Application Areas

Research at the CNIE is categorised using a matrix in which Application Areas link Themes based on underpinning fundamental mechanisms.

CNIE research spans multiple scales, from nano- to macroscale, using experimental and computational tools, to develop new, nature-inspired technologies with applications in multiple fields. Our current application areas are: 

(A1) Scalable manufacturing & process intensification 
(A2) Energy & environmental engineering 
(A3) Functional materials 
(A4) Biomedical & healthcare engineering 
(A5) Engineering biology 

Below you can find some examples of technologies related to these application areas that have been developed at CNIE. To find out more about our latest discoveries and innovative technologies, please visit the publications lists from the Coppens, Lan and López Barreiro groups. 

Fractal injectors for scalable fluid mixing and process intensification (A1) 

Taking inspiration from trees and lungs, fractal injectors are designed to distribute fluids uniformly in a scalable way, and intensify multiphase processes. 
Read more: 

• S. Jiang, J. Wang, L.-F. Feng and M.-O. Coppens, Fractal injectors to intensify liquid-phase processes by controlling the turbulent flow field, Chem. Eng. Sci. 238, 116616 (2021) 
• S. Jiang, M.-O. Coppens and J.J. Wang, Intensification of liquid mixing and local turbulence using a fractal injector with staggered conformation, Chem. Eng. Proc. Proc. Int. 180, 109042 (2022) 

Nature-inspired hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysis of water and CO2 (A1 and A2) 

Taking inspiration from the lung, trees and desert lizards, we design, and construct scalable fuel cells or electrolysis systems with optimised, hierarchical structure from nanomaterial to device level, increasing power density and stability under variable humidity. 
Read more: 

• P. Trogadas, J.I.S. Cho, T.P. Neville, J. Marquis, B. Wu, D.J.L. Brett and M.-O. Coppens, A lung-inspired approach to scalable and robust fuel cell design, Energy & Env. Sci. 11, 136-143 (2018) 
• P. Trogadas, J.I.S. Cho, L. Rasha, X. Lu, N. Kadjilov, H. Markötter, I. Manke, P.R. Shearing, D.J.L. Brett and M.-O. Coppens, A nature-inspired solution for water management in flow fields for electrochemical devices, Energy Environ. Sci. 17, 2007-2017 (2024) 

Hierarchically structured catalysts (A1 and A3) 

Hierarchically structured (photo)catalysts, such as zeolites or cucurbit[n]urils include a desired distribution of active sites, and a network of broad pores that allow more facile access of the active sites and mitigate catalyst deactivation, as well as control surface barriers. Inspiration is sought from leaves, tissues, even skin, to develop more efficient (photo)catalysts for sustainable chemical and fuel production 
Read more: 

• M.-O. Coppens, T. Weissenberger, Q. Zhang and G. Ye, Nature-inspired, computer assisted optimization of hierarchically structured zeolites. Adv. Mat. Int. 8(4), 2001409 (2021) 
• S. Xu, K. Zheng K, C.R. Boruntea, D.G. Cheng, F. Chen, G. Ye, X.G. Zhou and M.-O. Coppens, Surface barriers to mass transfer in nanoporous materials for catalysis and separations. Chem. Soc. Rev. 52, 3991–4005 (2023) 
• J. Wang, X. Li, C. Chang, T. Zhang, X. Guan, Q. Liu, L. Zhang, P. Wen, I. Tang, Y. Zhang, X. Yang, J. Tang, Y. Lan, Engineering Single Ni Sites on 3D Cage-like Cucurbit[n]uril Ligands for Efficient and Selective CO2 Photocatalytic Reduction, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 64, e202417384 (2025) 
• C. Wang, Y. Xu, L. Xiong, X. Li, E. Chen, T. J. Miao, T. Zhang, Y. Lan, J. Tang, Selective oxidation of methane to C2+ products over Au-CeO2 by photon-phonon co-driven catalysis. Nat. Commun. 15, 7535 (2024) 
• Y. Xu, C.Wang, X. Li, L. Xiong, T. Zhang, L. Zhang, Q. Zhang, L. Gu, Y. Lan, J. Tang, Efficient methane oxidation to formaldehyde via photon–phonon cascade catalysis, Nat. Sustain. 7, 1171-1181 (2024) 

Bio-inspired membranes for advanced molecular separations (A1, A2 and A3) 

We create artificial membranes for separation processes, which implement fundamental principles of biological membranes, to combat fouling, and improve/tune selectivity and permeation rate. Examples of our work in this area include nanomaterial-enhanced membranes (e.g., with cucurbit[n]urils or nanoparticles) for high-performance gas separation, proton exchange, and dye removal; or membranes for water desalination, purification and bio-separations. 
Read more: 

• Y. Liu and M.-O. Coppens, Cell membrane-inspired graphene nanomesh membrane for fast separation of oil-in-water emulsions. Adv. Funct. Mat. 32(31), 2200199 (2022) 
• A. Bernardes, Z. Meng, L.C. Campos and M.-O. Coppens, Bio-inspired antifouling strategies for membrane-based separations, Chem. Comm. 61, 5064-5071 (2025) 
• H. Wei, Y. Liu, M. Yuan, G. Shao, Y. Lan, W. Zhang, Viologen based star copolymer membranes: Preparation and application in CO2/CH4 separation, J. Membr. Sci. 722, 123872 (2025) 
• P. Yang, Y. Liu, G.-H. Whalley, C. Guo, Y. Li, A. O. Yazaydin, Z.Jiang, M.-O. Coppens, Y. Lan, Cucurbit[6]uril-tuned nanochannels of graphene oxide membrane for enhanced water flux in nanofiltration, Chem. Eng. J. 503, 158137 (2025) 
• P. Yang, L. Xu, P. Trogadas, M.-O. Coppens, Y. Lan, Bioinspired supramolecular macrocycle hybrid membranes with enhanced proton conductivity, Nano Res. 17 (2) 797-805 (2024) 

Nano-confinement effects in catalysis and enzyme performance (A1, A2 and A3) 

Inspired by the nano-confinement effects induced by chaperones and other biological nanopores on biological guest molecules, we design and synthesise optimized nanoporous materials as hosts for enzymes, for catalytic or therapeutic applications.  
Read more: 

• M.M. Lynch, J. Liu, M. Nigra and M.-O. Coppens, Chaperonin-inspired pH protection by mesoporous silica SBA-15 on myoglobin and lysozyme, Langmuir 32, 9604–9610 (2016) 
• L. Xu, P. Trogadas and M.-O. Coppens, Nature-inspired electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction to C2+ products, Adv. Energy Mat. 13(48), 2370196 (2023) 
• J. Wang, X. Li, C. Chang, T. Zhang, X. Guan, Q. Liu, L. Zhang, P. Wen, I. Tang, Y. Zhang, X. Yang, J. Tang, Y. Lan, Engineering Single Ni Sites on 3D Cage-like Cucurbit[n]uril Ligands for Efficient and Selective CO2 Photocatalytic Reduction, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 64, e202417384 (2025) 
• C. Wang, Y. Xu, L. Xiong, X. Li, E. Chen, T. J. Miao, T. Zhang, Y. Lan, J. Tang, Selective oxidation of methane to C2+ products over Au-CeO2 by photon-phonon co-driven catalysis. Nat. Commun. 15, 7535 (2024) 
• Y. Xu, C.Wang, X. Li, L. Xiong, T. Zhang, L. Zhang, Q. Zhang, L. Gu, Y. Lan, J. Tang, Efficient methane oxidation to formaldehyde via photon–phonon cascade catalysis, Nat. Sustain. 7, 1171-1181 (2024) 

Pattern formation in pulsed fluidised beds (A1) 

We aim to understand the origin of pattern formation in pulsed fluidized beds by combining experiments, theory and multi-scale simulations. 
Read more: 

• K. Wu, V. Francia, S. Jiang and M.-O. Coppens, An experimental flow regime map to dynamically structure gas-solid bubbling fluidized beds, AIChE J. 2025;e18681 (2025) 
• V. Francia, K. Wu and M.-O. Coppens, Dynamically structured fluidization: oscillating the gas flow and other opportunities to intensify gas-solid fluidized bed operation. Chem. Eng. Proc. Proc. Int. 159, 108143 (2021) 

Learning from the complexity of biological systems for healthcare applications or sustainable manufacturing (A1 and A4) 

Universal features in the network architecture of biological complex systems (e.g., ecosystems, lymph nodes) and their circularity can guide applications for healthcare applications and for sustainable manufacturing. 
Read more: 

• M.H.W. Chin, E. Gentleman, M.-O. Coppens and R. Day, Rethinking cancer immunotherapy by embracing and engineering complexity. Trends in Biotechnology 38(10), 1054–1065 (2020) 
• M.H.W. Chin, B. Reid, V. Lachina, S.E. Acton and M.-O. Coppens, Bioinspired 3D microprinted cell scaffolds: integration of graph theory to recapitulate complex network wiring in lymph nodes. Biotech. J. 19(1), 2300359 (2024) 
• H. Zhu, M. Babkoor, M.-O. Coppens and M. Materazzi, Thermochemical technologies for conversion of biomass and waste into light olefins (C2–C4). Fuel Proc. Tech. 267, 108174 (2024) 

Recombinant structural proteins for engineered (living) materials (A3, A4 and A5) 

We develop new nature-inspired structural proteins that fuse in a single biopolymer chain the properties of dissimilar structural properties in nature, such as silk, elastin, or resilin. These proteins can be used for the manufacture of materials with applications in soft robotics, biomedical materials, or biosensing. Additionally, we leverage the synergistic interaction between cells and biopolymeric scaffolds in animate matter to develop materials with life-like properties. 
Read more: 

• D. López Barreiro, K. Houben, O. Schouten, G.H. Koenderink, J.C. Thies and C.M.J. Sagt, Order-disorder balance in silk-elastin-like polypeptides determines their self-assembly into hydrogel networks. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 17, 650-662 (2025) 
• E. Shire, A.A.B. Coimbra, C. Barba-Ostria, L. Rios-Solis and D. López Barreiro, Molecular design of protein-based materials – state of the art, opportunities and challenges at the interface between materials engineering and synthetic biology. Mol. Syst. Des. Eng. 9, 1187-1209 (2024) 
• D. López Barreiro, A. Folch-Fortuny, J.C. Thies, C.M.J. Sagt and G.H. Koenderink, Sequence Control of the Self-Assembly of Elastin-Like Polypeptides into Hydrogels with Bespoke Viscoelastic and Structural Properties, Biomacromolecules 24, 489–501 (2023)