News

EspLORE @NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Ultrafast coherent manipulation of free electrons via quantum interaction with shaped optical fields” given by Giovanni Vanacore from the University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan (Italy) When: Tuesday 15th November 2022 at 14.30 (CET) Where: in presence at Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Vanacore-NanoLab Talk-2022

New paper on Nature Communications

New paper published reporting results of the EspLORE project. Carbon atomic wires properties have been unveiled by Synchrotron- based UV resonance Raman in a collaboration between Dept. of Energy and Dept. of Chemistry, Materials and Chem Eng. of Politecnico di Milano and IUVS beamline of ELETTRA  Synchrotron in Trieste. Electron-phonon coupling and vibrational properties of size-selected linear carbon chains by resonance Raman scattering P. Marabotti, M. Tommasini, C. Castiglioni, P. Serafini, S. Peggiani, M. Tortora, B. Rossi, A. Li Bassi, V. Russo, C. S. Casari Nature Communications 13: 5052 (2022) https://materialscommunity.springernature.com/posts/the-resonant-raman-spectroscopy-of-carbon-atomic-wires

EspLORE @ ECOSS35

The 35th European Conference on Surface Science which will take place at the University of Luxembourg, Belval Campus, Luxembourg, from the 29th of August  to the 2nd of September 2022. The EspLORE team participated with an oral contribution:  Talk: Synthesis and properties of 1D and 2D Graphdiyne nanostructures on metals Talk: Structure, electronic and vibrational properties of graphdiyne nanostructures synthesized on noble metal surfaces   Presenter: Dr. Francesco Tumino   Authors: Francesco Tumino, Paolo D’Agosta, Andrea Li Bassi, Valeria Russo, Simona Achilli, Guido Fratesi, Nicola Manini, Giovanni Onida, Alessio Orbelli Biroli, Wei Xu, Carlo Casari   Download abstract   ECOSS is a traditional annual meeting directed jointly by the Surface Science Division of the International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications (IUVSTA) and the Surface and Interface Section of the European Physical Society (EPS). https://ecoss2022.uni.lu/

New Results! Paper published on Carbon

New paper published reporting results of the EspLORE project. The formation of  carbon atomic wires in liquid has been investigated in situ by Raman spectroscopy (i.e. SERS) during the laser ablation process. In situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to investigate polyyne formation during pulsed laser ablation in liquid P.Marabotti, S.Peggiani, A.Facibeni, P.Serafini, A.Milani, V.Russo, A.Li Bassi, C.S.Casari Carbon 189, 219-229 (2022)

NanoLab Talks 2021 summary

In 2021 we had 15 talks from Italian and international speakers. We strongly believe in the importance of spreading knowledge and sharing ideas for the advancement of science and for the formation of young people. This is why we organize the NanoLab Talks as periodic seminars within the activities of the NanoLab group at the Department of Energy at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. The NanoLab talks are open to everyone and are given by experts from academy, research centers and private companies on Education, Science and Technology. The topics cover different aspects of Physics, Engineering, Material Science, Nanotechnology, Chemistry and Education to a target audience composed by master thesis students, PhDs, post docs, technicians, researchers and academics. We started in 2018 and up to know we were honored to host 67 speakers presenting their research at the Nanolab Talks. In 2021 we had 15 speakers with average attendance of about 40 people. We adopted hybrid mode, in presence and in distance when possible due to Covid-19 restrictions trying to come back to the human contact that is fundamental for networking and sharing of ideas. If you want to have a look on the talks in 2021, the book of abstracts…

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Organic Thin-Film Transistors: from organic semiconductors to 2D materials” given by Dr. Stefano Casalini from Università degli Studi di Padova When: Tuesday 14th December 2021 at 11.30 (CET) Where: In teleconference and in presence (the link is on the abstract) NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project.  

EspLORE at NINE – Nanoscience Innovation and Nanotechnology Engineering

Talk: Materiali lineari a base di carbonio e materiali 2D: i progetti attivi nel gruppo di ricerca del NanoLab (in Italian) 13 December 2021 at Politecnico di Milano The talk follows the invitation by NINE – Nanoscience Innovation and Nanotechnology Engineering the students association on Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano to speka about current research at NanoLab. The talk was jointly given by Andrea Li Bassi focusing on 2D Materials and by Carlo Casari focusing on materials based on linear carbon wires. For more information about NINE look here

Winners of the XIII edition of PoliHub Switch2Product Innovation Challenge

With the project ENIGMA we won the innovation challenge Switch2Product (S2P) by PoliHub (XIII edition) with a prize of € 30.000. The team ENIGMA is composed by Sonia Peggiani, Alessandro Vidale, Anna Facibeni and Carlo Casari members of the EspLORE team. The project is the outcome of the EspLORE activity and of the ERC Proof-of-Concept project PROTECHT (PoC-PROTECHT – Grant N°875268) funded to explore possible markets for scientific results of teh EspLORE project. Look at the news on the Department of Energy website (in italian)  

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Nonlinear optics in atomically thin materials” given by Prof. Giancarlo Soavi from the Institute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena (Germany) When: Tuesday 23rd November 2021 at 11.00 (CET) Where: In teleconference and in presence (the link is on the abstract) NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project.  

Welcome Simone as a new PhD student @ EspLORE

We welcome on board Simone Melesi as a new PhD student working on EspLORE project. Simone Melesi was born in 1996 in Lecco, Italy. He is a PhD student in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology since November 2021. He obtained his Master’s degree in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in June 2020 with a thesis project on new polymer-protein functionalized electrospun membranes suitable for sensing of common bio-targets of great interest for biomedical applications. His main interest is the stabilization and characterization of sp-hybridized carbon chains embedded into polymer matrixes (i.e., electrospun nanofibers, spin-coated films). PhD project: Production and characterization of smart nanocomposites for energy applications: polymer-dispersed functional carbon-based materials.  

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Ti3C2Tx MXene-Epoxy composite for Joule Heating Application” given by Dr. Subrata  Ghosh from the School of Materials, The University of Manchester and Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milan When: Tuesday 26th October 2021 at 10.00 (CET) Where: In teleconference and in presence (the link is on the abstract) NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project.  

New results! paper published on Carbon Trends

New paper published reporting results of the EspLORE project. A series of push-pull caron atomic wires has been investigated to unveil their non linear optical proeprties. Thsi work is a collaboration between the EspLORE team of Politecnico di Milano and the group of S. Szafert at University of Wroclaw (Poland). Vibrational and nonlinear optical properties of amine-capped push-pull polyynes by infrared and Raman spectroscopy Pietro Marabotti, Alberto Milani, Andrea Lucotti, Luigi Brambilla, Matteo Tommasini, Chiara Castiglioni, Patrycja Mecik, Bartłomiej Pigulski, Sławomir Szafert, Carlo Spartaco Casari Carbon Trends 5 (2021) 100115

EspLORE @ Molecular Simulation and Engineering workshop in Milan

The fourth edition of the Molecular Simulation and Engineering workshop has been held at Politecnico di Milano on Friday, 24 September 2021. Patrick Serafini presnted a poster showing some results of the EspLORE project. Title: Topology-dependent properties of hybrid sp-sp2 2D carbon materials beyond graphene Authors: P. Serafini, A. Milani, M. Tommasini, D.M. Proserpio, C.S. Casari https://sites.google.com/site/molsimeng/home/molsimeng-20-21

EspLORE @ SIF2021

The 107° National Congress of the Italian Physical Society (SIF) has been held in telematic mode in the period 13-17 Spetember 2021. The EspLORE team participated with two oral contributions:  Talk: 2D carbon networks beyond graphene: Graphdiyne nanostructures from theory to experiments. Speaker: Carlo Casari  Authors: Casari C.S., Rabia A., Tumino F., Milani A., Serafini P., Russo V., Li Bassi A., Achilli S., Fratesi G., Proserpio D.M., Xu W. Talk: Pulsed laser deposition and nanoscale investigation of two-dimensional MoS2.Speaker:Francesco Tumino Authors: Tumino F., D’Agosta P., Russo V., Li Bassi A., Casari C The Annual National Congress which gathers about 600 Italian physicists for a whole week, represents the meeting point of our scientific community. In spite of the various cultural and scientific facets of contemporary physics, the world of Italian researchers and physicists finds here its common background. The Congress is composed of Plenary Sessions and 7 Parallel Sessions. https://www.sif.it/attivita/congresso/107

Welcome Subrata as a new PostDoc @ EspLORE

We welcome on board Subrata Ghosh as a new Postdoc working on EspLORE project. Subrata grew up in Kolaghat, India. He received his Ph.D. in 2016 from Homi Bhaba National Institute, India for the thesis on “Vertical Graphene Nanosheets: Growth, Structure and Electrochemical Performance”. He has postdoctoral experiences from the University of Manchester, UK (02/2019-02/2021); Chungbuk National University, South Korea (11/2017-12/2018) and Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, India (12/2016-11/2017). Currently, he is a Seal of Excellence Awardee and continuing his Postdoc at the Politecnico de Milano, Italy. His research interests are designing nanostructures (nanocarbons, 2D materials, metal oxides and their composites), understanding the growth mechanism, and exploring them for electrochemical energy storage, electrothermal and wastewater applications. He has publications in high impact SCI-indexed journals (Adv. Energy Mater, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2D Mater., J. Appl. Phys., etc.) and contributed in book chapters. He gave several invited talks in various platforms and presented his research in many international conferences. He also served as a peer reviewer for ACS, IOP, RSC, Elsevier and MDPI journals. In spare time, he likes playing cricket, football and table tennis, cooking, gardening, watching televisions and travelling Personal homepage: https://sites.google.com/view/subrata-ghosh/ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5189-7853

Our paper on the cover page

  Our paper is on the cover page of the Journal of Physical Chemistry C (Image by Lia Tagliavini). An algorithm is proposed to systematically generate graphdiyne structures. Quantum-chemical calculations are used to study structural and electronic properties of these 2D carbon materials. We demonstrated how the properties can be tailored by the structure topology, providing guidelines for the design of novel sp–sp2 2D carbon nanomaterials. Designing All Graphdiyne Materials as Graphene Derivatives: Topologically Driven Modulation of Electronic Properties Patrick Serafini, Alberto Milani*, Davide M. Proserpio, and Carlo S. Casari* The Journal of Physical Chemistry C  2021, 125, 33, 18456-18466

EspLORE @ International Conference on Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopy (ICAVS) 2021

We will be present at the International Conference on Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopy (ICAVS) 2021 with a contribution showing results of the project EspLORE: Pre-recorded Poster Title: “In operando investigation of polyyne formation during pulsed laser ablation in liquid by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy” Authors: Pietro Marabotti, Sonia Peggiani, Anna Facibeni, Andrea Li Bassi, Valeria Russo, Carlo Casari Presenter: Pietro Marabotti Monday, 23th August, 2021 – Thursday, 26th August, 2021 The International Conference on Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopy (ICAVS) 2021 will take place online on 23-26 August 2021. ICAVS 2021 is dedicated to advances in all areas of vibrational spectroscopy and is an opportunity to discuss and exchange cutting edge knowledge and ideas in vibrational spectroscopy. Conference website https://icavs.org/gb/

New Graduations @ EspLORE

Congratulations to new graduate students in Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano! Today two students got their Master Degree working on EspLORE topics: Gabriele Sampietro graduated with a thesis entitled: Synthesis and characterization of two-dimensional molybdenum disulphide nanostructures and hybrid heterostructure on gold and graphite substrates. Supervisor: Andrea Li Bassi Co-Supervisor: F. Tumino Hector Sanmanuel Torres graduated with a thesis entitled: Synthesis of CAB electrospun nanofibers embedding carbon atomic wires.. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisor: C. Bertarelli    

NanoLab Talk @ EspLORE

Talk entitled: “On-surface synthesis of 2D materials with Dirac cones and semiconducting properties” given by prof. Giorgio Contini from Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR) and Department of Physics, University Tor Vergata, Roma, Italy When: Tuesday 20th July 2021 at 16.00 (CEST) Where: In teleconference (the link is on the abstract) NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Abstract: Contini-Nanolab Talk-2021

New PhD graduate at EspLORE

Andi Rabia successfully defended his PhD thesis work entitled: “On-surface fabrication and molecular-scale investigation of 1D and 2D carbon nanostructures based on sp-sp2 hybridization”. On 14th of July 2021 he discussed his work in front of the commission made by prof. M. Sambi, prof. D. Margarone and prof. F. Donati in teleconference mode. The final result is the following:  The examination committee unanimously evaluates his work with the following score: LODE. The PhD degree with honours comes after 3 years of intense work done by Andi in the framework of the EspLORE project.

EspLORE @ the International Conference on Nanoscience + Technology (ICN+T) 2021

We will be present at the International Conference on Nanoscience + Technology (ICN+T) 2021 with a contribution showing results of the project EspLORE: Pre-recorded Oral Title: “Synthesis and characterization of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures on metallic substrates” Authors: P. D’Agosta, F. Tumino, V. Russo, A. Li Bassi, C.S. Casari Presenter: Paolo D’Agosta Pre-recorded Oral Title: “Synthesis and ambient stability of single-layer MoS2 on noble metal surfaces” Authors: F. Tumino, C. Grazianetti, C. Martella, M. Ruggeri, V. Russo, A. Li Bassi, A. Molle, C.S. Casari Presenter: Francesco Tumino Monday, 12th July, 2021 – Thursday, 15th July, 2021 The International Conference on Nanoscience + Technology (ICN+T) 2021 will take place online as a live-streamed and interactive event on 12-15 July 2021. The conference, physically held in Vancouver but participated from different time zones, will provide a forum for researchers in all areas of nanoscience to present their work, offering live interactive sessions with panels and Q&A, alongside an on-demand platform for pre-recorded talks and posters. ICN+T 2021 will report on and discuss current research and emerging technologies on scanning probe microscopy, artificial lattices, low-dimensional materials, energy storage and quantum information. Conference website

EspLORE @ the 4th International Conference on Applied Surface Science (ICASS) 2021

We will be present at the 4th International Conference on Applied Surface Science (ICASS) 2021 with a contribution showing results of the project EspLORE: Poster Title: “2D transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures grown on metallic substrates: morphology, structure and vibrational properties” Authors: P. D’Agosta, F. Tumino, V. Russo, A. Li Bassi, C.S. Casari Presenter: Paolo D’Agosta Tuesday, 29th June, 2021 TIME: 11:15 – 12:15 CEST The 4th International Conference on Applied Surface Science (ICASS) will take place online as a live-streamed and interactive event on 29-30 June 2021. The conference is organized by the journal Applied Surface Science and will provide a forum for researchers in all areas of applied surface science to present their work. ICASS will report on and discuss current research on the role and use of surfaces in chemical and physical processes, related to catalysis, electrochemistry, energy, new/functional materials and nanotechnology. Also, the various techniques and characterization methods will be discussed. Conference website

EspLORE @ NanoTech France 2021

We will be present at Nanotech/Biotech France 2021 and Joint Virtual Conferences Nanotech France 2021 with a talk showing results of the project EspLORE: Talk: “Optimization of the terminations and stability of polyynes through ns-pulsed laser ablation in organic solvents” Speaker: Pietro Marabotti Jun 23, 202106:15PM – 06:30PM Nanotech/Biotech France 2021 and Joint Virtual Conferences Nanotech France 2021, the 6th edition of the international conference and exhibition, brings together leading scientists, researchers, engineers, practitioners, technology developers and policy makers in nanotechnology to exchange information on their latest research progress and innovation. The conference covers all frontier topics in nanotechnology. The conference includes plenary lectures, Keynote lectures and invited talks by eminent personalities from around the world in addition to contributed papers both oral and poster presentations. Conference website      

Sonia Wins the best Poster presentation at E-MRS 2021

Sonia Peggiani is the winner of the best Poster at Symposium H of E-MRS Spring Meeting 2021. The Poster entitled: Control of polyynes length and terminations by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation in different organic solvents and is authored by S. Peggiani, P. Marabotti, R. A. Lotti, A. Facibeni, P. Serafini, A. Milani, V. Russo, A. Li Bassi and C. S. Casari. The Poster presents our latest results of the EspLORE activity about the synthesis of carbon atomic wires by pulsed laser ablation in liquid to control size and termination of the wires.

EspLORE @ Office for Sustainable Actions Università di Pavia

We were honoured to speak at the webinar on novel materials for energy organized by the Office for Sustainable actions of University of Pavia. The webinar has been chaired by the Prorector for the Third Mission prof. Hellas Cena. We presented an overview of some research ongoing withon EspLORE: Novel 1D and 2D carbon materials: from theory to applications by Carlo S. Casari The webinar attended by more than 50 students has seen interesting perspectives by Giulia Grancini from University of Pavia and by Francesco Bonaccorso Scientific Director at BeDimensional.  

Carlo S. Casari selected as outstanding peer reviewer for Nanoscale Advances

Carlo S. Casari has been recognised as outstanding peer reviewer for RSC Nanoscale Advances in 2020. Every year The Royal Society of Chemistry – RSC highlights its outstanding peer reviewers. Based on the number, timeliness and quality of reports completed over that year, each receives a certificate in recognition of their contribution. Out of over 51,000 peer reviewers from more than 120 countries in 2020, only 500 are recognised in this way. see more on RSC website

EspLORE at “Lorenzo Respighi” High School in Piacenza

Sonia Peggiani, Post Doc at the Department of Energy at Politecnico di Milano working in the EspLORE team, will speak at fifth year students of Liceo Scientifico (High School) Lorenzo Respighi in Piacenza (Italy) about her university study path, her experience as PhD student in STEM and her actual research activity . The meeting in teleconference is scheduled on Thursday 3rd June 10:45 AM – 11:30 AM.

EsPLORE @ EMRS Spring Meeting

We will be present at the European Materials Research Society EMRS Spring Meeting 2021 from 31 May to 3 June on online platform with contributions showing results of the project EspLORE: Oral: “Laser ablation for in situ synthesis of carbon-atom wires in polymer matrices” Speaker: Sonia Peggiani 02/06/21 from 10.15 to 10.30 Poster: “Control of polyynes length and terminations by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation in different organic solvents” Presenter: Sonia Peggiani on 01/06/21 from 17.30 to 17.33 Each year, E-MRS organizes, co-organizes, sponsors or co-sponsors numerous scientific events and meetings. At the heart of the meetings portfolio are the E-MRS Spring and Fall Meetings. The major society conference, the E-MRS Spring Meeting, is organized every year in May or June and offers on average 25 topical symposia. It is widely recognized as being of the highest international significance and is the greatest of its kind in Europe with about 2,500 attendees every year. Based on the same model, the E-MRS Fall Meeting, is organized every year in September and consists of 20 topical symposia. Both conferences are augmented by an exhibition of products and services of interest to the participants. conference website: https://www.european-mrs.com/meetings/2021-spring-meeting-0  

New Results: how conjugation modifies properties in 2D carbon structures beyond graphene

We investigated how the properties of graphdiynes (2D carbon crystals) depend on the topology of sp and sp2 carbon connections. By a theoretical work we have outlined the role of the structure of molecular fragments in the final properties of extended sp-sp2 carbon crystals. By means of quantum calculations based on density functinal theory (DFT) we have analyzed how topology induce different conjugation effects and hence different properties such as the HOMO-LUMO gap. By using a parameter to evaluate the degree of conjugation we find a nice correlation between Raman vibrational frequencies and HOMA. The work has been published on Carbon and has been done within the EspLORE ERC project and involving team members from the Department of Energy and from the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering ‘G. Natta’ of Politecnico di Milano. Download the paper published on Carbon (free download for 50 days)   

New Graduations @ EspLORE

Congratulations to new graduate students in Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano! Today three students got their Master Degree working on EspLORE topics: Marco Benoliel graduated with a thesis entitled: Investigation of naphthalene and its hydrogenated derivatives in the formation process of polyynes by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisor: P. Marabotti Anna Sacchi graduated with a thesis entitled: Carbon atomic wires-based nanocomposites: Single step synthesis from polymeric solutions and in situ Raman characterization. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisor: S. Peggiani Alessandro Zalla graduated with a thesis entitled: Quantum chemical simulations of the interaction of polyynes with silver nanoparticles. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisors: A. MIlani, P. Serafini

Just Accepted paper: investigating the hydrophilic chararcter of single layer MoS2 grown on metal substrates

  We investigated the interface between Single-Layer MoS2 and the silver surface to unveil ageing effects related. Monolayer MoS2 has been deposued on silver by pulse laser deposition, the effects after exposure to atmosphere, humidity and oxygen have been monitored by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The observed effects are non permanent and storage in vacuum can restore the as deposited conditions. A capping layer made by polimer is able to prevent the aging effects. The work has been accepted for publication on the Journal of Physicsl Chemistry C and results from a strict collaboration between NanoLab at Politecnico di Milano and MDM laboratory at IMM-CNR Agrate  Brianza under the framework of two ERC Consolidator projects: EspLORE and  Xfab coordinated by A. Molle (Agreement No. 772261, website: xfab.mdm.imm.cnr.it).  

EspLORE @ VISPEC online

On 23rd of April 2021 We were present at VIPSEC online with a talk: Raman Spectroscopy of Carbon Atomic Wires given by Carlo S. Casari. VISPEC online is an e-meeting opportunity for researchers interested in vibrational spectroscopies and their manifold applications. VISPEC online is an ideal bridge between the latest VISPEC2019 conference held in Brescia and the next VISPEC conference to be held in Perugia. Through this initiative we wish to stimulate scientific discussions on vibrational spectroscopy, encourage collaborations, and welcome those interested to approach such spectroscopic techniques. VISPEC-online_-Locandina_23-aprile_eng

EspLORE@ELETTRA Synchrotron

A beamtime experiment has been approved at ELETTRA Synchrotron light source in Trieste (Italy). The experiment will be done at the IUVS beamline from 8th to 13th of February. Pietro Marabotti, Valeria Russo and Carlo Casari will be there with samples produced within the EspLORE project for advanced characterization techniques available at ELETTRA. https://www.elettra.trieste.it/index.html

Welcome Andrea to the team

We welcome on board Andrea Macrelli as a new PhD student working on EspLORE project. Andrea Macrelli was born in 1996 in Melzo (Milano), Italy. He is a PhD student in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology since february 2021. He received his Master’s degree in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano in December 2020, with a thesis on the application of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) to the detection of anti-epileptic drugs using paper-based silver sensors. He is mainly interested in the synthesis by both chemical and physical methods of nanostructures for energy and sensing applications, including carbon nanostructures. PhD project: synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials for energy conversion and storage, especially for Li-ion and post Li-ion batteries electrodes.

Lecture at the Prof. Dasgupta Memorial Workshop

EspLORE will be present at the prof. N.N. Dasgupta Memorial Workshop organized by the Electron Microscopy Society of India. A lecture will be given by C. Casari with the title: “Exploring new materials from carbyne to 2D carbon beyond graphene”. Further info on the flyer here The workshop has been broadcasted on YouTube with more than 2500 views, you can watch it at this link: https://youtu.be/iMXm97uq3_8

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Chemistry in the World’s Tiniest Test Tube” given by prof. Andrei N. Khlobystov from University of Nottingham  When: Tuesday 2nd of Febraury 2021 at 11.00 (CET) Where: In teleconference (the link is on the abstract) NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Abstract: Khlobystov-Nanolab Talk-2021

NanoLab Talk 2020

In 2020 NanoLab talks have been organized passing to a teleconference modality due to Covid-19 restrictions. We had 13 talks from Italian and international speakers. If you want to have a look on the talks in 2020 the book of abstracts is avalible here: NanoLab Talk abstracts 2020

New Results: 2D carbon network featuring appealing properties

We have synthesized a 2D carbon network as a graphdiyne-like structure. The material grown on a gold substrate has been investigate by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy allowing to image at molecular-scale resolution. We were able to observe the Raman spectrum giving combined information on the local bond structure. The system shows appealing properties due to the interaction with the gold substrate. This work is the result of  a collaboration between EspLORE, University of Milan and Tonji Unversity, Shangai (P.R. China). The paper has been published on ACS Applied Nanomaterials and is available here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsanm.0c02665

Welcome Paolo to the team

We welcome on board Paolo D’Agosta as a new PhD student working on EspLORE project. Paolo D’Agosta was born in 1994 in Catania, Italy. He is a PhD student in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology since 2020. He obtained his Master’s degree cum laude in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology in October 2020 with a thesis focused on the synthesis and characterization of two-dimensional (2D) MoS2-WS2 heterostructures through scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). His main interests concern the investigation of structural, electronic and vibrational properties of 2D materials. PhD project: pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of diverse 2D materials and heterostructures characterized by means of STM/STS, Raman spectroscopy and low-electron energy diffraction (LEED).

EspLORE on the Cover Page

Our paper: In situ synthesis of polyynes in a polymer matrix via pulsed laser ablation in a liquid by S. Peggiani et al. has been selected for the inside front cover page of the November 2020 issue of RSC Materials Advances. We thank Lia Tagliavini for the graphical realization representing the nanocpmpoiste structure and the ablation process for its realization.

New results: synthesis of polyynes with controlled length and termination

Polyynes have been synthesized by laser ablation in liquids in different solvents, carbon atomic wires up to 22 carbon atoms in length are observed. The terminations are driven by the preesence of the solvent. The work has been published on Phys Chem Chem Phys. S. Peggiani, P. Marabotti, R.A. Lotti, A. Facibeni, P. Serafini, A. Milani, V. Russo, A. Li Bassi and C.S. Casari, Solvent-dependent termination, size and stability in polyynes synthesized via laser ablation in liquids, Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys. 22, 26312 (2020); DOI: 10.1039/d0cp04132g   Open Acces

Our Paper selected in the 2020 HOT Materials Advances

Our paper: In situ synthesis of polyynes in a polymer matrix by pulsed laser ablation in liquid, by S. Peggiani et al. published on Materials Advances, DOI: 10.1039/D0MA00545B has been selected by the Editors as a 2020 HOT Materials Advances article. Please find the collection, including our publication, here: Materials Advances HOT Article Collection 2020

EspLORE @ Virtual SPM Workshop

EspLORE will be present at the Virtual SPM workshop on Thursday June 18th 2020. We will present two posters on EspLORE results: 2D materials and heterostructures on metal substrates: a combined Pulsed Laser Deposition and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy approach by Francesco Tumino, Politecnico di Milano   On-surface synthesis of low-dimensional sp-sp2 hybrid carbon systems on Au(111): atomic-scale structure, electronic and vibrational properties by Andi Rabia, Politecnico di Milano   https://sites.google.com/view/virtualspm/home

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Confined one-dimensional linear carbon chains” given by prof. Lei Shi from Sun Yat-sen University (China)  When: Friday 12th of June 2020 at 11.00 (CET) Where: In teleconference (the link is on the abstract) NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Abstract: LeiShi-Nanolab Talk-2020    

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

We restarted the NanoLab Talks in teleconference with a talk entitled: “Recent advances on sp-carbon nanostructures: modeling of structural, electronic and vibrational properties” given by Alberto Milani.

PoC PROTECHT project at the start

The project PROTECHT has started on 1st of Msrch 2020. PROTECHT is a ERC Proof-of-Concept project granted with the aim at exploiting EspLORE research outputs for possible business opportunities. In a 18 months activity funded with € 150.000 PROTECHT will exploit novel anticounterfeiting solutions for identity documents.

New Results: a transistor made of carbon atomic wires

Field effect transistor (FET) made of cumulene like carbon atomic wires has been fabricated for the first time. Our proof-of-concept FET device works at room temperature, is easily fabricated by solution drop casting and paves the way for exploiting sp-carbon atomic wires as active electronic materials. The work has been published on The Journal of Chemical Physics Letters (ACS) and is the result of a collaboration between the the ERC HEROIC team of Mario Caironi at the Center for Nano Science and Technology CNST of Italian Institute of Technology IIT@POLIMI (Italy), the ERC EspLORE team at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (Italy),  and the group of Rik Tykwinski at University of Alberta, Canada. The article is available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c00141

EspLORE @ IWEPNM Winter School

Due to the recent risks related with the Covid-19 our attendance to the conference has been cancelled. We will be present at the 34th International Winterschool on Electronic Properties of Novel Materials (IWEPNM)   in Kirchberg in Tirol, Austria from 7 to 14 march 2020 with two contributuions. Aberto Milani: From 1D carbyne to hybrid 2D sp-sp2 carbon-based nanostructures: a density functional theory investigation of structural, electronic and vibrational properties Carlo S. Casari: Raman spectroscopy of carbon atomic wires interacting with metal nanoparticles and surfaces The IWEPNM is devoted to recent advances in the research field of “Novel materials”. Recently the conferences focused on carbon nanotubes, graphene, 2D materials and related nanostructures and created an international forum to discuss the current advances in the field. The scientific program is composed of invited research lectures and dedicated poster sessions.

MSCA opportunity @ EspLORE

A new opportunity for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) individual fellowship 2020 is open at the EspLORE project. Politecnico di Milano is launching the third edition of the Master Class (MSCA EF MASTER CLASS 2020 @ POLIMI) for potential applicants to the MSCA – European Individual Fellowship call 2020. Look for “Development of sp-carbon linear nanostructures and functional nanomaterials” in the framework of the ERC EspLORE. The aim of the call is to attract and train young and talented researchers to successfully applying for MSCA European Fellowship with the Politecnico di Milano as host institution. Application deadline: April 24th 2020 The selected candidates will be invited to Politecnico di Milano for 3 days (10-12 June 2020) to attend the MSCA MASTER CLASS to meet their supervisors, to visit laboratories and facilities, to attend an in depth training course on the proposal writing and to make use of full support in the application writing process by POLIMI advisors. Further info here: MSCA EF MASTER CLASS 2020 @ POLIMI

EspLORE @ University of Padova

A seminar entitled “Carbon atomic wires: from carbyne to 2D structures beyond graphene” will be given by C.S. Casari at the Department of Chemical Sciences DiSC, University of Padova on Monday 17th february 2020. The seminar is in the framework of a visit to prof. M. Sambi and his group to discuss possible collaborations. Download leaflet

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “In situ spectroscopies and imaging of Zn-air batteries” given by Benedetto Bozzini, Department of Energy Politecnico di Milano  When: Monday 11th of February 2020 at 14.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Bozzini-Nanolab Talk-2020

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Organic ultra-thin films grown on native silicon oxides with variable vacancy states: a Scanning Force Microscopy approach” was given today by Cristiano Albonetti, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (CNR-ISMN).

EspLORE @ ELETTRA Trieste

Francesco Tumino is now at Elettra, the third-generation Italian synchrotron radiation facility at Trieste, to participate to a beam time at SuperESRCA beam line to investigate 2D materials in the framework of a new collaboration. https://www.elettra.trieste.it/index.html

Graduations @ EspLORE

Congratulations to new graduate students in Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano! Today five students got their Master Degree working on EspLORE topics: Nicolò Bassi graduated with a thesis entitled: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Raman Spectroscopy of 2D sp-sp2 carbon structures synthesized on Au(111). Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisor: A. Rabia Riccardo Lotti graduated with a thesis entitled: sp-carbon chains by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid: Synthesis and Stability. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisor: S. Peggiani Marina Ruggeri graduated with a thesis entitled: Synthesis and characterization of two-dimensional materials on metallic substrates. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisors: C. Grazianetti, F. Tumino Clara Terranova graduated with a thesis entitled: Synthesis and Brillouin Spectroscopy investigation of polymer electrospun fibers embedding Carbon Atom Wires. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisors: C. Bertarelli, M.G. Beghi Bozhena Tsyupa graduated with a thesis entitled: Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles via Ablation in Liquid for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. Supervisor: C.S. Casari; Co-Supervisor: S. Peggiani

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Doped semiconductor nanocrystals as plasmonic materials for photonics and hot electron extraction” given by Francesco Scotognella, Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano  When: Monday 2nd of December at 15.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Scotognella-Nanolab Talk-2019

EspLORE per le materie STEM

Sonia Peggiani ha partecipato all’incontro ‘TECNOLOGIA’, sostantivo femminile. Una riflessione sul fascino e l’attualità degli studi scientifici e tecnologici presso l’Auditorium Gio Ponti Assolombarda, Via Pantano 9 – Milano martedì 26 novembre 2019 – 9.30-12.30  L’incontro ha l’obiettivo di stimolare il giovane pubblico verso il fascino e l’attualità degli studi scientifici e tecnologici – definiti con l’acronimo STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) – con particolare attenzione alla variabile di genere nei processi di scelta post-diploma. Attraverso la narrazione accattivante di giovani ricercatrici e testimonial d’impresa donna, l’evento si prefigge di scardinare alcuni cliché tipici delle materie STEM (“non mi sento adeguato/a perché in matematica vado male/non mi piace”; “i lavori scientifici e tecnici sono noiosi e per niente creativi”; “sono solo materie e mestieri da maschi”) e di presentare alcuni àmbiti professionali di tipo aziendale che possano ‘ispirare’ le scelte post-diploma del giovane pubblico.   Particolarmente enfatizzata sarà la riflessione sulla valenza vocazionale delle discipline STEM (“ho scoperto che sono discipline e tipi di professioni che mi interessano e per i quali sono portato/a”) e la loro portata valoriale (“attraverso gli studi scientifici posso aspirare a lavori e professioni con cui posso contribuire al benessere e la salute delle persone, alla tutela dell’ambiente, all’autorealizzazione attraverso la…

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Plasmonic titanium nitride thin films and nanostructures for light-to-heat energy conversion” given by Luca Mascaretti, Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic  When: Monday 25th of November at 15.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Mascaretti-Nanolab Talk-2019

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Organic molecules at surfaces: insight from theoretical core-level spectroscopy” given by Guido Fratesi, Department of Physics, Università Statale di Milano When: Monday 18th of October at 15.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Fratesi-Nanolab Talk-2019

new PhD student @ EspLORE

We welcome on board Pietro Marabotti as a new PhD student at the EsplORE team working on syntheiss and characterization of carbon atomic wires. Pietro Marabotti was born in 1994 in Bergamo, Italy. He is a PhD student in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology since 2019. He received his Master’s degree in Engineering Physics at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in April 2019 with a thesis on magnetic dynamics of calcium iridate CaIrO3 probed by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). His main interests are the synthesis of sp-hybridized carbon chains by means of physical methods and their further characterization. PhD project: Physical synthesis of polyynes by pulsed laser ablation and arc discharge in liquid and characterization of their optical and electronic properties by means of absorption, Raman and infrared spectroscopies.

EspLORE @ Symposium on Progress in Organic Optoelectronics & Energy Conversion

Symposium on Progress in Organic Optoelectronics & Energy Conversion We will be present at the Symposium on Progress in Organic Optoelectronics & Energy Conversion that will be held in Malaga (Spain) on December 12th/13thwith with results of the project EspLORE: Invited Talk  Presenter: Alberto Milani Title: Recent advances on the molecular modeling of sp-carbon based nanostructures: structural, electronic and vibrational properties   Conference website

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talks

Talk entitled: “Mev-ion-beam Lithography in Diamond for Applications in Bio-sensing” given by Federico Picollo, Physics Department, University of Torino When: Monday 4th of November at 15.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Picollo-Nanolab Talk-2019

EspLORE @ NanoLabTalk

Talk entitled: “Atomic and molecular diffusion on solid surfaces” given by Andrea Picone, Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano When: Monday 14th of October at 15.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interest for the EspLORE project. Picone-Nanolab Talk-2019

EspLORE all’incontro Scuola-Politecnico

Martedì 8 ottobre 2019, dalle 14.00 alle 18.00 presso l’Auditorium del Politecnico di Milano (Via Pascoli, 53)  si svolgerà l’Incontro Scuola-Politecnico, rivolto a dirigenti scolastici, docenti di materia e docenti referenti per l’orientamento in uscita delle scuole superiori. Sonia Peggiani sarà presente per l’intervento: ‘Le lauree STEM: orgoglio e pregiudizi’ con una testimonianza del suo percorso formativo. Clicca qui per maggiori informazioni      

Graduations @ EspLORE – Autumn 2019

Congratulations to new graduate student in Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano! Today two students working on EspLORE topics got their Master Degree: Gianmarco Cerrato graduated with a thesis entitled: Synthesis of polyynes through arc discharge in selected organic solvents Supervisor: C.S. Casari Co-Supervisor: S. Peggiani Tommaso Losi graduated with a thesis entitled: Field Effect Transistors Based on Sp2 – Sp Carbon Molecules Supervisor: C.S. Casari Co-Supervisor: M. Caironi

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Push-pull porphyrins: from NLO properties to photoelectrochemical cell applications” given by Alessio Orbelli Biroli, Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio Natta” CNR (CNR-SCITEC), SmartMatLab Centre, Milan When: Monday 7th of October at 15.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Orbelli-Nanolab Talk-2019

New Paper on long polymeric carbon wires

  We published a new paper showing scanning tunneling micrsocopy images and Raman spectra of long linear polymeric sp-sp2 carbo wires produced by on-surface synthesis on a gold surface. This work is the result of a collaboration between EspLORE at Politecnico di Milano, University of Milan and Tongji University, Shanghai. This article is published on Nanoscale (RSC – Royal Society of Chemistry). Title: Scanning tunneling microscopy and Raman spectroscopy of polymeric sp – sp2 carbon atomic wires synthesized on the Au(111) surface Authors: A. Rabia, F. Tumino, A. Milani, V. Russo, A. Li Bassi, S. Achilli, G. Fratesi, G. Onida, N. Manini, Q. Sun, W. Xu, C. S. Casari Full acces to the article here (open access) Nanoscale, 2019, DOI: 10.1039/C9NR06552K

EspLORE @ DCM2019

International Conference on Diamond and Carbon Materials We will be present at the 30th International Conference on Diamond and Carbon Materials DCM 8-12 September 2019 in Melia Lebreros, Seville, Spain with with results of the project EspLORE: Talk  Presenter: Sonia Peggiani Title: Polyynes embedded in poly(vinyl alcohol): a free-standing sp-carbon wires nanocomposite Thursday, 12 September 2019, 09:30-11:00 Poster Presenter: Patrick Serafini Title: Theoretical investigation of hybrid sp-sp2 carbon nanostructures: density functional theory simulations of structural, electronic and vibrational properties Tuesday, 10 September 2019, 18:15-20:00   Conference website

ERC Proof of Concept Grant – PROTECHT

A ERC Proof-of-Concept has been Granted to the project PROTECHT which is aimed at exploiting EspLORE research outputs for possible business opportunities. The European Research Council just awarded top-up funding totalling €9.3 million to 62 ERC grant holders via its Proof of Concept scheme. The grants will help them explore the commercial or societal potential of their ERC-funded discoveries. This latest batch of grants includes the 1000th project to receive Proof of Concept funding since the scheme started in 2011. Proof of Concept (PoC) grants, worth a maximum of €150,000 each, can be used for example to explore business opportunities, prepare patent applications or verify the practical viability of scientific concepts. Look here for details: https://erc.europa.eu/news/PoC-recipients-2019-second-round

Special issue on nanostructured Carbon

The special issue on “Carbon-Based Nanostructured Films” is  now open for submissions Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2020 This Special Issue of MDPI Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991) aims at presenting cutting-edge research on the synthesis, investigation and application of nanostructured carbon-based films. Topics cover physical deposition methods (e.g. PVD, PLD) and chemical synthesis (e.g. CVD) for the fabrication of novel carbon-based materials as well as novel approaches. The Special Issue will report advanced studies on all types of films and nanocomposites including those assembled from or containing carbon-based nanostructures of different dimensionalities (e.g. fullerenes, nanotubes, graphene, nanohorns) and hybridization (sp3, sp2 and sp). Guest Editors: Carlo S. Casari, Andrea Li Bassi More info

Contribution to Handbook of Graphene

EspLORE contributed to the  ‘Handbook of Graphene, Volume 3: Graphene-Like 2D Materials’, Edited by Mei Zhang,  Wiley ISBN: 978-1-119-46965-0 Chapter 10: Linear Carbon: From 1D Carbyne to 2D Hybrid sp-sp2 Nanostructures Beyond Graphene by A. Milani, A. Li Bassi, V. Russo, M. Tommasini and C.S. Casari This handbook is focused on Graphene-Like 2D Materials. The Handbook of Graphene, Volume 3 covers topics that include planar graphene superlattices; magnetic and optical properties of graphene materials with porous defects; and nanoelectronic application of graphyne and its structural derivatives.

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talks

Talk entitled: “Extended MoS2 monolayer growth using chemical vapor deposition on flat and patterned substrates” given by  Alessio Lamperti, CNR-IMM Italy When: Monday 15th of July at 14.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Lamperti-Nanolab Talk-2019

IUVSTA- Elsevier Student Award for IVC-21

Andi Rabia received the IUVSTA- Elsevier Student Award to attend IVC-21 the 21st International Vacuum Congress in july 1-5 in Malmo, Sweden. He will give a talk entitled: One-dimensional sp1-sp2 hybrid carbon systems on Au(111): atomic-scale structure, electronic and vibrational properties

EspLORE @ IVC-21

We will be present at IVC-21  21st International Vacuum Congress in Malmö, Sweden in July 1-5, 2019 with results of the project EspLORE: Invited Talk Presenter: Carlo S. Casari Title:Charge transfer effects in sp-carbon atomic wires Invited Talk Presenter: Francesco Tumino Title: Pulsed laser deposition and nanoscale investigation of two-dimensional nanocrystals on metal substrates Talk Presenter: Andi Rabia Title: One-dimensional sp1-sp2 hybrid carbon systems on Au(111): atomic-scale structure, electronic and vibrational properties 21st IVC Conference where advanced technology and materials research meet challenges in basic science as well as in industrial applications. The IVC-21 will be the world’s premier conference on key technologies that are required to address many of the world’s Grand Challenges, including in energy, health, water cleaning, climate, materials resources and future transportation technology. IVC has an almost 60 years long history of being one of the worlds most recognized conferences and the meeting place where the most recent advances in science and technology are presented and discussed. IVC-21 will thus be a combination of IVC with ICSS-17 (17th International Conference on Surface Science), the ICN+T 2019 (The 2019 International Conference on Nanoscience + Technology), and NanoForum 2019. IVC-21 will be held in Malmö in southern Sweden,…

EspLORE @ NanoLab talk

Talk entitled: “Earth-abundant Metal-metalloid Materials as Efficient Oxygen-Evolving Electrocatalyst” given by Jean Marie Vianney Nsanzimana, School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University NTU, Singapore When: Wednesday 12th of June at 11.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Nsanzimana-Nanolab Talk-2019

EspLORE @NanoTech France

We will be present at the 5th edition of Nanotech France 2019 International Conference and Exhibition in 26 – 28 June 2019 Paris – France with results of the project EspLORE: Talk Presenter: Sonia Peggiani Title: Spectroscopic studies of the stability of size-selected polyynes synthesized by Pulsed Laser Ablation in water Nanotech France 2019, the 5th edition of the international conference and exhibition, brings together leading scientists, researchers, engineers, practitioners, technology developers and policy makers in nanotechnology to exchange information on their latest research progress and innovation. Participants from the top international academic, government and private industry labs of different disciplines participate in Nanotech France 2019 to identify new technology trends, development tools, product opportunities, R&D collaborations, and commercialization partners. It is an excellent event for students to meet and discuss with lead researchers. The conference provides an unprecedented opportunity to discover innovation in the area of nanotechnology and new business opportunities. It is among the most important events in terms of international regulatory policies and it is open to the participation of private companies. Conference website: https://www.setcor.org/conferences/Nanotech-France-2019

Young Scholar Award DCM 2019

Sonia Peggiani has been selected as one of the six finalists of the Young Scholar Award DCM 2019.  The abstract has been submitted to the International Conference on Diamond and Carbon Materials 2019 (DCM 2019), to be held in Seville, Spain, September 8-12, 2019. https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/international-conference-on-diamond-and-carbon-materials/about/young-scholar-award-dcm2019

EspLORE @ HPLC2019

We will be present at HPLC2019 – 48TH International Symposium on High-Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques with results of the project EspLORE: Talk Presenter: Sonia Peggiani Title: Challenges on the concentration and extraction of size-selected polyynes synthesized in water Poster Presenter: Anna Facibeni Title: Optimization of sample preparation for sp-carbon linear chains SPE-based concentration The conference will be held from 16-20 June 2019 in Milan, Italy. It is the first time that this conference – the most important international conference in the field of high-performance liquid phase separations and related techniques – will be held in Italy. The conference will cover both the fundamental and practical aspects of separation science, with the main focus on new highly relevant trends that are emerging in this field. Conference website: https://www.hplc2019-milan.org/index.php

EspLORE @ ICASS 2019

We will be present at ICASS 2019 – 3rd Intrenational Conference  Conference on Applied Surface Science at the Pisa Congress Palace, Pisa, Italy from the 17-20 June 2019 with a talk with results of the project EspLORE: Talk Presenter: Francesco Tumino Title: Pulsed laser deposition and scanning tunneling microscopy of two-dimensional nanocrystals on metal substrates The conference will report on and discuss current research on the role and use of surfaces in chemical and physical processes, related to catalysis, electrochemistry, energy, new/functional materials and nanotechnology. Also the various techniques and characterization methods will be discussed. Conference website: https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/international-conference-on-applied-surface-science

EspLORE @ IDEA League Doctoral School

Andi Rabia, selected to participate to the doctoral school on Advanced Atomic Scale Characterisation (2018-2019) organized by Idea League, attended the third part of the School organized at Chalmers University in May 13-17 2019. The last part will be in Politecnico di Milano in fall 2019. The IDEA League is a strategic alliance between five leading European universities of technology. Each member is an internationally renowned, research-oriented university and is the largest producer of science and engineering graduates in its own country. The IDEA league is formed by Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), ETH Zürich (Switzerland), and RWTH Aachen University (Germany), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and Politecnico di Milano. school website: http://idealeague.org/advanced-atomic-scale-characterisation-2018-2019/

EspLORE @ Fπ-14

We will be present at Fπ14 the 14th International Symposium on Functional π-Electron Systems.2nd – 7th June 2019, Berlin, Germany with results of the project EspLORE: Talk Presenter: Patrick Serafini Title: Molecular modeling of hybrid sp-sp2 carbon-based nanostructures: structural, electronic and vibrational properties Fπ14 is the next in line of the previous Fπ conferences in Japan (Osaka 1989, 1999, 2006, Kobe 1992), USA (Santa Cruz 1995, Ithaca 2004, Atlanta 2009, Seattle 2015), Europe (Ulm-Germany 2002, Graz-Austria 2008, Arcachon-France 2013), and China (Beijing 2011, Hong Kong 2017). It initially started as the “International Symposium on Functional Dyes” in Osaka. To broaden the scope of the conference and to adjust to the developments in academic and industrial research, it was renamed to the “International Symposium on Functional π-Electron Systems” in 2002.   Conference website: https://fpi14.de/

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Printed Polymer Electronics” given by  Mario Caironi, Center for Nano Science and Technology @PoliMi, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Milano, Italy When: Monday 20th of May at 14.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Caironi-Nanolab Talk-2019

Simulation of molecular systems, Lecco 10-14 June 2019

SIMULATION OF MOLECULAR SYSTEMS FOR CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS AND BIOLOGY Residential course for PhD students organized by PhD programme in Materials Engineerng with the collaboration of PhD programmes in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology will be at the Polimi campus in Lecco in the period 10-14 june 2019. Molecular simulation is a family of powerful computational methods which are widely used in materials science and engineering, biophysics, chemistry, chemical engineering, drug design and many other areas.The aim of the course is to provide a critical understanding of these methods and a practical introduction to their use. EspLORE will be present with Dr. Alberto Milani with a lecture entitled Molecular spectroscopy: Introduction to molecular spectroscopies and observables. Quantum chemical calculation of spectroscopic properties: in-depth discussion of IR and Raman vibrational spectra, elements of molecular excited states and UV-VIS spectra. Patrick Serafini will attend the School.

EspLORE @ EMN Meeting 2019

We will be present at the EMN Meeting on Carbon Nanostructures 2019 with an invited talk with results of the project EspLORE: Presenter: Carlo S. Casari Title: Carbyne and Carbon atomic wires: present and perspectives The EMN Meeting on Carbon Nanostructures 2019 will be held from May 13 to 17, 2019 in Roma, Italy! It aims to be a unique platform for leading scientists, researchers, scholars and engineers from academia, laboratories and industry around the world to exchange, share and learn the most recent advancement on various aspects related to Carbon Nanotubes,  Graphene,  Nanoparticles  and other topics related to Carbon Nanostructures.. Carlo S. Casari will chair the Session: ‘Carbon Electronics I’ on Wednesday May 15 from 16.25 to 18.05 Conference website: http://emnmeeting.org/2019-carbon-nanostructures/

PhD at POLIMI: opening of admission call

PhD at POLIMI. The online admission for PhD is now open, go to the PhD school page of polimi website for details. Look at the PhD programme in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology (STEN). Deadline for admissions: 21 May 2019 (2pm) [italian time]. Admitted candidates will start on 1st November 2019. The EspLORE project is looking for motivated and smart students with solid background in Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Nanotechnology to join the EspLORE Team and activities.

Graduations @ EspLORE – Spring 2019

Congratulations to new graduate student in Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano! Today a student working on EspLORE topics got his Master Degree: Mohamed Tarek Said Zoelfakar Soliman graduated with a thesis entitled: Electrical Transport Properties Investigation of Sp-Carbon Linear Atomic Chains-based Molecular Crystals Supervisor: C.S. Casari Co-Supervisors: M. Caironi, A. Scaccabarozzi, S. Peggiani

Research women in STEM

Politecnico di Milano is working to favour women in STEM. On 22 of March a meeting to favour women enrolling in STEM studies was dedicated to girls from the fourth year of High Schools having already taken the admission test at Politecnico di Milano.  Some research women in STEM at POLIMI spoke about  their experience to 100 girls attending and 150 girls connected in streaming. Sonia Peggiani as a PhD candidate in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology was present talking about her role in the EspLORE project together with a PhD candiadate in Biomedical Enigneering, a PhD candidate in Mathematics, a post doc in Management Engineering and a Researcher in Aerospace Engineering.

EspLORE @ POLIMI Open Day 2019

Saturday April 6th at POLIMI Open day 2019 the EspLORE team was involved in stands, demostrations and presentations for the Open Day of Politecnico di Milano for high school students willing to study STEM. Andrea, Valeria, Francesco, Sonia, Andi, Marina, Nicolò, Bozhena, Clara, Carlo actively participated for study courses in Material Engineering and Nanotechnology and in Nuclear Engineering.

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Recent developments in Non-Evaporable Getter technology and application in vacuum systems from HV to XHV” given by  Fabrizio Siviero, SAES Getters s.p.a. When: Monday 8th of April at 14.30 Where: Seminar Room 1° floor, Department of Energy, Cesnef (Building 19) Leonardo Campus, via Ponzio 34/3, Milan, Politecnico di Milano NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Siviero-Nanolab Talk-2019

EspLORE @ ASCM2019

We will be present at ASCM2019 – Atomistic Simulation of Carbon-Based Materials Workshop in Helsinki, Finland with a talk with results of the project EspLORE: Presenter: Alberto Milani when: Friday 12th April at 10:10 Session 5 Title: DFT simulations of the Raman response of sp carbon-atom wires:from electron-phonon coupling to charge transfer effects ASCM2019 will take place in downtown Helsinki, Finland from 10th April to 12th April 2019. The workshop will focus on the state of the art on atomistic simulation of carbon and related materials and nanostructures. conference website:  https://ascm2019.nanocarbon.fi/

EspLORE @ IDEA League Doctoral School

Andi Rabia has been selected to participate to the doctoral school on Advanced Atomic Scale Characterisation (2018-2019) organized by Idea League. The IDEA League is a strategic alliance between five leading European universities of technology. Each member is an internationally renowned, research-oriented university and is the largest producer of science and engineering graduates in its own country. The IDEA league is formed by Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), ETH Zürich (Switzerland), and RWTH Aachen University (Germany), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) and Politecnico di Milano. school website: http://idealeague.org/advanced-atomic-scale-characterisation-2018-2019/

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Light Scattering and Emission from Hetero-structures” given by  Andrea Carlo Ferrari, Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge UK When: Thursday 28th of march at 14.00 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Classroom C.I.1 Building 6 – Leonardo Campus Piazza leonardo da Vinci 32 Milan NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Ferrari-Nanolab Talk-2018

New paper published

A new paper with EspLORE results has been published on Scientific Reports (Nature group). We report the observation of charge transfer modulated by the structure of the carbon wire. The work is a collaboration between the EspLORE team at Politecnico di Milano (Department of Energy and Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Eng., “G. Natta”) and the group of Prof. F. Diederich at ETH Zurich (Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences). A. Milani, V. Barbieri, A. Facibeni, V. Russo, A. Li Bassi, A. Lucotti, M. Tommasini, M. D. Tzirakis, F. Diederich, C.S. Casari Structure modulated charge transfer in carbon atomic wires Scientific Reports 2019 Open access

Opportunity for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions @EspLORE

A new opportunity for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) individual fellowship 2019 is open at the EspLORE project. Politecnico di Milano is launching a pilot Master Class (MSCA EF MASTER CLASS 2019 @ POLIMI) for potential applicants to the MSCA – European Individual Fellowship call 2019. Look for “Development of sp carbon nanostructures and nanomaterials” in the framework of the ERC EspLORE. The aim of the call is to attract and train young and talented researchers to successfully applying for MSCA European Fellowship with the Politecnico di Milano as host institution. Candidates will be pre-selected based on their expression of interest, CV and motivation. Application deadline: May 2nd 2019 Promising candidates will be invited to the Politecnico di Milano for 3 days (10-12 June 2019) to meet with their supervisors, to visit laboratories and facilities, to attend an in depth training course on the proposal writing and to make use of full support in the application writing process by POLIMI advisors. Candidate fellows and supervisors will be guided throughout the whole application process with deadline on 11th September 2019. Only those who get funding through the European Commission’s MSCA IF program will be admitted to Politecnico di Milano. Applications are open…

New PhD student @ EspLORE

We welcome on board Patrick Serafini as a new PhD student at the EsplORE team working on first principles calculations of sp-carbon nanostructures. He was born in 1994 in Teramo, Italy. He is a PhD student in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology since 2019. He graduated magna cum laude in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology in December 2018 with a thesis on  Density Functional Theory simulations of two-dimensional sp-sp2  carbon nanostructures. His interests are mainly focused on molecular modeling of sp-carbon based nanostructures and nanomaterials. PhD project: theoretical investigation of the electronic, vibrational and optical properties of carbon atom wires (CAWs) and hybrid sp-sp2 nanostructures by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT).

EspLORE @ IIT

We will be present at the Center for NanoScience and Technology CNST of the Italian Insitute of Technology IIT with a seminar about carbyne and carbon atomic wires. Seminar: “Linear carbon: from the quest of a new allotrope to nanotechnology” Monday 21st January, at 11:30 am in meeting room C at CNST of IIT Speaker: Carlo Casari

Graduations @ EspLORE – Winter 2018

Congratulations to new graduate students in Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano working on topics of the EspLORE project. Today 4 students got their Master Degree: Andrea Dalla Via graduated with a thesis entitled: Density Functional Theory simulations of Raman and UV-VIS spectra of carbon atom wires Riccardo Improta graduated with a thesis entitled: Scanning tunneling microscopy and Raman spectroscopy of carbon atom wires synthesized on Au (111) Patrick Serafini graduated with a thesis entitled: Two-dimensional sp-sp2 carbon nanostructures: density functional theory simulations of structural, electronic and vibrational properties Alessandro Vidale graduated with a thesis entitled: Development of linear sp carbon chains in electrospun polymer nanofibers  

new article on sp-carbon

We published a new paper discussing by numerical simualtions the capability to investigate sp-carbon structures by x-ray absorption techniques. This work is the results of a collaboration between EspLORE, University of Milan and University of Milan-Bicocca. This article is published on Materials (MDPI) and belongs to the Special Issue Density Functional Theory (DFT) Calculation of Materials Properties. Title: Fingerprints of sp1 Hybridized C in the Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectra of Surface-Grown Materials Authors: Guido Fratesi, Simona Achilli, Nicola Manini, Giovanni Onida, Anu Baby, Abhilash Ravikumar, Aldo Ugolotti, Gian Paolo Brivio, Alberto Milani, Carlo Spartaco Casari Full acces to the article here (open access)  

Article about EspLORE

An article presenting the topic and the research activity of EspLORE has been published on SciTech Europa Quarterly issue 29  on 7th December 2018 at page 88-89 Open In PageSuite This edition of SciTech Europa Quarterly covers the latest developments in EU science and technology research and innovation.

Special Issue “Recent Advances in sp-Carbon-Based Materials and Nanostructures”

The special issue on “Recent Advances in sp-Carbon-Based Materials and Nanostructures” is a  now open for submissions deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2019 The aim of this Special Issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417) by MDPI publishing is to present the last achievements obtained in the research on sp-carbon-based materials (polyynes, cumulenes, linear carbon chains, carbon atomic wires) and related systems (hybrid sp–sp2 or sp–sp3 systems). Both experimental (synthesis, preparation, characterization, applications) and theoretical contributions (molecular modeling and design) are welcome and, in particular, studies presenting a multidisciplinary approach are encouraged. Guest Editors: Alberto Milani, Carlo S. Casari More info    

PhD position available

PhD in Programme in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology (ADDITIONAL CALLS 34th CYCLE) The following admission selection calls for PhD positions with a scholarship, restricted to a specific research topic, are open. PhD starting in February 2019: 1 position, with a Ph.D. research topic scholarship available, research being restricted to the research topic in “Molecular modeling of sp-carbon based nanostructures and nanomaterials” We are looking for motivated and smart students with solid background in Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Nanotechnology. Visit the PhD School of Polimi for further info

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talks

Talk entitled: “Cumulenes and polyynes as carbon atomic wires” given by  Rik Tykwinski, University of Alberta, Edmonton Alberta Canada When: Tuesday 13th of november at 11.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Tykwinski-Nanolab Talk-2018

new paper accepted on Nanoscale Advances

Our paper has been accepted for publication on Nanoscale Advances a new journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry Title: “Pulsed Laser Deposition of Single-Layer MoS2 on Au(111): from Nanosized Crystals to Large-Area Films” Authors: F. Tumino, C. S. Casari, M. Passoni, V. Russo and A. Li Bassi All the work has been done at NanoLab of Poltecnico di Milano. We achieved large area deposition of 2D materials by PLD. This can be exploited together with 1D/2D sp-carbon systems as supports or templates and for the development of heterostructures. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C8NA00126J

EspLORE @ NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Modelling Oxide Surfaces at the 2D Limit” given by  Sergio Tosoni, Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano – Bicocca When: Monday 29th of october at 16.00 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Tosoni-Nanolab Talk-2018

EspLORE@ANNIC2018 Berlin

We will be present at the Applied Nanotechnology and Nanoscience International Conference – ANNIC 2018 in Berlin, Germany  (Session: Nanomaterials) with a talk with results of the project EspLORE: Talk: Synthesis and characterization of polyynes by submerged arc discharge in water Monday 22nd October, starting at 15:20 Speaker: Sonia Peggiani conference website: https://premc.org/conferences/annic-nanotechnology-nanoscience/

EspLORE@NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “The solid-liquid interface and nanomicroscopy (solinano) lab: current activities of the new inter-departmental facility” given by  Gianlorenzo Bussetti, Dept. of Physics – Politecnico di Milano When: Tuesday 16th of october at 11.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Bussetti-Nanolab Talk-2018

Graduation@EspLORE

Congratulations to new graduate student in Master of Science in Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology at Politecnico di Milano working on a topic of the EspLORE project. Today, Andrea Senis graduated with a thesis entitled: Synthesis of Carbon Atom Wires through Arc Discharge in Water  

EspLORE@Materials.it 2018-Bologna

Thanks to a collaboration with Università degli Studi di Milano, department of Physics topics related to EspLORE will be present at Materials.it 2018 in Bologna Italy 22-26 October 2018. Talk: Fingerprints of sp1-carbon hybridization in the core-level spectra of surface-grown materials Speaker: Guido Fratesi – Università degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Fisica  Conference website: Materials.it 2018

EspLORE@MolSimEng2018 Milan

We will be present at MolSimEng 2018, the third edition of the Molecular Simulation and Engineering workshop, it will take place at the Politecnico di Milano on Wednesday, 26 September 2018. Poster: DFT calculations and molecular design of sp carbon-atom wires: tuning the semiconductor-to-metal transition Presenter: Patrick Serafini Workshop website: MolSimEng

EspLORE@NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Designer artificial 2D materials” given by Dr. Alessandro Molle, CNR-IMM Agrate Brianza When: Thursday 27th of september at 10.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Molle-Nanolab Talk-2018

EspLORE on Impact

With the project EspLORE, we are on Impact, issue n°5 August 2018, a journal published: Science Impact Ltd and on IngentaConnect. On the webiste you can also find a brochure of the project. Author: Casari, Carlo S. Source: Impact, Volume 2018, Number 5, August 2018, pp. 85-87(3) Publisher: Science Impact Ltd DOI: https://doi.org/10.21820/23987073.2018.5.85 Access to the article here

EspLORE@ETSF Milan

We will be present at the 23rd ETSF Workshop on Electronic Excitations; Interdisciplinary views on quantum many-body theory at Milan University, Milan, Italy September 10 – 14, 2018 Workshop topics include: Ultrafast excitation dynamics; Topological insulators; Quantum transport; Quantum Chemistry with a talk with results of the project EspLORE. Talk: End-group effects in tuning the semiconductor-to-metal transition of carbon atom wires: insights from first-principles calculations. Alberto Milani, Matteo Tommasini, Chiara Castiglioni, Valeria Russo, Andrea Li Bassi, Carlo S. Casari Friday 14th September, starting at 9:40 am Speaker: Alberto Milani conference website: https://workshop.etsf.eu/

Politecnico leads Italy’s universities in research funding

Politecnico di Milano leads Italy’s universities in research funding EspLORE is proud to contribute to this performance. More than 100 million euros over four years for 234 projects. First place for ERC funding as well, with an impressive 23 projects. The Politecnico di Milano is the leading university for research funding under Horizon 2020, the European Commission’s largest research and innovation programme. The Politecnico is also first among universities in terms of ERC-funded projects, projects that is which have been rewarded by the European Commission for having stood out in cutting-edge fields: these projects have reached an impressive amount of 23, with an overall value of 26 million euros. Comparing its results to those of universities on a more global scale, the Politecnico di Milano takes 12th place for projects funded by Horizon 2020. 20th place if one considers all bodies participating in the research programme, which are more than 26,000 worldwide.

EspLORE @ ECOSS34 Aarhus-Denmark

We will be present at ECOSS34 in Aarhus, Denmark  (Topic: MOL: Organic molecules and molecular architectures on surfaces) with a talk with results of the project EspLORE: Talk: Atomic scale structure, electronic and vibrational properties of one-dimensional sp-sp2 carbon-based nanostructures. Thursday 30th August, starting at 11:30 Speaker: Francesco Tumino conference website: ECOSS34  

EspLORE @ ICN+T Brno 2018

We will be present at ICN+T 2018 in Brno, Czech Republic  (Topic: 0D – 1D nanostructures growth and analysis) with a talk with results of the project EspLORE: Tuesday, July 24th, 11:00 – 11:20 AM TuM07 Session title : Atomic wires Talk: Structural, electronic and vibrational properties of surface-supported sp1-sp2 hybrid carbon atomic wires.  Speaker: Andi Rabia Source: ICN+T Brno 2018

EspLORE@NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Solid-like transition of ionic liquids in nanostructured carbon thin films” given by Dr.  Francesca Borghi, Department of Physics, CIMaINa (Centro Interdisciplinare Materiali e Interfacce Nanostrutturati) Università degli Studi di Milano When:Monday 2nd of july at 11.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Borghi-Nanolab Talk-2018        

EspLORE@NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “Porous carbon materials for gas adsorption” given by Dr.  Francesco Demetrio Minuto, Politecnico di Torino When: Thursday 21st of june at 14.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Minuto-Nanolab Talk-2018

Post Doc position available

A Post Doc position is available at the ERC EspLORE project at the Micro and Nanostructured Materials Lab (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano, Italy. The research activity of the candidate is focused on the experimental fabrication and investigation of carbon atomic wires (linear sp-hybridized carbon nanostructures) and on the development of wire-based materials. The assessment of the functional properties as well as the understanding of the structure-property relationship is a fundamental issue. The fabrication is performed by physical techniques such as laser ablation and arc discharge in liquids, HPLC will be used for the investigation and separation of the chain lengths. The characterization is done mainly by vibrational spectroscopy (Raman, SERS). Candidates are required to have: Excellent organizational and time-management skills; Ability to communicate results clearly and succinctly; Ability to write a research paper in a draft form; Ability to work as a team member and to work independently; Excellent level of English, both written and spoken; Should have obtained PhD diploma not older than 5 years at the application date and a significant track record of publications. The recruited postdoctoral researcher will:  Actively participate in research and lab management and set-up of new experimental…

EspLORE@NanoLab Talk

Talk entitled: “High-Resolution Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy: Applications to Energy-related Materials and Devices” given by Prof.  Gianluigi Botton from McMaster University (Canada) When: Monday 28th of may at 14.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Botton-Nanolab Talk-2018

EspLORE@NanoLab Talks

Talk entitled: “On the growth dynamics of low-density carbon foams in Pulsed Laser Deposition experiments” given by Dr. Alessandro Maffini from Politecnico di Milano When: Monday 21st of may at 15.00 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) via Ponzio 34/3 Milano – Seminar Room I floor NanoLab Talks are organized at the Micro- and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory (NanoLab) at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano (www.nanolab.polimi.it). The EspLORE@NanoLab Talks cover topics of interests for the EspLORE project. Maffini-Nanolab Talk-2018

Department of Excellence

the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano has been awarded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) as “Department of Excellence” with a grant of over 9 million Euros for the next 5 years. The grant will allow to pursue an ambitious development plan, named “Energy for Motion”. EspLORE is proud to be part of this initiative. More info   

new perspective article on carbon wires

In this Perspective article we discuss some of the new perspectives opened by the recent advancements in the research on sp-carbon systems. C.S. Casari, A. Milani. Carbyne: From the elusive allotrope to stable carbon atom wires. MRS Communications, 1-13 (2018). doi:10.1557/mrc.2018.48

EspLORE@NanoLab Talks

Talk entitled “Perchè citiamo? L’etica delle citazioni e gli (ipotetici) allotropi del carbonio” given by Prof. Davide M. Proserpio from Department of Chemistry, University of Milano, Italy When: Monday 9th April 2018 at 14.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) – Seminar Room I floor Proserpio-Nanolab Talk-2018

POLIMI in the world top 20

POLIMI in the TOP 20 UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD The QS World University Rankings by Subject measures the best universities throughout the world. It compares their ability to engage in research, the reputation of professors and the assessment of graduate students. For the very first time, it lists an Italian university, Politecnico di Milano, among the top 20 in all the three areas of specialisation: 17th in Engineering and Technology (24th in 2016), 9th in Architecture (15th in 2016) and 5th in Design (10th in 2016). In Engineering and Technology Politecnico di Milano is 6th in Europe just after 3 British and 2 Swiss universities. EspLORE is proud to be hosted at Politecnico di Milano QS World University Rankings is one of the most quoted and authoritative rankings of international universities, mainly planned for the future foreign students and annually published on www.topuniversities.com.     

EspLORE at CSEM – Basel

22 February 2018, invited by Dr. R. Ferrini, Carlo Casari went to visit CSEM – The Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique in Muttenz and the Laboratories in Basel (Switetzerland) for future collaborations. The talk was entitled: “Assembling Nanostructures into Functional Films: a bottom up approach to novel materials“.

Talk by Dr. Luca Bettini

Seminar entitled “Cluster-assembled carbon materials (and devices) for sustainable energy applications” given by Dr. Luca Bettini from Physics Department, University of Milano, Italy When: Tuesday 6th February 2018 at 15.00 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) – Seminar Room I floor Bettini-Nanolab Talk-2018

Talk by Prof. Tommaso Del Rosso

Seminar entitled “Laser based Synthesis and Characterization of Nanomaterials” given by Prof. Tommaso Del Rosso from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro When: Monday 15th January 2018 at 15.30 Where: Politecnico di Milano, Building 19 – Cesnef (Leonardo Campus ) – Seminar Room I floor  

Top Italian Scientist

Carlo S. Casari is in the list of Top Italian Scientist (TIS) by VIA-Academy in the area Material & Nano Sciences. TIS is based on the evaluation of Top Italian scientists & academics using Google Scholar database (h-index > 30 only).  

2017 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit

We will be present at MRS 2017 Fall Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts  (Symposium NM02: Anisotropic Carbon Nanomaterials—Frontiers in Basic and Applied Research) with two presentations with results of the project EspLORE: November 27 4:30 PM – NM02.02.09 Talk: Tuning the Structure of Carbon-Atom Wires from Semiconductor to Metal-Like.  Speaker: Carlo Casari November 30  8:00 PM – NM02.11.35 Poster: On-Surface Synthesis and Nano-Scale Characterization of One-Dimensional sp-sp2 Hybrid Carbon Atomic Wires. Presenter: Francesco Tumino Source: 2017 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit  

FisMat2017

We will be present at FisMat2017 – the Italian National Conference on the Physics of Matter (including Optics, Photonics, Liquids, Soft Matter) Abstract’s title: Carbon-atom wires with sp2 conjugated end groups: tuning the semiconductor-to-metal transition Speaker: Alberto Milani

EspLORE at UNIMI

Seminar June 7th, 2017 –14:30 Università degli Studi di Milano, Physics Department seminar DIPARTIMENTO DI FISICA, VIA CELORIA 16, MILANO Aula Consiglio ‘EspLORE the world of sp-Carbon: from the quest of a new allotrope to C-atom wires’ by Carlo Casari download the leafleat here

PhD call is open

The PhD call for 2017 is now open, go to the PhD school page of polimi website (link) for details. Look at the PhD programme in Energy and Nuclear Science and Technology (STEN). The deadline for applications is 26th of may 2017. We are looking for motivated and smart students with solid background in Materials Science and Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Nanotechnology.

EspLORE at start!

The EspLORE project has officially started on 1st of May 2017. We have 5 years of hard work till 2022 to transform the ambitious goals into scientific outcomes and technological improvements.

Opportunities

The EspLORE project will start in May 2017. We are looking for PhD candidates for the PhD programmes at Politecnico di Milano. Smart and motivated students are welcome. Contact us for more information or visit the PhD School of Politecnico di Milano