Lab 1 Fluoro-based chemistry for control of material properties at the meso-scale.

Our goal at the CNST@LAB1 is the synthesis of new functional materials by means of molecular recognition and self-assembling principles.  Using fluorinated materials as building blocks, the aim is the design of smart materials with potential photovoltaic properties.  We focus on the solid-state behavior of fluorinated materials upon external stimuli (i.e. guest exchange, grinding, gas, T, P, etc).  The structural changes are monitored using UV-Vis, IR, TG/DSC and powder X-ray diffraction.  Complete crystal structure determination is carried out by X-ray crystallography.  The combination of single crystal and ab initio powder X-ray diffraction provides a detailed structural understanding of the new supramolecular entities.  Such three-dimensional information is necessary to understand structure-functionality properties to develop photovoltaic materials such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

Lab 2 Polyconjugated compounds for opto-electronics

The research activity deals with the design and synthesis of organic functional materials for applications in optics, optoelectronics and photonics. Systematic studies are aimed at understanding the relationship between chemical structure and electrical and/or optical properties of materials in order to optimize the properties required for the technological applications. Suitable theoretical modeling supports the process of molecular design and gives prediction of the expected materials properties. Particular care is also devoted to the analysis of the molecular structure and of the choice of substituents in order to achieve a sufficient solubility in organic solvents allowing a simple and inexpensive film processing.
The laboratory is equipped with all the facilities required to carry out synthesis in inert ambient. Moreover, spin coating and doctor blade apparatus allow to perform solution processing of the organic materials into layers for the development of the devices.

Lab 3 X-ray diffraction and structural studies of proteins, surfaces and nanocrystals

The chemistry and biochemistry laboratories are equipped with state of the art facilities for X-ray structural characterization of both small molecules and proteins at low temperature. In addition, the laboratories contain all the necessary equipment for gene amplification and cloning, protein expression, protein purification (both at room and low temperature), as well as a protein crystallization platform.