Teksti Efran Kimiaiei
This article shares Erfan Kimiaei’s Ph.D. journey, highlighting the challenges, achievements, and experiences that shaped his path from academia to the industry. Kimiaiei writes about his research in his own words.
Moving to Finland, I quickly realized that forests here aren’t just scenery, they’re part of everyday life. This is obvious from the extensive use of wood in pulp and paper, construction, textiles, and packaging, highlighting its vast potential.
Inspired by the potential of wood-based materials, my PhD focused on developing a smart and sustainable approach to valorizing cellulose and industrial side streams like lignin.
During my doctoral research, I published nine scientific articles, four as the lead author and five as a co-author, alongside a pending U.S. patent. These achievements would not have been possible without the collaboration of brilliant colleagues and mentors who supported and enriched my journey.
Background and aim of research
Natural and biodegradable polymers like cellulose (the major component of the wood) have shown great potential to replace fossil-based plastics. However, its susceptibility to water and moisture poses challenges when blending with hydrophobic polymers, thereby limiting its widespread use.
Hence, it is essential to address this issue in a sustainable manner while still harnessing the natural benefits of hydrophilic cellulose and hydrophobic polymers simultaneously and not compromising the natural biodegradability of cellulose.
Rethinking biomaterials: The power of interfacial engineering design
Biomaterials are often chemically modified for compatibility, compromising their natural properties. We introduced a new approach, leveraging interfacial design to enhance performance while preserving their intrinsic functionality.
Our approach was based on rationally designing emulsion-based systems by controlling the interfacial interactions between wood polymers (e.g., cellulose and lignin) and a hydrophobic polyester like polycaprolactone (PCL). These colloidal systems served as platforms for fabricating composite films and foams, which exhibited additional bioactivity and competitive mechanical properties when compared to synthetic alternative.
From a materials design perspective, the process began with dissolving PCL in an organic solvent (e.g., toluene) and mixing it with lignin nanoparticles that were dispersed in water. The lignin nanoparticles spontaneously assembled at the oil-water interface, stabilizing the emulsion-known as a Pickering emulsion. This emulsion was then blended with an aqueous nanocellulose suspension, ensuring a well-integrated network.
By engineering interfacial interactions at the molecular level, we achieved excellent compatibility between components, even upon drying, leading to the formation of self-standing films. The produced self-standing films exhibited unprecedented mechanical properties in both dry and wet states (tensile strength up to 200MPa and 87MPa, respectively) due to the favourable intercomponent interactions.
”When taking the film out from the water it looks just like it used to be before placing it in water.”
More impressively, the composite films retained their strength even after being fully immersed in water for months. The reason for this is that the hydrophobic PCL, with the aid of the lignin nanoparticles is now covering the cellulose surface, protecting it from the water.
This interfacial design also conferred additional properties to nanocellulose such as great protection against water vapor, oxygen, UV, and oxidation, making it outstanding for the packaging application. Furthermore, this strategy did not hamper the natural biodegradability nanocellulose, where the produced films showed biodegradability over 85 % in 42 days.
Open questions and future perspective
These findings highlight the importance of careful material selection and interfacial engineering to create multicomponent materials that excel both functionally and environmentally.
This challenges the conventional assumption that technical performance and eco-friendliness are mutually exclusive, indicating that with a smart design, it is possible to achieve both. Nevertheless, several critical questions and challenges regarding the scalability and broader implementation of these research outcomes still remain.
The PhD journey beyond home: Learning through research visits and conferences
Pursuing a PhD is not just about conducting experiments and publishing papers, it’s also about growing as a researcher in a global academic community. Research visits abroad and participation in international conferences provide doctoral students with unique opportunities to step beyond their home institutions, gain new expertise, and engage with leading scientists in their field that can open doors to future collaboration.
During my PhD journey, I had the privilege of working at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in United States for 6 months. My work there was focused on assessing the sustainability of our developed bioproducts, considering both end-of-life scenarios and life cycle assessment perspectives.
This invaluable experience was made possible through financial support by the Faria program (Finnish-American Research and Innovation accelerator) and the Finnish Forest Products Engineers Association.
Furthermore, participating in many international conferences was one of the highlights of my doctoral studies, as it allowed me to expand my professional network and foster new collaborations.
”In addition to traditional research presentations, I also took part in pitching competitions.”
In pitching competitions we had to communicate our work to a general audience within a short time frame (e.g., three-minute thesis presentations). This was initially a challenging experience, but I soon realized the value of being able to convey complex research concisely and effectively.
I encourage all doctoral researchers to take advantage of such opportunities, as they help them to develop essential communication skills that are valuable both within and beyond academia.
Bridging Research and Industry
After completing my research visit at NCSU, I started to lead a global joint industrial project under the guidance of my supervisor at Aalto University. This collaborative effort involved partners from the UK, USA, Canada, and Finland. I am grateful to my supervisor, Professor Monika Österberg, for trusting me with this responsibility.
Our work focused on developing sustainable flexible films and bio-based coatings for barrier packaging applications.
This project was an invaluable experience, allowing me to grow as an independent researcher while also gaining essential project management skills as reinforced my passion for applied research and highlighted the importance of bridging scientific advancements with industrial needs.
Next step after PhD journey
I have always been enthusiastic about conducting impactful research on a larger scale, where even a small contribution can make a meaningful difference to society. After completing my PhD studies, from February 2025, I began a new industrial-based role as a product development engineer. In this role, I’ll be working on research and development projects across the EMEA region, collaborating closely with sales and marketing teams to drive innovation and profitable growth through R&D initiatives.
”I encourage to actively seek partnerships.”
Final remarks
Doctoral research often requires deep specialization, but real breakthroughs happen when we engage with experts from different fields, industries, and backgrounds. Whether in academia or industry, the key to meaningful innovation is not just knowledge, but the ability to connect, communicate, and collaborate. For anyone pursuing research, I encourage to actively seek partnerships, embrace new perspectives, and work alongside those who can complement our expertise. The greatest challenges can only be solved when we bring our strengths together.
Read more: Efran Kimiaiei ORCID
Introduction of writer
Dr. Erfan Kimiaei recently earned his PhD from Aalto University and is currently a Product Development Engineer at Amcor (a global packaging company). His expertise lies in polymer engineering, processing, and packaging, with a strong background in surface and interfacial chemistry. He also has experience with wood-based products, focusing on sustainability assessment from a life cycle and end-of-life perspective.
Read more:
Sustainability through chemistry: harnessing sunlight and nanomaterials for a greener future
Tao Zou sai Gustav Kompan palkinnon ligniinitutkimuksestaan
