The main objective of the proposed project is the development and industry-driven evaluation of highly stable and highly oxygen-permeable nano-structured oxygen transport membrane (OTM) assemblies with infinite selectivity for oxygen separation from air. The new approach proposed to reach this objective is the development of ultra thin membrane layers by e.g. CVD, PVD or Sol-Gel techniques with catalytic activation of the surfaces. This approach is supposed to make available highly stable membrane materials, which are currently out of discussion as the oxygen permeation measured on thick membranes is too low. Sufficiently high oxygen fluxes shall be obtained by (i) ultra thin membrane layers on porous supports to minimize diffusion barriers; (ii) catalytic surface activation to overcome slow surface exchange/reaction kinetics; and (iii) thin-film nano-structuring, generating new diffusion paths through the grain boundaries in a nano-crystalline matrix. The membrane development is supported by thermo-mechanical modelling as well as atomistic modelling of transport properties. The produced oxygen is provided to Oxyfuel power plants or chemical processes such as oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) to higher hydrocarbons or HCN synthesis, which will contribute in a way to the mitigation of CO2 emissions. Oxyfuel power plants combust fuels using pure oxygen forming primarily CO2 and H2O making it much easier and cheaper to capture the CO2 than by using air. The major advantages of OTM are significantly lower efficiency losses than conventional technologies and the in principle infinite oxygen selectivity. OCM produces higher hydrocarbons directly without forming CO2 and HCN synthesis can be improved by process intensification resulting in energy and subsequent CO2 savings.

The aim of this project is to provide four EU SMEs (Alce Calidad, EASReth, Di.Pro. and Aero Sekur) with a new silver/silica based coating material having anti-septical properties superior to those existing on the market: the coating is made of silica glass and of silver nanoclusters which are embedded in the silica glass. Silica provides excellent thermal and mechanical properties to the coating. The technique used to deposit this coating (RF sputtering) is suitable to almost every kind of substrate (polymers, metals, glasses, etc.). Results will have a clear and immediate exploitation potential to improve or develop new products currently commercialized by the four SMEs : biomedical implants for DiPro, agro/food industry equipments for Alce Calidad and EASReth and personnel protective systems for Aero Sekur. As soon as the anti-septic functionality can be provided to SMEs products, the following new products will be directly put on the market: Di.Pro: new anti-septical artificial anus ALCE and EASReth: new anti-septical coating on surfaces to be used in food handling and processing; Aero Sekur: new anti-septical textiles for Personal Protection Systems (PPS).

Cellulose, the primary structural component of plants, is the most ubiquitous and abundant organic compound on the planet. When cellulose fibrils are processed under carefully controlled conditions, it is possible to release highly crystalline nano-particles known as “nano crystalline cellulose (NCC)”. Recently, NCC-FOAM partners have developed a unique technique for self-assembling NCC into highly ordered “puff-pastry-like” layered cellular structures, i.e. foams. This self-assembly process is controllable, and the final cell structure can be modified to produce open or closed cell geometries depending on the requirements of the end application. Furthermore, the constituent NCC nanofibres are sustainably sourced from paper mill or forestry waste.

Herein I present a new approach towards 2D colloidal crystals with selectively created point and line defects. This project reaches beyond the state of the art in the field of colloidal crystals for photonic applications. However, in order to exploit these materials for photonic application point and line defects have to be created to guide light through the material. So far no bottom-up approaches to selectively created defects has been reported; in fact, despite the preparation of colloidal crystals usually involves self-assembly techniques the generation of point and line defects has been reached only using top-down techniques (i.e. photolithography, photochemical etching, focussed ion beam etching, etc.). The assembly will be carried out in reactive (polymerisable) liquid crystalline matrix by means of laser tweezers; UV-curing will cause the polymerisation of the reactive liquid crystal molecules yielding an aligned liquid crystalline network which will embed the assembly, stabilising it. Organic chemistry synthesis will be applied to generate photonitiator and polymerisable units to be installed on the surface of the colloids. The assembly technique reported by Prof. Muševič will ensure a one-by-one construction of the colloidal crystals. Using this technique particles with a lower interaction with the generated polymeric network can be incorporated in specific position of the assembly. These particles can subsequently be removed by means of laser tweezers, generating point and line defects in the 2D colloidal crystal. The interdisciplinarity of the proposal which combines Organic Chemistry with Experimental Physics is one of the points of strength of the project. Positive outcomes will represent a leap forward for photonic and nanotechnology industry in the ERA. The host offers great opportunities to collaborate with industry allowing the EU to increase its level of competition with other producers of this kind of photonic materials.

NEONUCLEI will develop transcription-competent synthetic analogues of cell nuclei. These particles, termed neonuclei, will be obtained through self-assembly/organisation in mixtures of DNA, macromolecules (or nanoparticles), and lipids. The composition of the neonuclei will be chosen to produce particles with internal nano-architectures capable of sustaining gene transcription upon the addition of transcription factors. These design of the static architectures of the neonuclei and their dynamic properties will be guided by observations on real nuclei. The DNA of the neonuclei will contain a gene cluster (or tandem repeats of the same gene). The genes will be separated by sequences designed to induce DNA compaction in response to specific chemical or physical stimuli. This will be exploited to establish non-biological control over the transcription of parts, or all, of the DNA. These control sequences offer the opportunity for multiple transcription control strategies and provide the capability of implementing temporally co-ordinated synthesis of multiple gene products. Neonuclei represent a key enabling step in the realisation of semi-biotic systems; these are systems and devices that combine synthetic non-natural functional systems with systems of biological origin. The neonuclei will be integrated with biological systems, or with isolated components, to produce novel semi-biotic devices capable of the controlled in situ synthesis of complex bio-molecules on demand.

NEreO addresses to the study and the development of nano-scale field-effect transistors (i.e. transistors with source-drain inter-electrodes distance varying from hundreds to few nanometers) based on organic molecular films. Organic materials are expected, in the near future, to give rise to a new generation of devices for electronics, photonics and optoelectronics, which will cause a paradigm shift in the production of electronic devices and pave the way for the era of plastic electronics. The main goals of NEreO will be achieved by the original combination of a sophisticated nano-scale fabrication method, namely e-beam lithography, with the unprecedented ability of the Supersonic Molecular Beam Epitaxy deposition technique to control morphology, structure and interfaces of organic films. Besides technological applications, nano-scale organic field-effect transistors will be basic tools for studying charge transport, charge injection and interfaces in organic materials. At Cornell, the fellow will benefit by the presence of several multicultural scientific communities built around national facilities such as the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility, the Cornell Center for Materials Research and the Cornel High Energy Synchrotron Source. The fellow will thus attain levels of world-class excellence, satisfying the objectives of the Specific Programme, and acquire the professional independence required to realize the objectives of the Work Programme. The success of NEreO will rely on the multidisciplinary approach pursued together with the state-of-the-art facilities and methodologies adopted. The collaboration between two world-class leading experts will give the chance to Dr Cicoira to grow as a leading scientist with global thinking and ability to promote networks and common strategy for the creation of new facilities.

Control of matter via light has always fascinated humankind; not surprisingly, laser patterning of materials is as old as the history of the laser. However, this approach has suffered to date from a stubborn lack of long-range order. We have recently discovered a method for regulating self-organised formation of metal-oxide nanostructures at high speed via non-local feedback, thereby achieving unprecedented levels of uniformity over indefinitely large areas by simply scanning the laser beam over the surface.

The present synthetic methodologies in chemical industry must be significantly improved to enable producing many chemicals by employing environmental-friendly and sustainable procedures. One of the main challenges for establishing a sustainable society is to mimic natural photosynthesis and develop stable and efficient photocatalysts for various chemical transformations under visible light irradiation that is almost never depleted out.

The project aims at exploring the use of nanovoids and nanodots prepared as plasmonic structures to enhance the efficiency of Si single-crystalline photovoltaic (PV) devices. Fabrication and experimental investigation of plasmonic structures in strained Si/SiGe multilayered structures will be carried to enhance light harvesting in solar cells due to both near-field and far-field effects. The main idea behind the production of nanovoids and nanodots is based on the ability of compressively strained thin SiGe alloy layers, incorporated in a Si matrix during epitaxial growth, to collect small-sized molecules (H, He, C) or vacancies, induced by irradiation. Further, thermal treatment results in the formation of nano-voids which are strictly assembled within the strained SiGe layers. The following key processes will be used: Molecular beam epitaxy of strained Si/SiGe/Si structures followed by irradiation with light ions (hydrogen, carbon) and rapid thermal treatment. This structure will then be additionally used as a template for segregation and self-assembling of metallic or carbon nanodots. The fundamental investigations of the structural, optical and electronic properties of the strained Si/SiGe layers will be carried out with a range of available methods for structural, electronical and optical characterization. By placing the nanovoids and nanodots in a highly doped emitter layer close enough to the p-n-junction that the near-fields will extend into the depletion layer, the effects of near-fields will be obtained. This will give a contribution to the electron-hole pair generation, and this will be additional to the far field effects. Being formed periodically, strained layers with self-assembled nanovoids or nanodots will display fundamentally unusual electronic and optical properties. These effects have not previously been experimentally studied in a solar cell configuration. The present system offers a unique configuration for such investigation.