Miguel Muñoz Rojo obtains an ERC 'Proof of Concept' to develop thermal protection for sensors

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Researcher Miguel Muñoz Rojo, from the Madrid Institute of Materials Science (ICMM-CSIC), has just received an ERC Proof of Concept grant. This is a prestigious and highly competitive fellowship awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) to establish the proof of concept for an idea arising from previously ERC-funded projects.

The scientist, who already received two million euros to develop thermal modulators that improve battery performance, will now use these new materials to create thermal barriers that protect so-called sensitive electronics. That is, they will be used to shield components of all kinds of sensors that may be subjected to significant temperature variations. "Even slight temperature fluctuations can cause loss of sensitivity in these devices," explains Muñoz Rojo.

Current solutions to this problem usually address general cooling, but fail to block the so-called "thermal bridges," which are often the 'culprits' of local operational issues. "No existing technology offers a lightweight, integrable, and durable thermal barrier," indicates the researcher. This is what his project seeks to address with funding of €150,000.

The work of Muñoz Rojo's team, Energy2Devices, focuses on the growth and analysis of thermal properties at the nanoscale (sizes that are one millionth of a millimeter) of a new type of material called MXene: these are ultra-thin materials (just two-dimensional), of atomic thickness, similar to graphene, which were discovered in 2011. "They are very promising materials for uses, for example, in batteries," explains Muñoz.

At this scale, these materials present very interesting thermal properties, being exceptional insulators. "After having studied them at a fundamental level with the ERC Consolidator, we are now going to exploit them to make our thermal barriers," continues the researcher. The results of his previous work have led to a patent that will now serve for the development of an industrial prototype.

Innovation at the service of society

The working ecosystem of this European grant includes several companies that have already shown interest both in the implementation of this prototype and in offering industrial advice. Furthermore, part of the relevance of the project has to do with the participation of the international start-up Thermaflux, founded by Muñoz Rojo himself and with the participation of the CSIC and the Dutch University of Twente, where he previously worked. This company, which is only a few months old, has already demonstrated its success by obtaining more than €150,000 in various competitive calls.

Thanks to this start-up, the team will be able to work on the two sides of the same coin: on the one hand, the scientific part, which will be carried out in the laboratories of the Madrid Institute of Materials Science (ICMM-CSIC), and on the other, the innovative part, development and commercial exploitation, which will be carried out through Thermaflux.

The project also includes the hiring of a postdoctoral researcher, who will join the team of pre- and postdoctoral researchers already in Muñoz Rojo's group: "Without the previous work of my group, we would not have achieved Europe's recognition of this project," the researcher acknowledges. The scientist highlights the work of researcher Rem Elnahas, who during a doctoral stay of just a few months made great advances to the work.
There are 18 months ahead for an intense work that could yield results very soon. "Our preliminary work demonstrates the viability and scalability of our formula," concludes Muñoz Rojo, satisfied.