ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

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

"Quantum information was born from the merging of classical information and quantum physics. Its main objective consists of understanding the quantum nature of information and learning how to process it by using physical systems which operate by following quantum mechanics laws. Quantum simulation is a fundamental instrument to investigate phenomena of quantum systems dynamics, such as quantum transport, particle localizations and energy transfer, quantum-to-classical transition, and even quantum improved computation, all tasks that are hard to simulate with classical approaches. Within this framework integrated photonic circuits have a strong potential to realize quantum information processing by optical systems. The aim of 3D-QUEST is to develop and implement quantum simulation by exploiting 3-dimensional integrated photonic circuits. 3D-QUEST is structured to demonstrate the potential of linear optics to implement a computational power beyond the one of a classical computer. Such ""hard-to-simulate"" scenario is disclosed when multiphoton-multimode platforms are realized. The 3D-QUEST research program will focus on three tasks of growing difficulty. A-1. To simulate bosonic-fermionic dynamics with integrated optical systems acting on 2 photon entangled states. A-2. To pave the way towards hard-to-simulate, scalable quantum linear optical circuits by investigating m-port interferometers acting on n-photon states with n>2. A-3. To exploit 3-dimensional integrated structures for the observation of new quantum optical phenomena and for the quantum simulation of more complex scenarios. 3D-QUEST will exploit the potential of the femtosecond laser writing integrated waveguides. This technique will be adopted to realize 3-dimensional capabilities and high flexibility, bringing in this way the optical quantum simulation in to new regime."

1 474 800 €

Start date: 2012-08-01, End date: 2017-07-31

New polymer materials are necessary to match the demand for highly integrated, multifunctional, responsive systems for sensing, information processing, soft robotics or multi-parametric implants. Both established material design concepts based on lithography, and emerging engineering efforts based on additive manufacturing (AM) are currently not able to fully address the need for topologically complex, multifunctional and stimuli-responsive polymer materials. This proposal aims at establishing a radically new approach for polymer material design, rethinking AM on both material and process level. Here, functionality will be already embedded at the building block level to emerge into larger scales. The exact methodology relies on polymer microparticles as a novel material basis with arbitrary geometry, function, mechanics and responsiveness. These microparticulate formulations will serve as predefined, voxel-like building blocks in AM yielding hierarchical assemblies with spatially defined voxel position and programmable, adaptive properties, which clearly go beyond existing functional material classes. With that, 3DPartForm will address the current lack of additive manufacturing providing multifunctional, stimuli-responsive materials, in which not only strongly different, but most importantly functional building blocks with intrinsic time axis will be processed into true 4D-polymer multimaterials. Products emerging from this approach will reach a previously unknown level of system integration, where optical transparency, electric and thermal conductivity as well as diffusivity and mechanical rigidity will become spatiotemporally tunable at single-voxel level. Coupled sensing and actuation operations will be realized by processing, transforming and manipulating single or combined input stimuli within these materials in the focus of 3DPartform, and platforms for biomimetics and cell-free biotechnology will be implemented as a long-term goal.

1 474 125 €

Start date: 2020-04-01, End date: 2025-03-31

Several observed anomalies in neutrino oscillation data can be explained by a hypothetical fourth neutrino separated from the three standard neutrinos by a squared mass difference of a few eV2. This hypothesis can be tested with a PBq (ten kilocurie scale) 144Ce antineutrino beta-source deployed at the center of a large low background liquid scintillator detector, such like Borexino, KamLAND, and SNO+. In particular, the compact size of such a source could yield an energy-dependent oscillating pattern in event spatial distribution that would unambiguously determine neutrino mass differences and mixing angles. The proposed program aims to perform the necessary research and developments to produce and deploy an intense antineutrino source in a large liquid scintillator detector. Our program will address the definition of the production process of the neutrino source as well as its experimental characterization, the detailed physics simulation of both signal and backgrounds, the complete design and the realization of the thick shielding, the preparation of the interfaces with the antineutrino detector, including the safety and security aspects.

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2012-10-01, End date: 2018-09-30