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H2020Individual fellowship2015–2017

POLYCOMP · POLYmer-COntrolled Mesocrystal application-oriented Production: a combined theoretical and experimental approach.

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2015-09-28 → 2017-09-27
EU contribution
€183,455
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Results in brief

POLYmer-COntrolled Mesocrystal application-oriented Production: a combined theoretical and experimental approach.

Mesocrystals (MCs) are a relatively new class of materials with superb potential in many applications e.g. photocatalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, fibre optics, sensors, bioimplants, etc. MCs are best viewed as ordered assemblies (superstructures) of individual single crystals, each of which often have critical dimensions of the order of nanometres. Such structures are common in nature and in recent years chemists have developed routes to, and some models of, MC formation. At the start of POLYCOMP though approaches to mesocrystal (MC) formation were still largely ad hoc and thus many of the applications of these fascinating materials detailed above remained largely unachievable. The principle underlying reason for this is that complex MC formation processes were (and in many cases still are) too poorly understood. Based on natural crystallisation phenomena, chemists had developed a working model of MC formation whereby polymers can be used to form organised inorganic structures. This said, the shape, period, size and morphology of self-organized structures (MCs) generated in this manner show strong structural dependence upon the polymer used. As its overall objective POLYCOMP sought to address this issue by focussing on a well-studied system, formation of NH4TiOF3 MCs and their subsequent thermally-mediated transition into TiO2 MCs. A better understanding of how to form MCs is important for society because of the long term promise they offer. This potential is based on the fact that although they are micro/macroscopic materials they have the potential to possess the properties of their constituent nano-sized building blocks. Such properties include unique light emitting properties (cf quantum dots ), superparamagnetism (cf Fe3O4 nanoparticles ) etc. Consequently, there are myriad potential high tech applications possible including in: photocatalysis, Li-ion battery and electrode applications, photovoltaics (especially generation3 cells), sensors, low energy lighting systems, etc.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

POLYmer-COntrolled Mesocrystal Production (POLYCOMP) aims to develop an intimate understanding of the underlying mechanisms of mesocrystal formation. This in turn will lead to the development of new mesocrystals with controlled morphologies and thus optimised properties. Mesocrystals have only very recently been described and are best viewed as an entirely new class of material. As such these unique substances have the potential to revolutionise materials/devices containing inorganic components. Applications are myriad and include building materials, such as concrete, with vastly greater compression strengths (in theory at least, the heights of concrete buildings could be increased from 500m to 15km!), solar cells with far higher solar harvesting efficiencies, new biomimetic materials, e.g. for use in joint replacement procedures, and electronic devices where size-dependent nanoparticle-like properties, e.g. superparamagnetism, are retained in macroscopic-sized materials enabling easier manufacture of components such as computer memory, quantum dot-based LEDs, etc. Currently approaches to mesocrystal formation are somewhat ad hoc and these kinds of application remain largely unachievable. The principle underlying reason for this is that mesocrystal formation processes are often still too poorly understood. POLYCOMP will remove this bottleneck to mesocrystal exploitation by focusing directly on developing a generic understanding of mesocrystal formation processes. Such an approach is thus clearly directly relevant to the EU’s mission to advance knowledge and technology in areas such as construction, electronics and energy.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

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Data: CORDIS, © European Union