ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

2D-PnictoChem aims at exploring the Chemistry of a novel class of graphene-like 2D layered elemental materials of group 15, the pnictogens: P, As, Sb, and Bi. In the last few years, these materials have taken the field of Materials Science by storm since they can outperform and/or complement graphene properties. Their strongly layer-dependent unique properties range from semiconducting to metallic, including high carrier mobilities, tunable bandgaps, strong spin-orbit coupling or transparency. However, the Chemistry of pnictogens is still in its infancy, remaining largely unexplored. This is the niche that 2D-PnictoChem aims to fill. By mastering the interface chemistry, we will develop the assembly of 2Dpnictogens in complex hybrid heterostructures for the first time. Success will rely on a cross-disciplinary approach combining both Inorganic- and Organic Chemistry with Solid-state Physics, including: 1) Synthetizing and exfoliating high quality ultra-thin layer pnictogens, providing reliable access down to the monolayer limit. 2) Achieving their chemical functionalization via both non-covalent and covalent approaches in order to tailor at will their properties, decipher reactivity patterns and enable controlled doping avenues. 3) Developing hybrid architectures through a precise chemical control of the interface, in order to promote unprecedented access to novel heterostructures. 4) Exploring novel applications concepts achieving outstanding performances. These are all priorities in the European Union agenda aimed at securing an affordable, clean energy future by developing more efficient hybrid systems for batteries, electronic devices or applications in catalysis. The opportunity is unique to reduce Europe’s dependence on external technology and the PI’s background is ideally suited to tackle these objectives, counting as well on a multidisciplinary team of international collaborators.

1 499 419 €

Start date: 2018-11-01, End date: 2023-10-31

"Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets, which possess a high degree of anisotropy with nanoscale thickness and infinite length in other dimensions, hold enormous promise as a novel class of ultrathin 2D nanomaterials with various unique functionalities and properties, and exhibit great potential in energy storage and conversion systems that are substantially different from their respective 3D bulk forms. Here I propose a strategy for the synthesis and processing of various 2D nanosheets across a broad range of inorganic, organic and polymeric materials with molecular-level or thin thickness through both the top-down exfoliation of layered materials and the bottom-up assembly of available molecular building blocks. Further, I aim to develop the synthesis of various 2D-nanosheet based composite materials with thickness of less than 100 nm and the assembly of 2D nanosheets into novel hierarchal superstrucutures (like aerogels, spheres, porous particles, nanotubes, multi-layer films). The structural features of these 2D nanomaterials will be controllably tailored by both the used layered precursors and processing methodologies. The consequence is that I will apply and combine defined functional components as well as assembly protocols to create novel 2D nanomaterials for specific purposes in energy storage and conversion systems. Their unique characters will include the good electrical conductivity, excellent mechanical flexibility, high surface area, high chemical stability, fast electron transport and ion diffusion etc. Applications will be mainly demonstrated for the construction of lithium ion batteries (anode and cathode), supercapacitors (symmetric and asymmetric) and fuel cells. As the key achievements, I expect to establish the delineation of reliable structure-property relationships and improved device performance of 2D nanomaterials."

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2012-09-01, End date: 2017-08-31

Design of new thermoelectric devices based on layered and field modulated nanostructures of strongly correlated electron systems

1 427 190 €

Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2015-10-31

The field of C-H bond activation has evolved at an exponential pace in the last 15 years. What appeals most in those novel synthetic techniques is clear: they bypass the pre-activation steps usually required in traditional cross-coupling chemistry by directly metalating C-H bonds. Many C-H bond functionalizations today however, rely on poorly atom and step efficient oxidants, leading to significant and costly chemical waste, thereby seriously undermining the overall sustainability of those methods. As restrictions in sustainability regulations will further increase, and the cost of certain chemical commodities will rise, atom efficiency in organic synthesis remains a top priority for research. The aim of 2O2ACTIVATION is to develop novel technologies utilizing O2 as sole terminal oxidant in order to allow useful, extremely sustainable, thermodynamically challenging, dehydrogenative C-N and C-O bond forming coupling reactions. However, the moderate reactivity of O2 towards many catalysts constitutes a major challenge. 2O2ACTIVATION will pioneer the design of new catalysts based on the ultra-simple propene motive, capable of direct activation of O2 for C-H activation based cross-couplings. The project is divided into 3 major lines: O2 activation using propene and its analogues (propenoids), 1) without metal or halide, 2) with hypervalent halide catalysis, 3) with metal catalyzed C-H activation. The philosophy of 2O2ACTIVATION is to focus C-H functionalization method development on the oxidative event. Consequently, 2O2ACTIVATION breakthroughs will dramatically shortcut synthetic routes through the use of inactivated, unprotected, and readily available building blocks; and thus should be easily scalable. This will lead to a strong decrease in the costs related to the production of many essential chemicals, while preserving the environment (water as terminal by-product). The resulting novels coupling methods will thus have a lasting impact on the chemical industry.

1 489 823 €

Start date: 2017-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28

Membranes are key materials in our life. Nature offers high performance membranes relying on a parallel local regulation of nanopore structure, functional placement, membrane composition and architecture. Existing technological membranes are key materials in separation, recycling, sensing, energy conversion, being essential components for a sustainable future. But their performance is far away from their natural counterparts. One reason for this performance gap is the lack of 3D nanolocal control in membrane design. This applies to each individual nanopore but as well to the membrane architecture. This proposal aims to implement 3D printing (additive manufacturing, top down) and complex near-field and total internal reflection (TIR) high resolution microscopy induced polymer writing (bottom up) to nanolocally control in hierarchical nanoporous membranes spatially and independent of each other: porosity, pore functionalization, membrane architecture, composition. This disruptive technology platform will make accessible to date unachieved, highly accurate asymmetric nanopores and multifunctional, hierarchical membrane architecture/ composition and thus highly selective, directed, transport with tuneable rates. 3D-FNPWriting will demonstrate this for the increasing class of metal nanoparticle/ salt pollutants aiming for tuneable, selective, directed transport based monitoring and recycling instead of size-based filtration, accumulation into sewerage and distribution into nature. Specifically, the potential of this disruptive technology with respect to transport design will be demonstrated for a) a 3D-printed in-situ functionalized nanoporous fiber architecture and b) a printed, nanolocally near-field and TIR-microscopy polymer functionalized membrane representing a thin separation layer. This will open systematic understanding of nanolocal functional control on transport and new perspectives in water/ energy management for future smart industry/ homes.

1 499 844 €

Start date: 2019-04-01, End date: 2024-03-31

This proposal brings together two fields in biology, namely the emerging field of phase-separated assemblies in cell biology and state-of-the-art cellular cryo-electron tomography, to advance our understanding on a fundamental, yet illusive, question: the molecular organization of the cytoplasm. Eukaryotes organize their biochemical reactions into functionally distinct compartments. Intriguingly, many, if not most, cellular compartments are not membrane enclosed. Rather, they assemble dynamically by phase separation, typically triggered upon a specific event. Despite significant progress on reconstituting such liquid-like assemblies in vitro, we lack information as to whether these compartments in vivo are indeed amorphous liquids, or whether they exhibit structural features such as gels or fibers. My recent work on sample preparation of cells for cryo-electron tomography, including cryo-focused ion beam thinning, guided by 3D correlative fluorescence microscopy, shows that we can now prepare site-specific ‘electron-transparent windows’ in suitable eukaryotic systems, which allow direct examination of structural features of cellular compartments in their cellular context. Here, we will use these techniques to elucidate the structural principles and cytoplasmic environment driving the dynamic assembly of two phase-separated compartments: Stress granules, which are RNA bodies that form rapidly in the cytoplasm upon cellular stress, and centrosomes, which are sites of microtubule nucleation. We will combine these studies with a quantitative description of the crowded nature of cytoplasm and of its local variations, to provide a direct readout of the impact of excluded volume on molecular assembly in living cells. Taken together, these studies will provide fundamental insights into the structural basis by which cells form biochemical compartments.

1 228 125 €

Start date: 2018-02-01, End date: 2023-01-31

This project presents a new concept for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of cancer biomarker patterns in point-of-care. The device under development will make use of the selectivity of the plastic antibodies as sensing materials and the interference they will play on the normal operation of a photovoltaic cell. Plastic antibodies will be designed by surface imprinting procedures. Self-assembled monolayer and molecular imprinting techniques will be merged in this process because they allow the self-assembly of nanostructured materials on a “bottom-up” nanofabrication approach. A dye-sensitized solar cell will be used as photovoltaic cell. It includes a liquid interface in the cell circuit, which allows the introduction of the sample (also in liquid phase) without disturbing the normal cell operation. Furthermore, it works well with rather low cost materials and requires mild and easy processing conditions. The cell will be equipped with plasmonic structures to enhance light absorption and cell efficiency. The device under development will be easily operated by any clinician or patient. It will require ambient light and a regular multimeter. Eye detection will be also tried out.

998 584 €

Start date: 2013-02-01, End date: 2018-01-31

Crucial processes within cells depend on specific non-covalent interactions which mediate the assembly of proteins and other biomolecules. Deriving structural information to understand the function of these complex systems is the primary goal of Structural Biology. In this application, the recently developed LILBID method (Laser Induced Liquid Bead Ion Desorption) will be optimized for investigation of macromolecular complexes with a mass accuracy two orders of magnitude better than in 1st generation spectrometers. Controlled disassembly of the multiprotein complexes in the mass spectrometric analysis while keeping the 3D structure intact, will allow for the determination of complex stoichiometry and connectivity of the constituting proteins. Methods for such controlled disassembly will be developed in two separate units of the proposed LILBID spectrometer, in a collision chamber and in a laser dissociation chamber, enabling gas phase dissociation of protein complexes and removal of excess water/buffer molecules. As a third unit, a chamber allowing determination of ion mobility (IM) will be integrated to determine collisional cross sections (CCS). From CCS, unique information regarding the spatial arrangement of proteins in complexes or subcomplexes will then be obtainable from LILBID. The proposed design of the new spectrometer will offer fundamentally new possibilities for the investigation of non-covalent RNA, soluble and membrane protein complexes, as well as broadening the applicability of non-covalent MS towards supercomplexes.

1 264 477 €

Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31

"Many of today's and tomorrow's computer systems are built on top of large-scale networks such as, e.g., the Internet, the world wide web, wireless ad hoc and sensor networks, or peer-to-peer networks. Driven by technological advances, new kinds of networks and applications have become possible and we can safely assume that this trend is going to continue. Often modern systems are envisioned to consist of a potentially large number of individual components that are organized in a completely decentralized way. There is no central authority that controls the topology of the network, how nodes join or leave the system, or in which way nodes communicate with each other. Also, many future distributed applications will be built using wireless devices that communicate via radio. The general objective of the proposed project is to improve our understanding of the algorithmic and theoretical foundations of decentralized distributed systems. From an algorithmic point of view, decentralized networks and computations pose a number of fascinating and unique challenges that are not present in sequential or more standard distributed systems. As communication is limited and mostly between nearby nodes, each node of a large network can only maintain a very restricted view of the global state of the system. This is particularly true if the network can change dynamically, either by nodes joining or leaving the system or if the topology changes over time, e.g., because of the mobility of the devices in case of a wireless network. Nevertheless, the nodes of a network need to coordinate in order to achieve some global goal. In particular, we plan to study algorithms and lower bounds for basic computation and information dissemination tasks in such systems. In addition, we are particularly interested in the complexity of distributed computations in dynamic and wireless networks."

1 148 000 €

Start date: 2013-11-01, End date: 2018-10-31