M.Tech. (Architectural Technology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Communication patterns in nature were studied in order to address the challenge of effectively communicating sustainability messages. Fourteen patterns were found in nature and translated into user-friendly guidelines called Guidelines for Effective Communication of Sustainability Messages. These Guidelines were given to sustainability experts and peers for overall feedback and insights. Their responses showed that these Guidelines could be used to improve communication of sustainability messages by using them as a checklist and a design tool when designing messages and methods for communicating sustainability. Using these Guidelines as a tool within the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) could also help people better understand today’s sustainability challenges and the need for adopting a strategic approach used within the FSSD.

Hierarchical arrangement of biological composites such as nacre and bone containing high filler (ceramic) content results in high strength and toughness of the natural material. In this study we mimic the design of layered bone microstructure and fabricate an optimal multifunctional bio-nanocomposite having strength, toughness and corrosion resistance. Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), a biodegradable polymer was used as a substrate material with the reinforcement of LDH (Layered double hydroxide) as a nanofiller in different concentrations to achieve enhancement in mechanical properties as well as processing related thermostability. Corrosion resistance was increased by mimicking a layered structured which incorporated a tortuous diffusion path.

Spider silk is renowned for its extraordinary mechanical properties, having a balance of high tensile strength and extensibility. To date, the majority of studies have focused on the production of dragline silks from synthetic spider silk gene products. Here we report the first mechanical analysis of synthetic egg case silk fibers spun from the Latrodectus hesperus tubuliform silk proteins, TuSp1 and ECP-2. We provide evidence that recombinant ECP-2 proteins can be spun into fibers that display mechanical properties similar to other synthetic spider silks. We also demonstrate that silks spun from recombinant thioredoxin-TuSp 1 fusion proteins that contain the conserved C-terminal domain exhibit increased extensibility and toughness when compared to the identical fibers spun from fusion proteins lacking the C-terminus. Mechanical analyses reveal that the properties of synthetic tubuliform silks can be modulated by altering the post-spin draw ratios of the fibers . Fibers subject to increased draw ratios showed elevated tensile strength and decreased extensibility, but maintained constant toughness. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction studies indicate that post-drawn fibers containing the Cterminal domain of TuSp 1 have more amorphous content when compared to fibers lacking the C-terminus. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that recombinant tubuliform spidroins that contain the conserved C-terminal domain with embedded protein tags can be effectively spun into fibers, resulting in similar tensile strength but increased extensibility relative to non-tagged recombinant dragline silk proteins spun from equivalently sized proteins.

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In this diploma thesis, I have tried to design a high-rise building in Brno and offer new opportunities for built-up areas in a manner that respects the future of urban development. I have applied the principles of nature patterns on the very structure of the building and thus I have reached the perfection of nature, which in my view offers an elegant, simple and already proven solution.

In this diploma thesis, I have tried to design a high-rise building in Brno and offer new opportunities for built -up areas in a manner that respects the future of urban development. I have applied the principles of the nature patterns on the very structure of the building and thus I have reached the perfection of nature which in my view offers an elegant, simple and already proven solution.

[pt] No contexto da redução da concentração de CO2 na atmosfera e utilizar o mesmo na síntese de produtos de interesse, buscou-se sintetizar COFs com propriedades biomiméticas da enzima anidrase carbônica capaz de converter CO2. O chamado Tppa-NO2-COF foi planejado a partir dos blocos de construção triformilfluoroglucinol e 2-nitro 1,4-fenilenodiamina (comercialmente disponível). O triformilfluoroglucinol foi previamente sintetizado pela reação de Duff, entretanto outras metodologias alternativas foram testadas de forma a melhorar as condições reacionais e o custo atrelado ao processo. Em decorrência da não reprodutibilidade das metodologias sintéticas do Tppa-NO2-COF reportadas na literatura, foi necessário um processo de otimização (variando tipo e quantidade de solvente, concentração do ácido, condição reacional, entre outros). A influência do grupamento nitro no Tppa-NO2 foi igualmente avaliada, através da síntese do material análogo sem o nitro, o chamado Tppa-1-COF, o qual foi obtido com área de 434 m2/g, condizente com o dado reportado na literatura. Outra metodologia abordada para a síntese desses materiais foi a sonificação (sonochemistry) que demonstrou ser uma excelente alternativa para a síntese dos materiais de maneira eficaz e rápida. Entretanto, o material foi obtido com cristalinidade e área específica baixas e muito variáveis (de 40 a 628 m2/g), o que, por definição não pode ser chamado de COF, sendo então tratado como Covalent Organic Network (CON). Apesar da adversidade, seguiu-se com as modificações pós-sintéticas no Tppa-NO2-CON, realizando a redução do grupamento nitro e consequente reação do grupo amina para formar linkers que permitissem a atividade biomimética à enzima via ligação peptídica ou via triazol, capazes de se coordenar ao íon zinco. Otimizações ainda se fazem necessárias para a obtenção do COF, bem como estudos mais aprofundados nas modificações pós sintéticas e de adsorção de CO2, aplicação na conversão de CO2 a bicarbonato e outros produtos de interesse para a síntese orgânica. / [en] In the context of reducing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and using it in the synthesis of products of interest, we sought to synthesize COFs with biomimetic properties of the carbonic anhydrase enzyme capable of converting CO2. The so-called Tppa-NO2-COF was designed from the building blocks triformylfluoroglucinol and 2-nitro 1,4-phenylenediamine (commercially available). Triformylfluoroglucinol was previously synthesized by the Duff reaction, however other alternative methodologies were tested in order to improve the reaction conditions and the cost linked to the process. Due to the non-reproducibility of synthetic methodologies of Tppa-NO2-COF reported in the literature, an optimization process (varying type and amount of solvent, acid concentration, reaction condition, among others) was necessary. The influence of the nitro group on Tppa-NO2 was also evaluated, through the synthesis of an analogous material without nitro, the so-called Tppa-1-COF, which was published with an area of 434 m2/g, consistent with what is reported in the literature. Another approach to synthetic materials for sonification (sonochemistry) includes being an excellent alternative for an efficient and rapid synthesis of materials. However, the material was found with low and highly variable crystallinity and specific area (from 40 to 628 m2/g), which, by definition, cannot be called COF, being treated as Covalent Organic Network (CON). Despite the adversity, post-synthetic modifications in the Tppa-NO2-CON followed, performing the reduction of the nitro group and consequent reaction of the amine group to form ligands that would allow a biomimetic activity to the enzyme via peptide bond or via triazole, from coordinate with the zinc ion. Optimizations are still necessary to obtain the COF, as well as in-depth studies on post-synthetic modifications and CO2 adsorption, application in the conversion of CO2 to bicarbonate and other products of interest to organic synthetic.

Becoming sustainable is no longer an option. Current industry methods will not be able to support the necessary changes our growing society demands. In order to keep up with ever increasing demands industry will be aimed toward making major system changes toward a fully sustainable model. As of right now only basic sustainability actions have been put in place. Industry needs to make a strategic change toward resilient systems with an end goal of evolving into fully biomimic systems. This thesis covers a brief history of production leading to the Industrial Revolution which created a need for increased sustainability efforts. The Environmental Movement was started in hopes of creating these changes and is extensively studied in this thesis logically leading up to industry’s current sustainable actions. A discussion of widely applied sustainability methods helps to describe a need for a framework that will help move industry toward increased resiliency. The culmination of this thesis is the creation of a three-piece framework for change, called RISE (Reshaping Industry Sustainably Efforts). This framework is the product of extensive research into current sustainability efforts, collected survey results, and the need to increase understanding of resilience and biomimicry from an applied system perspective.