Fluorescent protein-based materials for energy conversion & Stretchable conducting polymer systems for self-powered wearable electronics

Fluorescent protein-based materials for energy conversion

Contact Ergang Wang if you want to book a meeting for further discussions with Prof. Rubén D. Costa on 27 January 2026. 

Abstract: Fluorescent protein (FPs) functional materials and systems represent a new frontier in the quest for rare-earth-free and non-toxic sustainable optoelectronics. There are, however, challenges related to low-cost production, effective stabilization concepts, and controlled energy/electron transfer mechanisms.

Here, we will discuss our recent advances in designing FP-polymer and FP-nanoparticle hybrid coatings with respect to i) protein engineering (single point mutations, oligomerization, etc.) and ii) sol-gel chemistry (conditions and mechanisms) to form stable hybrids against chemical and irradiation stress.

These strategies enabled us to enhance protein stability in foreign environments, such as organic solvents and hydrophobic polymers, as well as to study the electron and energy transfer mechanisms. The remarkable properties of these FP hybrids have resulted in proof-of-concept applications in lighting, photovoltaics, and thermoelectrics with promising performance.

Biography of the speaker:Prof. Costa got his B.Sc/M.Sc in Chemistry from the University of Valencia (Spain) in 2006. His PhD was performed at the Institute for Molecular Science at the University of Valencia where he graduated in 2010 (>30 publications and 3 awards: IUPAC Prize for Young Chemists, RSEQ Nanomatmol Prize 2010, PhD Prize 2010 by the U. Valencia).

From 2011 to 2013, he was a Humboldt Postdoctoral Researcher at the U. Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) working on nanocarbon-based solar cells (>15 paper and finalist of the VI SUSCHEM post-doc award).

In 2014, he got the Liebig Scholarship, heading the hybrid optoelectronics lab at FAU with a focus on sustainable lighting and photovoltaics.

In 2017, he moved part of his group to IMDEA Materials (Spain) and he further expanded it to the U. Waseda (Japan) as Associate Professor in 2018. Since 2020, Prof. Costa is the head of the Chair of Biogenic Functional Materials at TUM.

He is a well-reputed scientist in biogenic materials and their use in hybrid optoelectronics as highlighted by his academic achievements: >180 papers; 1 edited book; >35 awards/fellowships; h-index of >50 and m-index of >3.

Stretchable conducting polymer systems for self-powered wearable electronics

Speaker: Nara Kim, Laboratory of Organic Electronics (LOE), Department of Science and Technology (ITN), Campus Norrköping, Linköping University

Abstract: The growing demand for personalized healthcare and intelligent human–machine interfaces calls for electronic materials that can function reliably within soft, deformable biological environments. In contrast to stretchable inorganic nanocomposites, stretchable organic electronic materials offer unique properties—mixed ionic–electronic transport, thermoelectric functionality, and intrinsic electrochemical activity—enabling diverse soft electronic applications.

In this seminar, I will present our work on developing stretchable conducting polymer systems based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) for soft energy harvesting and storage devices. By engineering mixed ionic–electronic elastomeric networks, we achieved a PEDOT-based composite that simultaneously delivers high electrical conductivity (140 S cm⁻¹), extreme stretchability (up to 600%), and low mechanical stiffness (Young’s modulus ~7 MPa).

This material enabled the first intrinsically stretchable organic thermoelectric module and an intrinsically stretchable organic battery using a plant-derived redox molecule. More recently, we developed stretchable porous electrodes composed of self-fused, highly conductive PEDOT:PSS microfibers, allowing efficient redox transport and high charge storage (1.2 mAh/cm2).

Together, these results position conducting polymers as a versatile materials platform for mechanically compliant, self-powered wearable devices.