Focus on materials: How hybrid materials strengthen industry and the environment

PFAS-free . Same function, no risk to humans or the environment

Our ORMOCER^® systems are a special example of hybrid materials – organic-inorganic hybrid polymers with individually adjustable properties. The brand name stands for organically modified ceramics (ORganically MOdified CEramics) and reflects the fact that ORMOCER^®s combine the property profiles of ceramics and organic plastics: They are transparent, mechanically robust, temperature-stable (> 250 °C), and at the same time functionally adaptable to different requirements. They are used in many products – from dental fillings to optical waveguides, from scratch-resistant coatings on optical lenses to gas-tight barrier coatings on packaging.

By the way: The metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) highlighted this year by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry are also hybrid materials. As the name “metal-organic” suggests, MOFs combine the properties of two classes of materials, namely inorganic metal oxides and organic components. Accordingly, they are not unlike ORMOCER^®s. Due to the nearly 100 metallic elements in the periodic table, they offer a wide range of structural variations and therefore potential for a wide variety of applications. Fraunhofer ISC warmly congratulates the three award-winning researchers Susumu Kitagawa, Omar M. Yaghi, and Richard Robson on being awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry! Their visionary research on metal-organic compounds has not only expanded our understanding of molecular self-organization, but also paved the way for innovative applications in energy, the environment, and medicine.

If you would like to learn more about hybrid polymers from the ORMOCER^® class, please visit our website.

Our research:

A good example of their potential for more sustainable materials chemistry is the ZeroF project. There, we are using ORMOCER^® to develop PFAS-free coatings for technical textiles. This allows us to achieve the same water-repellent effect, and enormous progress has also been made in oil and grease repellency – all without the use of environmentally harmful fluorine compounds.

Advantages at a glance:

• Durable, versatile materials
• Resource-saving production
• Safe alternatives to PFAS

Find out more on the ZeroF project website.

The further development of ORMOCER^® systems based on renewable raw materials and with adjustable biodegradability

How can sustainable packaging materials be produced from renewable raw materials? The requirements regarding product shelf life and prevention of aroma loss cannot be met with simple packaging made of paper or bioplastic. Additional functional coatings must be applied to the packaging materials. To this end, we have further developed our ORMOCER^® systems as proven protective and barrier coatings and equipped them with controllable biodegradability.

Biological materials such as chitosan, various celluloses, or saccharides can be used to produce bioORMOCER^® coatings. These are chemically integrated into the ORMOCER^® matrix and bound to it. They make it possible to biodegrade the hybrid material under certain external conditions, even in garden compost. These coatings can be used for more than just sustainable packaging. We can also equip them with additional functionalities, such as hydrophobicity or scratch resistance, so that they also bring sustainable benefits to other areas of application – examples of this can be found on the website of the EU project InnPressMe, in which we participated with our materials development and upscaling expertise.

Advantages at a glance

• Various property profiles possible: oxygen and aroma barriers, water and grease repellency, scratch and abrasion resistance, gloss and transparency
• Applicable to many substrate materials (papers, various plastic films)
• Time-controllable biodegradability
• Compatible with other coatings
• Scalable production
• Processing with industrial coating processes

More informations on our Website  

Silicones are versatile synthetic polymers and also hybrid materials: they combine an inorganic “scaffold” based on silicon-oxygen bonds with organic “residues,” making them inorganic-organic hybrid materials with properties such as temperature resistance, chemical stability, and high elasticity.

At the Center Smart Materials and Adaptive Systems CeSMA at Fraunhofer ISC, we use customized silicone formulations, for example as potting compounds for electronic components. They provide electronic assemblies with lasting and robust protection against disruptive environmental influences – with different additional functionalities depending on the application, thanks to tailor-made additives. This prevents component failures and increases service life.

One particularly exciting area of application is dielectric elastomer sensors (DES): elastic sensors that measure pressure, strain, or forces - even when embedded in moving, stretchable structures or glued to textiles.

This is what makes the difference:

• Special silicones with individually customized formulations
• Optimized processing
• High filling levels without loss of elasticity
• Comprehensive material analysis and adaptation

For more information, visit our website or send an email to get in touch with our experts.

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When extreme conditions prevail

When components have to withstand high temperatures, heavy loads, or aggressive environments, conventional materials often reach their limits. Metal-ceramic composites offer a solution here thanks to their hybrid structure:

• Low weight & high strength
• Temperature & wear resistance
• Production of complex geometries with minimal post-processing
• Reduced material consumption

At our Fraunhofer Center for High Temperature Lightweight Construction HTL, for example, processes are being developed that use 3D printing to produce hybrid metal-ceramic components with precise control and high efficiency. A current example is the CS3 (Ceramic Sub Sea Systems) project, in which dense hard metal composite parts were created for offshore applications.

With longer life cycles, less waste, and more efficient components for energy, mobility, and technology, they offer significant added value for industry and society.

Please contact us for feasibility studies and prototyping.

You can find more information about our specialty silicones on our

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Please feel free to contact Dr. Ferdinand Somorowsky directly.

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Hybrid materials from basic research

At the Chair of Chemical Technology of Material Synthesis at the University of Würzburg, which is closely linked to Fraunhofer ISC, we conduct basic preliminary research for later applications. Sustainable hybrid materials from a single source. Today we present two new publications from the chair on this topic.

How can organic dyes and inorganic components be combined in a single step to form functional hybrid materials?

Two recent publications from the research group of Prof. Miriam Unterlass (Director of the ISC) show how this can be achieved and in a consistently sustainable manner. In one study, perylene bisimide-based silica hybrids are created using a purely water-based hydrothermal synthesis, which yields materials with solution-like fluorescence and photocatalytic activity. The second study uses solvothermal synthesis in superheated isopropanol to produce pigment@TiO_₂ hybrids with covalently linked components and promising properties as electrode materials for batteries.

Both approaches impressively demonstrate how the targeted combination of green chemistry and material design can be used to develop tailor-made, high-performance hybrid materials – an important step towards sustainable functional materials.