What’s EspLORE?
EspLORE – Extending the Science Perspectives of linear wires Of carbon atoms from fundamental Research to Emerging materials is a project of Politecnico di Milano coordinated by Prof. Carlo S. Casari and funded with about 2 milions euros for 5 years (2017-2022) by the European Reseach Council – ERC in the Consolidator Grant scheme. The core concept of EspLORE is to exploit the present fundamental knowledge of carbon-atom wires as isolated molecules/nanostructures to explore the applied science and engineering of new materials to fill the large existing gap between basic science and engineering.
What are sp-Carbon wires?
Carbon-atom wires, based on sp-hybridization, are the ultimate 1-dimensional carbon nanostructures (1-atom diameter) with functional properties strongly dependent on the wire length and termination. The design and control of the wire structure opens the way to build materials with tunable properties, which is at present a largely unexplored topic.