Dr Matthias Koebel
CEO, Siloxene AG
Dr. Matthias Koebel, born 1974, is a known expert in sol-gel and hybrid organic-inorganic surface and interface chemistry and entrepreneur. He received his PhD in physical and surface chemistry from Brown University followed by a two year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley with Prof. Gabor Somorjai. His research activities range from sol-gel and organosilane chemistry to scale-up of organic-inorganic hybrid materials. 2006 he joined the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), where he built up and led the laboratory for “Building Energy Materials and Components” targeting novel aerogel materials solutions for thermal insulation and energy applications. In 2021 he launched siloxene AG, a technology spinoff which develops, produces and markets a novel class of dendritic organofunctional silanes. Dr. Koebel, published over 100 scientific articles, over 20 patents and is coeditor of the “Aerogels Handbook” series.
Lighter & Stronger – Next Generation High Performance Eco-friendly STP Adhesives
Lightweighting is a trend that applies to many industries. In particular in the transportation sector but also in building & construction, the need for more compact, durable, sustainable and lighter products and solutions is becoming more apparent. Currently, no competitive lightweighting approaches exist for STP adhesives because the introduction of air bubbles or light-weight filler leads to a substantial loss of mechanical performance. Here we present a new approach to lightweighting adhesives products based on STP (silane terminated polymer) binder chemistry. Interestingly, when properly combined, light weight filler and STP binders complemented by our unique family of STP a new generation of eco-friendly adhesives with a unique profile of properties can be achieved: tensile strength of cured adhesive test specimens reach up to 5MPa at an overall density of around 0.7g/cm3 – this equals to a strength to weight ratio roughly 3-5 times higher in comparison with commonly known products. Despite these new adhesive prototypes being minimal formulations with maximum five ingredients, their performance is outstanding in terms of adhesion profiles, aging performance and application relevant aspects. More importantly all formulations are free of organotin catalysts and monomer silane ingredients (moisture scavenger & adhesion promoters), thus setting the stage for the next generation of STP adhesive products. The presentation summarizes key features and applications in the context of current product needs and an outlook on possible applications.
Co-author:
Gabriel Pagotti
Breakout Session VIII – SMP Formulation: From Design to Application – 17 September 2026 – 11:00 – 11:30 – Room Mountbatten – F6