Bio-inspired Protection of Marble with Lasers

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Marble is a widely used raw material in the kitchen/bathroom market, as well as in the construction sector. Yet, its durability is harmed by atmospheric and local acidic conditions and its aesthetic appearance endangered by human pollution and contamination. Although surface sealing is frequently used for protection, sealers are often toxic and not sufficiently effective. Long-term conservation or replacement of marble generates enormous costs. BioProMarLL aims at transferring the surface protective properties of certain plants to the marble surface, employing biomimetic laser structuring strategies that have been developed during the recently finished FET-Open project LiNaBioFluid. The overall objective of BioProMarL is the development of breakthrough concepts inspired by nature to provide enhanced protection of the marble surface in indoor and outdoor applications in terms of resistance to human pollution (e.g. stains by oil, lemon, vinegar, …). Additional functionalities that will be intended to transfer to marble include liquid-repellence, anti-adhesion and anti-abrasion, further strengthening the complementarity with LiNaBioFluid. The project consortium already includes a marble product company as end user and aims at identifying other end users for the different functionalities to be achieved in biomimetically structured marble. The new biomimetic protection and functionalization concept of BioProMarL has a high innovation potential and holds great promise for technological impact, while the success of LiNaBioFluid strongly supports its viability. In particular, it is foreseen that the useful life of natural stone products can be increased and chemically aggressive sealants can be replaced through smart functional surface morphologies, strongly contributing to environmental sustainability. In addition, biomimetic marble with added functionalities might lead to an increase in market share of natural stone products and impulse the European market leadership.