How do trees manage to transport water all the way up to their highest branches against gravity? The secret lies in water’s remarkable ability to cling to the walls of tiny pores and move upward without external energy. At BlueMat, TUHH’s cluster of excellence, researchers are taking this natural principle as inspiration to develop innovative porous materials made from metals, silicon, and glass. They are aiming to design solutions that could revolutionize water management and energy technologies.
Christine Schattmann is a research associate at the TU Institute for the Industrialization of Smart Materials (ISM) and works with extremely fine metal powders that require rigorous safety protocols. Without protective suits, gloves, and specialized respirators, working with these powders is unsafe as they can penetrate deep into the lungs and even pose explosion risks when airborne. “Metal 3D printing is far more complex and demanding than common plastic 3D printing", Schattmann explains. In the advanced Fraunhofer IAPT production hall in Hamburg-Bergedorf, she uses a machine known as Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M) to build tiny, intricate metal-silicon structures that are extremely porous.
Mimicking Tree Vessels
By precisely adjusting laser settings, Schattmann creates cubic samples whose internal structures are designed to absorb and transport liquids efficiently, much like water vessels in trees. A key process called "dealloying“ removes aluminum from the printed parts, leaving behind a fragile silicon sponge with microscopic pores. When heated in air, this sponge converts into porous glass, strong yet capable of transporting water. The ultimate goal is to optimize pore size and structure so fluids flow rapidly without pumps or external energy, just as in natural trees.
Exchange Across Fields
At a recent BlueMat conference, Schattmann met biologist Linnea Hesse and took the opportunity to deepen her understanding of natural water transport mechanisms. “I learned that most water suction in trees happens in the sapwood just beneath the bark, not in the core”, Schattmann shares. “This insight might help us improve our designs.” The two scientists now plan to collaborate further. This is an excellent example of BlueMat’s mission statement to promote an interdisciplinary approach that encourages innovative ideas, all focused on harnessing the power of water.
Towards a Sustainable Future
BlueMat's research opens doors to sustainable applications like water harvesting systems, advanced filtration, improved sensors, and more efficient batteries. Crucially, these technologies rely on abundant, eco-friendly elements such as silicon, avoiding harmful chemicals and the need for complex global supply chains. By combining advanced additive manufacturing at Fraunhofer IAPT with biomimetic research, TUHH’s BlueMat cluster is pioneering sustainable, water-driven materials that transform the wisdom of trees into tomorrow’s technologies.
