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Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology

Associate Professor Richard T. Olsson

Richard T. Olsson

Olsson Group at Lab 371

Dr Olsson earned his PhD in 2007 at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) on the topic of microwave absorbing nanocomposites developed for the Swedish Research Defence Agency. Previous to the doctoral studies he had developed an interest in polymeric materials when working with optical fibre coatings at École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier in France (-2000) and at Bell Labs, USA (2000–2001). Olsson's doctoral studies on magnetic nanoparticles dispersions in thermoset polymers (2002-2007), were followed by works devising a system for fabrication of nanofibre reinforced silicone materials for Mölnlycke Health Care AB (2007-2008). These nanocomposites were developed at the Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Postdoctoral studies were carried out 2008-2010 at Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATA), Spain, with focus on renewable nanomaterials within bioplastics for food packaging. In 2010 he returned to the KTH to pursue in depth development of nanocomposite polymer engineering processing at the Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology .

Dr Olsson is currently supervising 2 PhD students and 2 postdocs within the Olsson group at Lab 371. The research is directed towards nanocomposite materials preparation and the properties reliant on the interfaces/interphases between nanoparticles and polymers (inorganic and organic), with an emphasis towards structural and morphological dependent features for primarily magnetic  and dielectric  composite materials. A consistent focus towards the realization of nanocomposite materials into functional prototypes  and particle preparation methods  have been maintained over the years. The developed inorganic nanoparticle materials and the nanocomposites thereof have been explored in the field of high voltage direct current cable (HVDC) insulation applications, and highlighted as 'HOT Papers' in Journal of Materials Chemistry A selected 2015  & 2016  etc.

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MgO Nanocomposite HVDC

The inorganic chemical perspective has recently been further explored and expanded into the recycling and recovery of lithium ion batteries in collaboration with Dr Forsberg at the division of Resource Recovery  at the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Natural polymers are explored, and cellulose nanofibers have been the main topic of investigation over the last 10 years as a member of the Wallenberg Wood Science Centre (WWSC) . An increased attention towards the use of biomass and waste in the resource recovery field of preparing functional nanocomposite materials is presently being explored.

Dr Olsson has 8 worldwide patents in the above related fields.

Dr Olsson serve (since 2015) as an Editorial Board Member for the open access multidisciplinary research journal Scientific Reports , with an established 5-year impact factor of 4.58 ( www.nature.com/srep/about ). The Editorial Board Member position is within the field of Atomic and Molecular Physics and is renewed on 2-year term basis. Apart from the editorial work Dr Olsson is actively promoting early-career independency and provide individual classes in scientific writing and publishing.

Dr Olsson is the Deputy head of the Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology.

Interests and Projects

Main focus: Polymer nanocomposite fabrication (thermoplastics, thermoset and biobased) with rapid turnover polymer formulation investigations, surface adaption of nanoparticles to polymer interfaces, in-situ formation of nanoparticles, extrusion and electrospinning for anisotropic/isotropic composite fabrication. 

Additonal expertise: Inorganic metal oxide crystal synthesis, aqueous nanoparticles preparation, cellulose crystal extractions, (±) nanoparticle coating stabilization by covalent/adsorption assemblies, and miniature reaction technologies are topics of interest.

Direction: Dielectrics, magnetics, ultrathin fiber systems (electrospinning), thincoatings and porositiy preparation strategies, for use in applied reseach materials investigations.

Professional Engagements

Awards

  • Lars-Erik Thunholms stiftelse: – "Young Investigators stipend", 2013.
  • Knut och Alice Wallenbergs: "Mikro/Nanovetenskap stipend ", 2008.
  • Carl Klason Prize, POLYCHAR-14, Annual World Forum on Advanced Materials, 2006.

Courses

  • KF2505  Polymer Materials Processing; 7.5 credits – Lecturer, Course responsible and Examiner
  • KF2110  Mechanical Properties of Materials; 7.5 credits – Lecturer
  • KF1050  Polymeric Materials; 7.5 credits – Lecturer
  • KFxxxx  FPIRC Course no 35: Non Woven - From fundamentals to processing – Lecturer
  • KF3260  Characterization Methods for Fibre and Polymer Science; 7.5 credits – Lecturer
  • KF2500  Polymer Engineering; 9.0 credits – Lecturer, Course responsible and Examiner
  • KF1070  Perspectives on Materials Design; 10.5 credits – Lecturer, Course responsible and Examiner
  • KA101X  Degree Project in Chemical Science and Engineering; 15.0 credits – Project responsible and Examiner
  • KF102X  Degree Project in Polymeric Materials, First Cycle; 15.0 credits – Project responsible and Examiner
  • KF206X  Degree Project in Polymeric Materials, Second Cycle; 30.0 credits – Project responsible and Examiner

Publications (50 most recent)

Google Scholar

[1]
W. Xuan et al., "Antisolvent Precipitation for Metal Recovery from Citric Acid Solution in Recycling of NMC Cathode Materials," Metals, vol. 12, no. 4, 2022.
[2]
G. Proietti et al., "Nickel Boride Catalyzed Reductions of Nitro Compounds and Azides : Nanocellulose-supported Catalysts in Tandem Reactions," Synthesis (Stuttgart), vol. 54, no. 01, pp. 133-146, 2022.
[3]
X.-F. Wei et al., "Ageing properties of a polyoxymethylene copolymer exposed to (bio) diesel and hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) in demanding high temperature conditions," Polymer degradation and stability, vol. 185, 2021.
[4]
X. Ye et al., "High-Temperature and Chemically Resistant Foams from Sustainable Nanostructured Protein," Advanced sustainable systems, pp. 2100063, 2021.
[5]
D. Buyuktas et al., "Development of a nano-modified glassy carbon electrode for the determination of 2,6-diaminotoluene (TDA)," FOOD PACKAGING AND SHELF LIFE, vol. 29, 2021.
[6]
A. J. Capezza et al., "Acylation of agricultural protein biomass yields biodegradable superabsorbent plastics," Communications Chemistry, vol. 4, no. 1, 2021.
[7]
X.-F. Wei et al., "High-performance glass-fibre reinforced biobased aromatic polyamide in automotive biofuel supply systems," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 263, 2020.
[8]
O. Das et al., "The Effect of Carbon Black on the Properties of Plasticised Wheat Gluten Biopolymer," Molecules, vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 2279, 2020.
[9]
A. J. Capezza et al., "Carboxylated Wheat Gluten Proteins : A Green Solution for Production of Sustainable Superabsorbent Materials," Biomacromolecules, vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 1709-1719, 2020.
[10]
B. Tandon et al., "Fabrication and Characterisation of Stimuli Responsive Piezoelectric PVDF and Hydroxyapatite-Filled PVDF Fibrous Membranes," Molecules, vol. 24, no. 10, 2019.
[11]
A. M. Pourrahimi et al., "Making an ultralow platinum content bimetallic catalyst on carbon fibres for electro-oxidation of ammonia in wastewater," Sustainable Energy & Fuels, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 2111-2124, 2019.
[12]
C. Antonio et al., "Advances in the use of protein-based materials: towards sustainable naturally sourced absorbent materials," American Chemical Society Symposium Series (ACS), vol. 7, no. 5, 2019.
[13]
C. Antonio et al., "Preparation and Comparison of Reduced Graphene Oxide and Carbon Nanotubes as Fillers in Conductive Natural Rubber for Flexible Electronics," Omega, vol. 4, no. 2, 2019.
[14]
M. Ghaani et al., "Determination of 2,4-diaminotoluene by a bionanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode," Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical, vol. 277, pp. 477-483, 2018.
[15]
M. Ghaani et al., "A bionanocomposite- modified glassy carbon electrode for the determination of 4,4 0-methylene diphenyl diamine," Analytical Methods, vol. 10, no. 34, 2018.
[16]
C. Rovera et al., "Mechanical behavior of biopolymer composite coatings on plastic films by depth-sensing indentation – A nanoscale study," Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, vol. 512, pp. 638-646, 2018.
[17]
B. Alander et al., "A facile way of making inexpensive rigid and soft protein biofoams with rapid liquid absorption," Industrial crops and products (Print), vol. 119, pp. 41-48, 2018.
[18]
J. L. Castro-Mayorga et al., "The impact of zinc oxide particle morphology as an antimicrobial and when incorporated in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) films for food packaging and food contact surfaces applications," Food and Bioproducts Processing, vol. 101, pp. 32-44, 2017.
[19]
D. Liu et al., "Influence of Nanoparticle Surface Coating on Electrical Conductivity of LDPE/Al2O3 Nanocomposites for HVDC Cable Insulations," IEEE transactions on dielectrics and electrical insulation, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 1396-1404, 2017.
[20]
P. Medhi et al., "Lidocaine-loaded fish scale-nanocellulose biopolymer composite microneedles," AAPS PharmSciTech, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 1488-1494, 2017.
[21]
Q. Wu et al., "Conductive biofoams of wheat gluten containing carbon nanotubes, carbon black or reduced graphene oxide," RSC Advances, vol. 7, no. 30, pp. 18260-18269, 2017.
[22]
Q. Wu et al., "Flexible strength-improved and crack-resistant biocomposites based on plasticised wheat gluten reinforced with a flax-fibre-weave," Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, vol. 94, pp. 61-69, 2017.
[23]
Q. Wu et al., "Freeze-dried wheat gluten biofoams; scaling up with water welding," Industrial crops and products (Print), vol. 97, pp. 184-190, 2017.
[24]
L. G. Guex et al., "Experimental review : chemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by aqueous chemistry," Nanoscale, vol. 9, no. 27, pp. 9562-9571, 2017.
[25]
F. Nilsson et al., "Influence of water uptake on the electrical DC-conductivity of insulating LDPE/MgO nanocomposites," Composites Science And Technology, vol. 152, pp. 11-19, 2017.
[26]
J. González-Ausejo et al., "Assessing the thermoformability of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/poly(acid lactic) blends compatibilized with diisocyanates," Polymer testing, vol. 62, pp. 235-245, 2017.
[27]
L. K. H. Pallon et al., "Three-Dimensional Nanometer Features of Direct Current Electrical Trees in Low-Density Polyethylene," Nano letters (Print), vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 1402-1408, 2017.
[28]
K. J. Prathap et al., "Catalytic Reductions and Tandem Reactions of Nitro Compounds Using in Situ Prepared Nickel Boride Catalyst in Nanocellulose Solution," Organic Letters, vol. 19, no. 18, pp. 4746-4749, 2017.
[29]
D. Liu et al., "Interactions between a phenolic antioxidant, moisture, peroxide and crosslinking by-products with metal oxide nanoparticles in branched polyethylene," Polymer degradation and stability, vol. 125, pp. 21-32, 2016.
[30]
A. M. Pourrahimi et al., "Polyethylene Nanocomposites for the Next Generation of Ultralow-Transmission-Loss HVDC Cables : Insulation Containing Moisture Resistant MgO Nanoparticles," ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, vol. 8, no. 23, pp. 14824-14835, 2016.
[31]
A. M. Pourrahimi et al., "Highly Efficient Interfaces in Nanocomposites Based on Polyethylene and ZnO Nano/Hierarchical Particles : A Novel Approach toward Ultralow Electrical Conductivity Insulations.," Advanced Materials, vol. 28, no. 39, pp. 8651-8657, 2016.
[32]
Q. Wu et al., "Highly Absorbing Antimicrobial Biofoams Based on Wheat Gluten and Its Biohybrids," ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 2395-2404, 2016.
[33]
L. K. H. Pallon et al., "The impact of MgO nanoparticle interface in ultra-insulating polyethylene nanocomposites for high voltage DC cables," Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 4, no. 22, pp. 8590-8601, 2016.
[34]
A. M. Pourrahimi et al., "Aqueous synthesis of (21̅0) oxygen terminated defect free hierarchical ZnO particles and their heat treatment for enhanced reactivity," Langmuir, vol. 32, no. 42, pp. 11002-11013, 2016.
[35]
D. Liu et al., "Cellulose nanofibril core-shell silica coatings and their conversion into thermally stable nanotube aerogels," Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 30, pp. 15745-15754, 2015.
[36]
A. M. Pourrahimi et al., "Heat treatment of ZnO nanoparticles : new methods to achieve high-purity nanoparticles for high-voltage applications," Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 33, pp. 17190-17200, 2015.
[37]
D. Liu et al., "Morphology and properties of silica-based coatings with different functionalities for Fe3O4, ZnO and Al2O3 nanoparticles," RSC Advances, vol. 5, no. 59, pp. 48094-48103, 2015.
[38]
D. Liu et al., "Influence of nanoparticle surface treatment on particle dispersion and interfacial adhesion in low-density polyethylene/aluminium oxide nanocomposites," European Polymer Journal, vol. 66, pp. 67-77, 2015.
[39]
I. N. Strain et al., "Electrospinning of recycled PET to generate tough mesomorphic fibre membranes for smoke filtration," Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 1632-1640, 2015.
[40]
L. K. H. Pallon et al., "Formation and the structure of freeze-dried MgO nanoparticle foams and their electrical behaviour in polyethylene," Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 3, no. 14, pp. 7523-7534, 2015.
[41]
I. U. Unalan et al., "Exceptional oxygen barrier performance of pullulan nanocomposites with ultra-low loading of graphene oxide," Nanotechnology, vol. 26, no. 27, 2015.
[42]
O. Olatunji and R. T. Olsson, "Microneedles from fishscale-nanocellulose blends using low temperature mechanical press method," Pharmaceutics, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 363-378, 2015.
[43]
R. L. Andersson et al., "Antibacterial Properties of Tough and Strong Electrospun PMMA/PEO Fiber Mats Filled with Lanasol-A Naturally Occurring Brominated Substance," International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 15, no. 9, pp. 15912-15923, 2014.
[44]
A. M. Pourrahimi et al., "Water-based synthesis and cleaning methods for high purity ZnO nanoparticles - comparing acetate, chloride, sulphate and nitrate zinc salt precursors," RSC Advances, vol. 4, no. 67, pp. 35568-35577, 2014.
[45]
R. L. Andersson et al., "Micromechanics of ultra-toughened electrospun PMMA/PEO fibres as revealed by in-situ tensile testing in an electron microscope," Scientific Reports, vol. 4, pp. 6335, 2014.
[46]
Q. Wu et al., "Highly porous flame-retardant and sustainable biofoams based on wheat gluten and in situ polymerized silica," Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 2, no. 48, pp. 20996-21009, 2014.
[47]
I. A. Sacui et al., "Comparison of the Properties of Cellulose Nanocrystals and Cellulose Nanofibrils Isolated from Bacteria, Tunicate, and Wood Processed Using Acid, Enzymatic, Mechanical, and Oxidative Methods," ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, vol. 6, no. 9, pp. 6127-6138, 2014.
[48]
S. Trey et al., "Controlled deposition of magnetic particles within the 3-D template of wood : making use of the natural hierarchical structure of wood," RSC Advances, vol. 4, no. 67, pp. 35678-35685, 2014.
[49]
N. Sanandaji et al., "Confined space crystallisation of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) in controlled pore glasses," European Polymer Journal, vol. 49, no. 8, pp. 2073-2081, 2013.
[50]
R. . L. Andersson et al., "Micromechanical Tensile Testing of Cellulose-Reinforced Electrospun Fibers Using a Template Transfer Method (TTM)," Journal of Polymers and the Environment, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 967-975, 2012.

Patents

Book Chapters

Cellulose nanofillers for food packaging. In: Lagarón, J. M. Multifunctional and nanoreinforced polymers for food packaging . Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing Limited. pp. 86-107 (2011).

Additional information

  • ResearcherID: B-8715-2012
  • ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5454-3316
Page responsible:webmaster@cbh.kth.se
Belongs to: Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology
Last changed: Feb 27, 2022
Title
Prof. Mikael Hedenqvist
Prof. Em. Ulf Gedde
Assoc. Prof. Richard T. Olsson
Assistant Professor Anna Hanner (Svagan)
Docent Fritjof Nilsson
Assoc. Prof. Henrik Hillborg
Adjunct Professor Mikael Unge (NKT)
Prof. Petra Mischnick