holger Frauenrath, Michael Alan Giffin

Semiaromatic polyamides are used for metal replacementin advancedengineering applications to reduce weight and improve efficiency,but their range of application is limited by their inherent lack ofductility and toughness. Here, we combined semiaromatic pol ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2023

All-polyamide nanofibrillar composites by in situ fibrillation of aramid fibers

John Christopher Plummer, Holger Frauenrath, Sylvain Cyril Claude Galland, Pascal Alexander Schouwink, Nicolas Candau, Oguzhan Oguz

All-polyamide composites containing up to 30 vol% highly dispersed PPTA nanofibrils with diameters in the range 50-500 nm were prepared by melt-compounding polyamide 6,10 (PA610) with chopped poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) fibers in the temperatu ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2023

Reversible Microscale Assembly of Nanoparticles Driven by the Phase Transition of a Thermotropic Liquid Crystal

Holger Frauenrath, Stephen Schrettl, Francesco Stellacci, Paulo Henrique Jacob Silva, Kellen Michael Harkness

The arrangement of nanoscale building blocks into patternswithmicroscale periodicity is challenging to achieve via self-assemblyprocesses. Here, we report on the phase-transition-driven collectiveassembly of gold nanoparticles in a thermotropic liquid crys ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2023

Transient Elastomers with High Dielectric Permittivity for Actuators, Sensors, and Beyond

Holger Frauenrath, Yauhen Sheima

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are key materials in actuators, sensors, energy harvesters, and stretchable electronics. These devices find applications in important emerging fields such as personalized medicine, renewable energy, and soft robotics. However, e ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2022

Enhanced ductility in high performance polyamides due to strain-induced phase transitions

John Christopher Plummer, Véronique Michaud, Holger Frauenrath, Pascal Alexander Schouwink, Nicolas Candau

Copolymerizing poly(hexamethylene terephthalamide-co-isophthalamide) (PA6TI) with 40 wt% polyamide 66 (PA66) results in only minor decreases in modulus and yield stress owing to isomorphous substitution of PA6TI units by PA66 units in the PA6TI alpha phase ...

ELSEVIER SCI LTD2022

Multi-material rail pad and method for manufacturing same

Joël Cugnoni, John Christopher Plummer, Véronique Michaud, Holger Frauenrath, Adrien Julien Demongeot, Oguzhan Oguz

The invention relates to a rail pad (10, lOa-v, 10α-η) comprising: a) a pad matrix (1) comprising a first material and b) at least one damping element (2) at least partially encapsulated or embedded in the pad matrix (1), said damping element (2) comprisin ...

2022

Spontaneous formation of a self-healing carbon nanoskin at the liquid-liquid interface

Holger Frauenrath, Paul Grandgeorge, Enzo Jean Raymond Bomal, Nicolas Candau, Reuben Yeo Jueyuan, Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis

Biological membranes exhibit the ability to self-repair and dynamically change their shape while remaining impermeable. Yet, these defining features are difficult to reconcile with mechanical robustness. Here, we report on the spontaneous formation of a ca ...

Nature Research2022

Blatter-type radicals as polarizing agents for electrochemical overhauser dynamic nuclear polarization

Jean-Philippe Ansermet, Christophe Roussel, Jonas Milani, Holger Frauenrath, Felipe Andres Saenz Padilla, Mika Antero Tamski

Overhauser dynamic nuclear polarization (O-DNP) refers to a microwave-assisted process where an unpaired electron's (e.g. a radical) spin polarization is transferred to surrounding nuclei in solution, thus increasing the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) si ...

Royal Society of Chemistry2022

Polysiloxanes Modified with Different Types and Contents of Polar Groups: Synthesis, Structure, and Thermal and Dielectric Properties

Holger Frauenrath, Yulia Yuts, Yauhen Sheima

Polymers with high dielectric permittivity are promising for the construction of next-generation transducers and energy storage devices with improved energy density. Here, we report the synthesis, glass-transition temperature (T-g), and dielectric properti ...

American Chemical Society2021

Lamellar carbon-aluminosilicate nanocomposites with macroscopic orientation

Yannik Fontana, Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, Holger Frauenrath, Emad Oveisi, Dragana Paripovic, Enzo Jean Raymond Bomal

Novel preparative approaches towards lamellar nanocomposites of carbon and inorganic materials are relevant for a broad range of technological applications. Here, we describe how to utilize the co-assembly of a liquid-crystalline hexaphenylene amphiphile a ...

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY2021

Semiaromatic Polyamides with Re-Entrant Chain Folding Templated by "U-Turn" Repeat Units

John Christopher Plummer, Rosario Scopelliti, Julien Philippe Cretenoud, Holger Frauenrath, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Bilal Özen, Michael Alan Giffin

Biopolymers often show deterministic chain folding templated by repeat unit sequences whose conformations are locked in by intramolecular interactions. In this work, we have used repeat units based on rigid anthracene or acridine scaffolds, which we refer ...

American Chemical Society2021

High-performance polyamides with engineered disorder

John Christopher Plummer, Véronique Michaud, Julien Philippe Cretenoud, Holger Frauenrath, Sylvain Cyril Claude Galland, Nicolas Candau

The extraordinary property profiles of many biological materials derive from their hierarchical structure and control of order and disorder at different length scales. Application of these concepts to the design of synthetic polymers may provide new routes ...

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY2021

Semiaromatic polyamides with enhanced charge carrier mobility

John Christopher Plummer, Holger Frauenrath, Nicolas Candau

The control of local order in polymer semiconductors using non-covalent interactions may be used to engineer materials with interesting combinations of mechanical and optoelectronic properties. To investigate the possibility of preparing n-type polymer sem ...

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY2021

Structure-Property Relationships in Bithiophenes with Hydrogen-Bonded Substituents

Rosario Scopelliti, Kurt Schenk, Anne-Clémence Corminboeuf, Holger Frauenrath, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Bilal Özen, Kun-Han Lin

The use of crystal engineering to control the supramolecular arrangement of pi-conjugated molecules in the solid-state is of considerable interest for the development of novel organic electronic materials. In this study, we investigated the effect of combi ...

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH2021