COST Domain Committee "Materials, Physical and Nano Sciences”"
COST Action MP0902 Start Date: 06/11/2009 End Date: 05/11/2013
“Composites of Inorganic Nanotubes and Polymers (COINAPO)”
FINAL REPORT
This Report stems from the relevant Domain Committee. It contains 3 parts:
I. Management Report prepared by Grant Holder II. Scientific Report prepared by the Chair of the Management Committee of the Action. III. DC General Assessment prepared by the Domain Committee
Appendices: Scientific Papers Conferences Colaborations
Executive summary (max.250 words): COST Action MP0902-COINAPO comprised 25 signatory COST countries and 3 non-COST members, which altogether incorporated more than 150 researchers from various fields. In the period from 06/11/2009 to 05/11/2013 seventeen meetings were organized: kick-off meeting, five MC meetings, one core-group meeting, four cohesive meetings of all WGs, four topical meetings, one mini-symposium, and one joint meeting with two other COST Actions. Two topical meetings were aimed at promotion of the Action activities to industry and establishing contacts with industrial and SME partners, while one was focused on theoretical modeling of composite materials. The mini-symposium was devoted to safety and health risks issues related to research work with nanomaterials. The Action organized also two training schools for ESRs. The first training school was focused on practical training on experimental 1 techniques for nanocomposite characterization and involved lab work with the samples of inorganic nanotube – polymer composites. The second school was focused on recent advances in
I. Management Report prepared by Grant Holder
I.A. COST Action Fact Sheet
Action MP0902 Fact Sheet
Title Composites of Inorganic Nanotubes and Polymers (COINAPO)
Contacts MC Chair Science Officer: Administrative Officer: Prof. Irena DREVENSEK Ms Caroline WHELAN Milena STOYANOVA OLENIK COST Office COST Office Tel. +386 1 477 3647 [email protected] [email protected] Fax. +386 1 477 3998 +32 2 533 38 00 [email protected]
Details Draft Mou: Mou: 233/09 Start of Action: 06/11/2009 Entry into force: 18/06/2009 End of Action: 05/11/2013 CSO approval date: 26/05/2009
Objectives The main objective of the COST Action MP0902-COINAPO was to develop new composite materials from inorganic nanotubes and polymers and to establish appropriate links and transfer of knowledge needed for application and commercialization of this kind of composite media by European industry. Nanotubes made of inorganic materials are an interesting alternative to carbon nanotubes, showing advantages such as e.g. easy synthetic access, good uniformity and solubility, and predefined electrical conductivity depending on the composition of the starting material. They are therefore very promising candidates as fillers for polymer composites with enhanced thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. Target applications for this kind of composites are materials for heat management, electrostatic dissipaters, wear protection materials, photovoltaic elements, etc. The Action linked together European scientists working on this rapidly emerging field and created a highly interdisciplinary research network focused on development and exploration of inorganic nanotube-polymer composites. The Action also generated crucial fundamental knowledge and created widespread links needed for application and commercialization of this kind of composite media by European industry.
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Parties Country Date Country Date Country Date Country Date Austria 26/06/2009 Belgium 22/03/2010 Croatia 11/01/2012 Cyprus 14/02/2011 Czech 17/09/2010 Estonia 10/05/2010 France 10/08/2009 Germany 26/06/2009 Republic Greece 18/06/2009 Ireland 26/06/2009 Israel 18/06/2009 Italy 18/06/2009 Latvia 06/07/2009 Lithuania 25/11/2009 Netherlands 10/05/2010 Poland 18/06/2009 Portugal 30/09/2009 Romania 22/03/2010 Slovakia 25/11/2009 Slovenia 31/07/2009 Spain 11/07/2009 Sweden 03/12/2009 Switzerland 31/07/2009 Turkey 16/09/2009 United 18/06/2009 Kingdom Total: 25
Intentions to accept the MoU Country Date Country Date Country Date Country Date Total: 0
Participating Institutions from non-COST countries Ukraine National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv Republic of Korea Seoul National University Australia University of Wollongong
Working Groups
WG1 - “Fabrication of materials” - Prof. Ewa Gorecka
WG2 – “Characterisation” – Dr. Renato Torre (replaced Dr. Valeria Nicolosi in April 2012)
WG3 – “Theory” - Prof. Wilfried Schranz
WG4 –“Engineering” - Dr. Johann G. Meier
Website http://www.coinapo.eu
Management Committee Chair Vice Chair Prof. Irena DREVENSEK OLENIK Dr. Hans SAWADE Faculty of mathematics and physics, University of Ljubljana Leibniz-Institute for Plasmaresearch and Technology Felix- Jadranska 19 SI 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia Hausdorff-Strasse 2 17489 Greifswald Germany [email protected] [email protected] Domain Committee Rapporteurs Dr. Denis DOWLING Prof. Luciano Mule-Stagno DC Rapporteur of MP0902 MPNS DC Rapporteur of MP0902 MPNS Surface Engineering Research GroupSchool of Electrical, Institute for Sustainable Energy Electronic and Mechanical EngineeringUniversity College Dublin University of Malta Belfield 4 Dublin Ireland Msida, MSD2080, MALTA [email protected] [email protected]
Austria Prof. Wilfried SCHRANZ Prof. Martin FALLY MC Member MC Substitute Member University of Vienna Strudlhofgasse 4 1090 Vienna Austria Universitt Wien Boltzmanngasse 5 Wien Austria [email protected] [email protected]
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Belgium Prof. Wim WENSELEERS Dr Luc HENRARD MC Member MC Member University of Antwerp Physics Department (CDE), University of Namur PMR, Rue de Bruxelles, 61 5000 Namur Universiteitsplein 1 B-2610 Antwerpen Belgium Belgium [email protected] [email protected]
Croatia Prof. Ivan BRNARDIC Prof. Tamara HOLJEVAC GRGURIC MC Member MC Member University of Zagreb, Faculty of Metallurgy Aleja narodnih heroja Faculty of Metallurgy Aleja narodnih heroja 3 44103 Sisak Croatia 3 44103 Sisak Croatia [email protected] [email protected] Dr. Dijana VRSALJKO MC Substitute Member Koncar Electrical engineering Institute Fallerovo šetalište 22, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia [email protected]
Cyprus Dr Emmanouil LIOUDAKIS MC Member University of Cyprus Photovoltaic Park 1678 Nicosia Cyprus [email protected]
Czech Republic Dr Jiri HLINKA Dr Jan PETZELT MC Member MC Member Insitute of Physics AS CR Na Slovance 2 182 21 Prague 8 Czech Institute of Physics ASCR Na Slovance 2 18221 Praha 8 Czech Republic Republic [email protected] [email protected] Dr. Vladimira NOVOTNA Dr. Dmitry NUZHNYY MC Substitute member MC Substitute member Institute of Physics AS CR Na Slovance 2 182 21 Prague 8 Czech Institute of Physics AS CR Na Slovance 2 182 21 Prague 8 Czech Republic Republic [email protected] [email protected]
Estonia Prof. Alvo AABLOO MC Member University of Tartu IMS Lab, Institute of Technology, Nooruse 1 50411 Tartu Estonia [email protected]
France Dr Laurent ALVAREZ Prof. Germano MONTEMEZZANI MC Member MC Member LCVN CC 26 Pl. E. Bataillon 34000 Montpellier France Laboratoire Matriauy Optiques, Photonique et Systmes (LMOPS) [email protected] Univ. Paul Verlaine Metz et Suplec, 2, rue E. Belin 57070 Metz France [email protected] Dr Samuel MARGUERON MC Substitute Member universite de Lorraine 2 rue Edouard Belin 57070 metz France [email protected]
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Germany Dr Hans SAWADE Dr Michael WEGENER MC Member MC Member Leibniz-Institute for Plasmaresearch and Technology Felix- Fraunhofer IAP Geiselbergstrasse 69 14476 Potsdam Germany Hausdorff-Strasse 2 17489 Greifswald Germany [email protected] [email protected] Dr Volker BRUESER MC Substitute Member Leibniz-Institute for Plasma Science and Technology Felix- Hausdorff-Strae 2 17489 Greifswald Germany [email protected]
Greece Prof. Emmanuel KYMAKIS Prof. Ioannis ZUBURTIKUDIS MC Member MC Member Technological Educational Institute of Crete Electrical Technological Education Institute (T.E.I.) of Western Macedonia Engineering Dept, Estavromenos 71004 Heraklion Greece Kila Kozanis 50100 Kozani Greece [email protected] [email protected] Dr Emmanuel STRATAKIS Prof. Spiros H. ANASTASIADIS MC Substitute Member MC Substitute Member Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas (FORTH) Institute Electronic Structure and Lasers (FORTH-IESL) Nikolaou Plastira of Electronic Structure and Laser, P.O. Box 1527, Vassilika 100, Voutes GR-71110 Heraklion Greece Vouton 71110 Heraklion Crete Greece [email protected] [email protected]
Ireland Prof. Jonathan COLEMAN MC Member Trinity College Dublin School of Physics D2 Dublin Ireland [email protected]
Israel Prof. Reshef TENNE Dr Alla ZAK MC Member MC Substitute Member Weizmann Institute of Science Department of Materials and Weizmann Institute of Science Department of Materials and Interfaces 76100 Rehovot Israel Interfaces 76100 Rehovot Israel [email protected] [email protected]
Italy Prof. Giuseppe COMPAGNINI Dr Renato TORRE MC Member MC Member Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania Viale A. European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy Polo Doria 6 95125 Catania Italy Scientifico, via Carrara 1, Sesto Fiorentino 50019 Firenze Italy [email protected] [email protected] Dr Tiziana DI LUCCIO MC Substitute Member ENEA Piazza E. Fermi 80055 Portici (Napoli) Italy [email protected]
Latvia Prof. Maris KNITE Prof. Evgeny BARKANOV MC Member MC Member Riga Technical UniversityDivision of Solid State PhysicsInstitute Riga Technical University Institute of Materials and Structures, of Technical PhysicsFaculty of Materials Science and Applied Kalku St. 1 LV-1658 Riga Latvia ChemistryRiga Technical University 14/24 Azenes street 1048 [email protected] Riga Latvia [email protected] Mr Juris ZAVICKIS MC Substitute Member Riga Technical University, Institute of Technical Physics Azenes 14-322 LV-1007 Riga Latvia [email protected]
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Lithuania Dr Vytautas SAMULIONIS Prof. Juras BANYS MC Member MC Member Physics Faculty of Vilnius University Sauletekio al. 9/3 10222 (not yet registered) Vilnius Lithuania [email protected] [email protected] PENDING
Netherlands Prof. Paul VAN DER SCHOOT MC Member Technische Universiteit Eindhoven Postbus 513 5600 MB Eindhoven Netherlands [email protected]
Poland Prof. Ewa GORECKA Dr Izabela SZAFRANIAK-WIZA MC Member MC Member Warsaw University Zwirki i Wigury 101 Warsaw Poland Poznan University of Technology M.Skodowskiej-Curie Sq.5 60- [email protected] 965 Poznan Poland [email protected]
Portugal Dr Celeste PEREIRA Prof. Senen LANCEROS MENDEZ MC Member MC Member INEGI - Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial University of Minho Campus de Gualtar 4710 Braga Portugal Management, University of Porto Rua Doutor Roberto Frias, 400 [email protected] 4200-465 Porto Porto Portugal [email protected]
Romania Dr Petru Mihai RACOLTA Dr Victor FRUTH OPRISAN MC Member MC Member Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Institute of Physical Chemistry Spl. Independentei 202 060021 Engineering (IFIN-HH) 407 Atomistilor Str. 077125 Magurele Bucharest Romania Romania [email protected] [email protected] Dr Liviu SACARESCU MC Substitute Member Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry Aleea Grigore Ghica Voda 41A 700487 Iasi Romania [email protected]
Slovakia Prof. Ondrej HUDAK Dr Peter LOBOTKA MC Member MC Member Technical University of Kosice, Faculty of Avionics Rampova 7 Institute of Electrical Engineering Dubravska cesta 9 84104 SK-040 21 Kosice Slovakia Bratislava Slovakia [email protected] [email protected] Prof. Jan DUSZA MC Substitute Member (not yet registered) [email protected] PENDING
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Slovenia Prof. Irena DREVENSEK OLENIK Dr Dragan MIHAILOVIC MC Member MC Member Faculty of mathematics and physics, University of Ljubljana Jadranska 19 SI 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia [email protected] [email protected] Prof. Maja REMSKAR Dr Ales MRZEL MC Substitute Member MC Substitute Member (not yet registered) [email protected] [email protected] PENDING Dr Miroslav HUSKIC MC Substitute Member (not yet registered) [email protected] PENDING
Spain Prof. Jesus SANTAMARIA Dr Johann Georg MEIER MC Member MC Member Universidad de Zaragoza Facultad de Ciencias. Campus de S Instituto Tecnolgico de Aragn Laboratorio de Materiales, C/ Mara Francisco 50009 Zaragoza Spain de Luna 8 50018 Zaragoza Spain [email protected] [email protected] Dr Silvia IRUSTA Dr Ana Cristina CRESPO MINANA MC Substitute Member MC Substitute Member Zaragoza University Pedro Cerbuna 12 50005 Zaragoza Spain Instituto Tecnolgico de Aragn M de Luna n 8 50018 Zaragoza [email protected] Spain [email protected]
Sweden Prof. Mikael HEDENQVIST Prof. Per RUDQUIST MC Member MC Member KTH School of Chemical Science and Engineering Teknikringen (not yet registered) 58 SE 10044 Stockholm Sweden [email protected] [email protected] PENDING Dr Richard OLSSON MC Substitute Member Department of Fibre and Polymer Technology Teknikringen 56- 58 10044 Stockholm Sweden [email protected]
Switzerland Dr Mojca JAZBINSEK Prof. Raffaele MEZZENGA MC Member MC Member Rainbow Photonics AG Farbhofstrasse 21 CH-8048 Zurich (not yet registered) Switzerland [email protected] [email protected] PENDING Dr Antoni SANCHEZ-FERRER MC Substitute Member ETH Zurich Institute of Food Science & Nutrition, Food & Soft Materials Science Group, Schmelzbergstrasse 9, LFO, E29 8092 Zurich Switzerland [email protected]
Turkey Prof. Mustafa Ozgur GULER Dr Cengiz KAYA MC Member MC Member Bilkent University Institute of Materials Science and Yildiz Technical University Department of Metallurgical and Nanotechnology, National Nanotechnology Research Center Materials Engineering, Davutpasa campus, Esenler 34210 (UNAM) 06800 Ankara Turkey Istanbul Turkey [email protected] [email protected] Dr Mecit YAMAN Dr Mehmet BAYINDIR MC Substitute Member MC Substitute Member UNAM-Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Bilkent (not yet registered) University, Cankaya, Ankara 06800 Ankara Turkey [email protected] [email protected] PENDING
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United Kingdom Dr Ioannis ALEXANDROU Dr Valeria NICOLOSI MC Member MC Member University of Liverpool Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Oxford Department of Materials, Parks Road OX1 Brownlow Hill L69 3GJ Liverpool United Kingdom 3PH Oxford United Kingdom [email protected] [email protected] Dr Peter D. NELLIST Prof. Tony MCNALLY MC Substitute Member MC Substitute Member University of Oxford Department of Materials, Parks Road (not yet registered) Oxford United Kingdom [email protected] [email protected] PENDING
Non-COST Participants Ukraine Prof. Viktor Reshetnyak
National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv [email protected]
Republic of Korea Prof. Giusy Scalia
Seoul National University [email protected]
Australia Dr. Shulei Chou
University of Wollongong [email protected]
Grant Holder Executive Finance Officer Legal Representative Prof. Radovan Stanislav Prof. Irena Drevensek-Olenik Dr. Mustafa O. Guler (TR) Pejovnik University of Ljubljana Prof. Germano Montemezzani Rector of University of Ljubljana (FR)
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I.C. Overview activities and expenditure
Meetings - 2009 Meeting Type Date Place Participants Cost Total
Kick-off 6.11.2009 Brussels, Belgium 27 16.238,00 € Meeting
Total 16.238,00 €
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Total Action Budget 2010: 65.000,00 € Eligible costs till 31. December 2010: 64.971,91 €
Meetings Meeting Type Date Place Participants Cost Total
Working group 8.3.-9.3.2011 Greifswald, Germany 30/45 24.225,55 € Meeting
MC Meeting 10.3.2011 Greifswald, Germany 4/42 1.965,34 €
Total 26.190,89 €
STSM Beneficiary Date Place Cost Total From To Vienna, Marija Dunce 28.3.2010 17.4.2010 1.000,00 € Austria Oxford, Gabriele 3.10.2010 22.10.2010 United 1.950,00 € Messina Kingdom Marco Giovanni Ljubljana, 3.10.2010 16.10.2010 1.650,00 € Sinatra Slovenia Prague, Jure Strle 3.10.2010 16.10.2010 Czech 1.400,00 € Republic Oxford, Mustafa Lotya 15.11.2010 3.12.2010 United 2.010,00 € Kingdom Oxford, Arlene O’Neill 15.11.2010 3.12.2010 United 2.010,00 € Kingdom Total 10.020,00€
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Workshops Title Date Place Participants Cost Total From To Polymer composites with inorganic nanomaterials: Zaragoza, 25.10.2010 26.10.2010 22/40 18.546,45 € Fabrication, Spain Properties and Technical Applications Total 18.546,45 €
Schools Title Date Place Cost Total from to
0
Dissemination Title Date Place Cost Total
Web page & 31.12.2010 Greifswald, 2.000,00 € 2.000,00 € hosting Germany
Others Bank charges 218,03 €
FSAC Beneficiary Date Cost Total University of Ljubljana 31.12.2010 7.996,54 € 7.996,54 €
Total : 64.971,91 €
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Total Action Budget 2011 :116.800,00 € Eligible costs till 31. December 2011: 109,011.18 €
Meetings
Meeting Type Date Place Participants Cost Total
Working group 2.3.-3.3.2011 Sestriere, Italy 20/45 17.157,67 € Meeting
12/46 MC Meeting 4.3.2011 Sestriere, Italy 4.245,47 €
Core Group 26.5.2011 Firenze, Italy 7/10 3.850,05 € Meeting MC joint 8.12.-9.12.2011 Ljubljana, Slovenia 35/85 29.442,90 € Workshop
Total 54.696,09 €
STSM Beneficiary Date Place Cost Total From To Mikael Ljubljana, 03/07/2011 15/07/2011 1.450,00 € Hedenquist Slovenia Seoul, Eva Enz 28/08/2011 31/10/2011 South 2.500,00 € Korea Stockholm, Sumeet Kumar 01/09/2011 31/10/2011 2.500,00 € Sweden. Ljubljana, Sergii Shelestiuk 30/09/2011 13/11/2011 2.490,00 € Slovenia Vladimira Warsaw, 17/10/2011 27/10/2011 1.080,00 € Novotna Poland Prague, Neha Topnani 01/11/2011 16/11/2011 Czech 1.700,00 € Republic Crete, Kunzo Pavol 13/11/2011 26/11/2011 1.550,00 € Greece Total 13.270,00 €
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Workshops Title Date Place Participants Cost Total From To Multiphase Polymers and 10.6. 8.6.2011 Paris, France 6/7 5.415,21 € Polymer 2011 Composites Total 5.415,21 €
Schools Title Date Place Cost Total From To Characterisation Work 25/07/2011 27/07/2011 University of 18.065,00 € 18.065,00 € Group: from Functional Oxford, Nanomaterials to Begbroke Composites Science Park, Oxford (UK)
Dissemination Title Date Place Cost Total Web page & 12.10.201 INP 3.000,00 € 3.000,00 € hosting 1 Greifswald
Others Bank charges 346,02 €
FSAC Beneficiary Date Cost Total University of Ljubljana 31.12.2011 14.218,86 € 14.218,86 €
Total: 109.011,18 €
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Total Action Budget 2012: 156.200,00 € Eligible costs till 31. December 2012: 128.004,54 €
Meetings Meeting Type Date Place Participants Cost Total
Prague, 17.4. - Working group Meeting Czech 39/57 28.702,53 € 19.4.2012 Republic
Prague, 25/63 MC Meeting 20.4.2012 Czech 8.735,80 €
Republic
Total 37.438,33 €
STSM Beneficiary Date Place Cost Total from To
Krystalenia Androulaki 23.5.2012 10.6.2012 Pisa, Italy 2.010,00 € Ljubljana, Ivan Brnardić 27.5.2012 23.6.2012 1.990,00 € Slovenia Barbara Paci 03.07.2012 31.07.2012 Crete, Greece 2.500,00 € Ana Dergan 17.9.2012 6.10.2012 Rome, Italy 2.000,00 € Luka Cmok 6.10.2012 3.11.2012 Florence, Italy 2.500,00 € Total 11.000,00 €
Workshops Title Date Place Participants Cost Total From To 5th COINAPO Topical Meeting: Safety on Mainz, 3.7.2012 3.7.2012 9/13 6.855,58 € nanotube – polymer Germany composite materials Topical Meeting: Nanocomposites: Rehovot synthesis, 19.11.2012 21.11.2012 27/67 26.607,34 € Israel characterization, testing and realization Total 33.462,92 € 14
Schools Title Date Place Cost Total from to Advances in 3.9.2012 7.9.2012 nanocomposite Bucharest, Romania 27.021,40 € materials: preparation and characterization
Dissemination Title Date Cost Total Place Web page & 18.12.2012 Web page 2.000,00 € 2.000,00 € hosting
Others Bank charges 405,24 €
FSAC Beneficiary Date Cost Total University of Ljubljana 31.12.2012 16.676,65 € 16.676,65 €
Total : 128.004,54 €
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Total Action Budget 2013: 134.667,00 € Eligible costs till 5. November 2013: 123.099,90 €
Meetings Meeting Type Date Place Participants Cost Total
20.3.- 21.3. Ercolano, Working group Meeting 42/65 29.674,18 € 2013 Italy
Ercolano, MC Meeting 22. 3. 2013 20/65 6.944,03 € Italy
14.10.- Heraklion, Topical Meeting 51/75 39.992.31 € 15.10.2013 Greece
Heraklion, Final Meeting 16.10.2013 25/58 10.048,33 € Greece
Total 86.658,84 €
STSM Beneficiary Date Place Cost Total from to
Racheli Ron 14.1.2013 14.4.2013 Zaragoza, Spain 2.500,00 € Ljubljana, Sumeet Kumar 12.2.2013 10.5.2013 2.500,00 € Slovenia Ljubljana, Shehab Hassan 14.4.2013 26.4.2013 1.450,00 € Slovenia Pedro Martins 1.5.2013 5.6.2013 Zaragoza, Spain 1.750, 00 € Heraklion, Barbara Paci 9.7.2013 6.8.2013 2.500,00 € Greece Krystalenia Androulaki 8.9.2013 25.9.2013 Pisa, Italy 1.920,00 € Eleni Papananou 19.9.2013 6.10.2013 Pisa, Italy 2.280,00 € Jože Buh 21.9.2013 6.10.2013 Vigo, Spain 2.000,00 € Blaž Tašič 26.9.2013 4.11.2013 Seoul, Korea 2.500,00 € Total 19.400,00 €
Workshops Title Date Place Participants Cost Total
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Total
Schools Title Date Place Cost Total from to -- 0 €
Dissemination Title Date Cost Total Place Web page & 29.8.2013 Greifswald, 1.000,00 € 1.000,00 € hosting Germany
Others Bank charges 348,60 €
FSAC Beneficiary Date Cost Total University of Ljubljana 5.11.2013 15.692,46 € 15.692,46 €
Total : 123.099,90 €
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II. Scientific Report prepared by the Chair of the Management Committee of the Action, describing results achieved during the Action operation in this period, in no more than 3 pages (the report is “cumulative”). All items listed in Sections A, B, and C, below, must be addressed.
Additional documentation such as extended scientific reports, proceedings of workshops, seminars or conferences may be provided separately as an annex to this report, and should be referenced in the report.
II.A. Innovative networking
Innovative knowledge resulting from COST networking through the Action. (Specific examples of Results vs. Objectives) The key innovation of the COST Action MP0902 (COINAPO) was development and exploration of a new type of composite materials by merging the specific properties of 1D inorganic nanoparticles (nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods) with the widely recognised versatility and suitability of polymer media. In the second year this innovative line was to some part extended also to the recently discovered 2D inorganic platelet materials. In the beginning the emphasis was on nanoparticles fabrication, while during the last years of the Action the focus was shifted to their functionalization and incorporation into various polymer hosts.
Results versus objectives as given in the MoU (see page 8 of MoU):
Objective A: Understand the structure of the produced nanotubes and their solid state characteristics Examples of obtained results: - MoSI nanotubes: Bonding properties of MoSI nanotubes with gold nanoparticles were resolved; Optical spectroscopic investigations of thin layers of MoSI nanotubes revealed a profound structural similarity of materials with different stoichometric composition; MoSI nanowires were used as template for synthesis of other type of Mo-based nanowires, for instance MoS2, MOx, MoN, etc. It was shown that such wires retain the shape of the template; An efficient single-step decoration method for coating MoSI nanowires with Pt nanoparticles was found. The method enables large scale production for different applications.
- MoS2 and WS2 nanotubes: A new synthetic strategy for growth of 1D and 2D crystals inside the WS2 nanotubes was developed; A dedicated study of crystalline structure of WS2 nanotubes under HRTEM was undertaken; It was found that semiconducting properties of MoS2 nanotubes can be strongly altered if a small amount of molybdenum atoms is substituted by rhenium atoms. - Metallic nanowires: Silver (Ag) nanowires with high ratio of length/diameter were fabricated. It was shown that such nanowires strongly attract different types of nanoparticles, for example SiO2 nanospheres. - Other inorganic 1D nanoparticles: A method of annealing of MoSI nanowires in ammonia gas that enables formation of MoN nanowires was developed. The resulting MoN nanowires were found to exhibit electrical superconductivity properties; It was discovered that non-fluorescent lanthanum phosphate nanotubes become fluorescent if doped with Tb and Eu ions; New 1D nanostructures of multiferroic BiFeO3 were successfully synthesised.
Objective B: Develop methodologies for dispersing these materials within polymers Examples of obtained results: Different types of nanotube materials were synthesised and advantages/difficulties in preparation of nanowire/polymer composites with these nanotubes were elucidated, most of them for the first time: - Au and Ag nanotube particles were synthesised and functionalisation of the metal surface of these nanomaterials was investigated. - Plasma treatment for nanoparticle surface modification was tested;
- Fuctionalization of WS2 nanotubes with reactions using as functionalization reagent acyl chloride (bromoundecanoyl chloride), carboxylic acid (bromoundecanoic acid) and dichlorodimethylsilane was tested - It was found that surface modification selectively altered nanoparticles dispersion stability in different organic and inorganic solvents; A method for dispersion of the nanotubes which allows to get 60-80% of dispersed nanoparticles was demonstrated;
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- A new method for surface functionalization of sodium titanate nanotubes and nanowires with various types of silanes or by acryloul chloride was developed - It was found that functionalization makes these nanotubes much more compatible with polymers; - A new method using chemical and electrochemical polymerization for preparation of nanocomposite films between the gold micro-electrodes was tested; - Several groups developed methods for incorporation of inorganic nanotubes into polymer fibres produced by electro-spinning technique; - A set of methods for dispersion of inorganic nanotubes in conductive polymers, such as P3HT or PANI, was developed; A systematic investigation of effect of purification of MoS2 nanotubes on their dispersion in P3HT conjugated polymer for bulk heterojunction solar cells was performed.
Objective C: Study the structural, opto-electronic and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites Examples of obtained results: - Structural properties: x-ray scattering and optical measurements showed that unidirectional alignment of the nanowires can be achieved via their self-organization in the block-polymers (SEBS, SIS). It was shown that use of a liquid crystal polymer as host material for ZnO piezoelectric nanorods can produce anisotropic distribution of the filler. It was demonstrated that polymerizable low weight liquid crystalline host material can also produce alignment of the nanotubes. The effect of presence of inorganic material on the crystallinity and crystalline characteristics of the polymer (PEO) was investigated.
- Opto-electronic properties: Electrical conductivity of MoS2 nanotubes - PMMA composite materials was investigated as a function of nanotube concentration; Percolation threshold of the PCL polymer – MoSI nanowire composites was studied by using broadband AC conductivity measurements; A new method for preparation of MoSI nanowires decorated with CdSe quantum dots and/or Au nanoparticles was developed - The resulting nanowires are suitable for preparation of conductive polymers and preliminary study of their photoluminescent properties indicates potential applications in photovoltaics (solar cells) and optoelectronics; Investigation of a nanocomposite material by a non-linear optical microscope showed a very interesting second harmonic generation (SHG) phenomena from the bundles of nanotubes. This technique enables a very good 2D imaging of the single micro/nano-particles inside a bulk sample. A 3D imaging of the nanocomposite can be obtained by software reconstruction; Charge transfer properties of a new composite material made from long Ag nanowires doped into polycarbonate matrix were investigated; Piezoelectric response of nanostructured polymeric 1-D materials was explored; Several groups investigated opto-electronic properties of composite materials developed for application in photovoltaic devices. - Mechanical and thermal properties: Mechanical, thermal and adhesion properties of WS2 nanotubes in epoxy matrix were investigated. The fracture mechanics and reinforcement effects were elucidated; Systematic investigation of dynamical mechanical properties of polyurea elastomeric materials doped with MoSI and MoS2 nanotubes was performed. A comparative study of effect of adding INT- WS2 nanoparticles in the form of nanotubes, fullerene-like nanoparticles and micron-sized platelets to epoxy matrix was performed -The study was focused on tribological performance of the nanocomposites.
Objective D: Determine the effect of processing on the final properties of the composite materials Examples of obtained results: - Procedure to obtain fibers of nanotube-polymer composite material by electrospinning method was developed: It was demonstrated that fibers with aligned nanowires can be achieved by evaporating the composite on anodize alumina membrane. 3+ - It was shown that surface modification of LaPO4Tb fluorescent nanowires produces modification of their fluorescent spectrum in composite materials. - Effect of concentration of inorganic nanotubes on dynamical mechanical properties of their composites with polyuria was systematically investigated. - It was shown that doping soft liquid crystalline polymers with small amount of ZnO nanorods strongly changes morphology of the polymer. - It was found that duration of reaction in hydrothermal reactor influences the length of the fabricated sodium- titanate nanotubes. Subsequently, the influence of nanotube length on thermal and mechanical properties of their nanocomposites with polymers was determined.
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- The effect of nanotube content on crystallinity of the P3HT host matrix was investigated. It was found that the nanotubes improve the crystallinity of the composite layer in organic solar cells.
Objective E: Model the response of the material as means to deeper understanding and optimisation of the composite Examples of obtained results: - Electrical conductivity: AC conductivity and dielectric spectra of conductor-dielectric composites were modelled from DC up to IR frequency range using Bruggeman and Hashin-Shtrickman models; Effective medium modelling of dielectric function of nanocomposites was performed in combination with experimental investigations of different kinds of composite materials; Theoretical investigation of charge transfer in TMCN
composites/misfit compounds combined with experimental studies was performed. - Percolation effects: Influence of nanotube polydispersity and nanotube alignment on electrical percolation of the nanocomposites was theoretically investigated. A combination of measurements, computer simulations and theory has shown that mixtures of nanotubes and nanospheres form networks with a lower electrical percolation threshold than may be expected from simple mixing rules. A theory that shows that nanotube alignment due to external fields (electrical, magnetic and elongational flow) impacts their electrical
percolation threshold in composite materials was also completed. - The so called EHM model (Eisenberg, Hird & Moore) was used to explain the
effect of hard nanoparticle domains on glass transition of the composite. - A new model of nanocomposite dynamics aimed at explaining the results of transient grating experiments
was implemented. Its applicability needs to be checked with further experimental investigations.
Objective F: Establish characterization protocols for determining the key properties for key applications Examples of obtained results: - MoSI nanotubes in the composite materials were investigated for possible application in pressure sensors (to be used in cars and other vehicles). - A non-destructive technique for characterization of mechanical dissipative properties adapted for testing of nanocomposite material samples with small dimensions was developed. The technique can serve as a protocol for determining lubrication and wear-protection properties of the new composite materials. - Collaborative links established between different partners provided a possibility of detailed studying of electrical percolation phenomena using a broad-band dielectric spectroscopy in combination with theoretical modelling based on various effective medium approaches. Such a broad and well- defined characterization protocol is needed to resolve the applicability of composite materials for fabrication of
electrostatic dissipaters. - Systematic measurements of absorbance of several ionic liquids in THz range were performed. This is
prerequisite for development of efficient polymeric absorbers of THz radiation. - Chips for frequency filtering were prototyped in a 130 nm RFCMOS technology. The system included analog control signals for frequency and bandwidth tuning. The chips have passed tests and are appropriate for the signal reading from semiconducive and dielectric nanomaterials. The integration of nanotubes on the designed microelectronic chip was performed for the examination of their applicability
as possible electronic elements or sensors.
Significant scientific breakthroughs as part of the COST Action. (Specific examples) 1. Several important advance steps in fabrication of nanotube materials were realized: (a) successful functionalisation of MoSI nanotubes with Mercury ions in common organic solvents is now providing conductive nanowire networks; (b) successful exfoliation of MoS2 and WS2 bulk materials, down to mono-atomic sheets, opens new perspectives for fabrication of composite materials; (c) high nanotube yield achieved in common organic solvents provides materials in macroscopic quantities available to network partners; (d) functionalisation of MoSI nanotubes with phthalocyanines to modify optical properties was successfully achieved and will was exploited to fabricate new composite materials. 2. Practically first ever made composite materials of MoSI and MoS2 nanotubes with polymers and elastomers were fabricated as a result of networking through the Action. First characterisation experiments on these composite materials were also performed (electrical conductivity, optical spectroscopy, elastomechanic properties, adhesive properties, etc.).
3. Optimization of hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 nanotubes was performed. The main parameters of the synthesis are temperature, time and gel composition. After characterization by XRD, FTIR, SEM and TEM, the best synthesis parameters were chosen. These nanotubes were afterwards provided to 20
network partners for further investigations. 4. A method for synthesis of pure phase of WS2 inorganic nanotubes in large amounts (500 g/week) in reaction route enabling easy dispersion was developed. This provides a possibility to investigate effect of incorporation of nanotubes in polymer materials processed via standard large-scale industrial methods. New nanocomposites reinforced with these nanotubes are under development. 5. It was demonstrated that incorporation of inorganic nanowires of MoSI-, MoS2-, MoO3-x- type into thermoplastic engineering polymers (such as polyamide 6) reduces the coefficient of friction by about 30% and reduces the wear rate by about 50%. Composites based on PET were also investigated showing very similar effects. 6. Alignment of inorganic nanotubes in commercial block-copolymers was demonstrated. Alignment in a flow field occurs when the morphology of the matrix is cylindrical, but not when the matrix has phase morphology of dispersed spheres. This observation revealed the importance of the anisotropy of the matrix in order to achieve alignment of nanowires / nanotubes in a polymeric matrix in a flow field. 7. The effective and convenient tools for nondestructive characterization of nanocomposite material properties needed to define performance, reliability and safety requirements for composite products have been developed and validated. Such devices are prerequisite for transfer of the IN-P composite materials from research laboratories to the industrial production. 8. Composite materials of inorganic nanostructures and polymers for use in plasmonic organic solar cells were studied: the in-situ structural/morphological monitoring approach performed at ISM CNR in Rome integrated the work of other COINAPO partners allowing direct correlation of the improved photovoltaic performances with the superior structural- morphological properties of these systems. First evidences of enhanced morphology and photovoltaic stability in OPV devices incorporating plasmonic nanostructures were collected. 9. The synthesis procedure of polyaniline (PANI)/TiO2 nanocomposites was developed, which utilizes both the chemical and the electrochemical polymerization, and is available for in-situ preparation of gas sensing films directly on the inter-digitated micro-electrodes on insulating substrate. 10. Cooperative investigations have shown that treatment of WS2 nanotubes with plasma can produce secondary nanotubes of smaller diameter, which are only 2-3 layers thick. This finding demonstrates that by using experimental conditions far from equilibrium one can fabricate nanotubes that were considered by theory to be highly unstable. These nanotubes open up new prospects for fabrication of WS2 nanotube-polymer composites. 11. A multidisciplinary investigation focused on the problem of electrically conductive composite materials from nanotubes and polymers has shown that nanotubes need not to be conductive for the composite to be conductive. The main idea is to use non-conducting nanotubes as fillers, which drastically reduce the amount of electrically conducting polymer needed. The procedure developed along this research line is water-based and environmentally friendly. 12. A new method for decoration of MoSI nanowires, which gives rise to novel noble metal/molybdenum hybrid networks, was discovered. These decorated nanowires have promising properties for fabrication of new composite materials that can be used in electronic devices or sensors and for fabrication of conductive composites.
Tangible medium term socio-economic impacts achieved or expected. (Specific examples) 1. Development of new plastic materials with improved performances for high-tech and every day applications is very important for raising the quality of life of European citizens as well as for improving Europe’s socio-economic development. 2. The process of chemically manipulating nanomaterials in the liquid-phase, which was developed by Action partners, is very important because it provides a promising approach for the fabrication of industrial scale composite films with well-controlled electric properties for microelectronics (transistors, thin conductive films for electrical displays, etc.) and for high temperature applications such as super- capacitors for energy storage. This will improve the problem of energy storage, which is one of the vital challenges of modern technologies. 3. Colaborative Action activities resulted in several well-formed ideas for industrial collaborations, some of which were kicked off during the Action topical meeting in Sestriere (Italy) in March 2011; directly benefiting from the participation of industrial researchers in the meeting. Those collaborations will serve as a basic platform on the way towards more extensive applications oriented research of the IN-P materials. 4. The promising preliminary results achieved by gas sensors based on PANI/TiO2 nano-composites are expected to provide numerous applications to the environment monitoring, chemical industries, health 21
services, automotive industry and several other daily-life products. 5. European patent “Process for the preparation of a conductive polymer composition” (EP11003445.1), that was recently submitted by Action partners is expected to have strong impact on improvement of electrical charge sensitive devices and products. 6. First design and assembly of solar cells, which use new inorganic nanotube-polymer composite materials developed in the framework of the Action, were started. These activities are important for further development of technology for electricity production from light. 7. Further test experiments with inorganic nanotube-polymer composite materials that exhibit reduced friction and improved wear rates were performed. This research has important impact for energy saving in mechanical systems. 8. The field of nanomaterials development, fabrication and applications is related with several unique safety issues. Various activities within the Action stimulated exchange of ideas and spreading of awareness of “nanosafety” issues among Action participants and also to broader public. A special presentation about these issues will be published as a part of Action final publication.
Spin off of new EC RTD Framework Programme proposals/projects. (List) 1) Prof. Jesús Santamaría (MC member from Spain) proposed project: Microwave-assisted microreactors: “Development of a highly efficient gas phase contactor with direct catalyst heating” (HECTOR) within the Seventh Framework Programme, IDEAS - European Research Council. The project has been approved (financed) with 1,851,178.80 € for 5 years. 2) MC members Jonathan Coleman from Ireland and Valeria Nicolosi from UK, separately, were awarded two European Research Council ERC Starting Grants of 1.2 and 1.6 million Euro respectively. Inorganic nanoplatelet exfoliation method developed within the research groups of J. Coleman and V. Nicolosi is at present in the process of being scaled up through the formation of a start-up company leading to larger, industrial scale production. 3) A project proposal within the call FP7-NMP-2012 was prepared as a result of networking through the Action. The small and medium-sized collaborative project entitled: “Realization of Sensors based on Nanocomposite Materials for Automotive Engines” involved 6 academic partners from COINAPO network and 4 partners from companies. The application unfortunately did not pass the evaluation procedure. However, valuable links with industrial partners have been established and new project applications on similar topics are planed within Horizont-2020 calls. 4) A training network project FP7-PEOPLE-2011-ITN MoWSeS, which involves participation of several Action partners, was approved for funding in 2012. 5) Proposal “Theoretical Modeling of Liquid Crystal Based Tunable Metamaterials” submitted in 2012, was funded by the European Office of Aerospace Research & Development (EOARD). The proposal in particular addresses a problem of the influence of the liquid crystalline host and nano-particles parameters on tuning of the optical properties of metamaterials. Total funding is 106,000.00USD (V. Reshetnyak).
Spin off of new National Programme proposals/projects. (List) 1) The research group of J.G. Meier (Spain) submited the proposal: Nanotubos Inorgánicos como Refuerzo en Nanocomposites de Matriz Polimérica” to Spanish funding agency. 2) Latvian National Program in Materials Science V7632 “Elaboration of Advanced Multifunctional Materials as well as Signal Processing Technologies and Information Technologies” was launched. Action member Prof. Maris Knite is head of subproject “Physically active nanostructured polymer composites and technology for manufacturing the same” in programV7632. 3) Valeria Nicolosi, Oxford, UK, was awarded two grants from the UK National Programme for a total of 700,000.00 GBP. 4) P. Vanek (Institute of Physics ASCR Prague) was granted by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Rep. (2012-2013): Dielectric and phonon spectroscopy of nanocomposite dielectrics and conductors. 5) I. Drevensek Olenik was granted a SI-CN bilateral project 2011-13 on: “Photonic structures based on polymer-nanoparticle composites” for total of about 25 k Euro. 6) Proposal to the Ministry of Energy and Water, Israel was submitted on June 2012. 7) INNI-FTA (Israeli National Nano Initiative - Focal Technology Area program) proposal is in process of submission. 8) Project: HYDROCESPED (Development of new artificial grass) Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spanish government. 01/09/2011-31/07/2013. Total: 644,173.62€, Zaragoza University:133.297,50 €, Silvia Irusta 9) Project: Nanostructured Catalysts for biomass hydrogen purification. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spanish government.01/12/2011-01/12/2014. 90,000€. Silvia Irusta
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10) The research group of Prof. S. H. Anastasiadis is a partner in the recently awarded research program “High performance nanocomposite materials: Reinforcement of polymers with advanced carbon and silica nanostructures" (NANOCOMP) under the Action THALIS of the Greek Ministry of Education and Long Life Learning. 11) Project proposal: “Transition metal based nanowires and nanotubes by a two-step approach”. In evaluation process at ARRS, Slovenia. 12) The ISM CNR unit has participated to a proposal for Italian PRIN founding: the project, focussing on photovoltaics, was positively evaluated by two external referees and selected for the further evaluation step. 13) Dielectric and phonon spectroscopy of nanocomposite dielectrics and conductors, Project P204/12/0232 of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic 2012-2014, principal investigator D. Nuzhnyy 14) Functional nanocomposites and their broad-band dielectric and conduction properties, Project LD12025 of the Czech Ministry of Education 2012-2013, principal investigator P. Vanek 15) The Slovak Grant Agency project APVV 0593-11 IOLISEN was granted, 2012-15. 16) Dielectric and ultrasonic investigation of composites of inorganic nanotubes and polymers” Lithuanian Research Council funded project from May 2012. (Involved J.Banys , V. Samulionis and students) 17) Austrian Science Funds Project FWF P23982-N20 (1.11.2011-31.10.2014) "Multiscale properties of disordered ferroics and glasses" contains a nubproject devoted to the study of Composites of inorganic nanotubes and polymers. 18) Proposal to the Spanish ”MINISTERIO DE ECONOMIA Y COMPETITIVIDAD”, within the “PLAN NACIONAL de I+D+i 2008-2011 - Subprograma de Proyectos de Investigación Fundamental” on “Synergies of inorganic nanofillers with different morphologies in the reinforcement of polymers” 19) Project: Kinetic theory of structural transitions in supramolecular polymers. Funding agency: Chemical Sciences Foundation, Dutch Organization for Scientific Research NWO. Granted: 2012. Position funded: 1 PhD student. 20) Project: Predictive processing of polymer-fullerene solar cells. Partners: P. Blom (RUG), R. Janssen (TU/e), J. Loos (Glasgow), M. Michels (TU/e). Funding agency: Dutch Polymer Institute. Granted: 2011. Positions funded: 4 PhD students. 21) Action partner from Israel (R. Tenne) is heading a new national program (2012-2016) “Inorganic nanotubes (INT): from nanomechanics to improved nanocomposites”, which encompasses 11 research groups in 5 different Israeli universities. 22) A new VEGA (Slovakia) national project entitled: “Nanocomposite materials for fabrication of gas sensors” was started (P. Lobotka). 23) Austrian Science Funds Project FWF P23982-N20 (1.11.2011-31.10.2014) "Multiscale properties of disordered ferroics and glasses" contains a subproject devoted to the study of Composites of inorganic nanotubes and polymers. 24) Italian POM Project “Ambition Power” – 140.000 eur was granted (G. Compagnini).
II.B. Inter-disciplinary networking
Additional knowledge obtained from working with other disciplines within the COST framework. (Specific examples) 1. The group of J. Lagerwall, University of Halle-Wittenberg, DE, provided expertise in incorporation of nanotubes in lyotropic liquid crystals, the partner from J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI, provided expertise in synthesis of inorganic nanotubes. Their collaborative activities resulted in an interdisciplinary study with good chance of high impact. 2. Within the COST framework ESR Ilze Aulika from IIT, Torino, IT, developed new efficient collaborations with the researchers from Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (J. Petzelt, A. Dejneka). Significant new knowledge about dielectric spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry was acquired and transferred to her home institution. 3. The Action meeting taking place in Sestriere, Italy, was organized as a joint meeting with international conference on piezoelectrics: Piezo-2011. Discussions of Action partners with researchers from the field of piezoelectricity resulted in new ideas to use piezoelectric nanoparticles, such as ZnO nanowires, and their composites for fabrication of nanogenerators and similar electromechanical devices. 4. Establishment of links with the COST Action MP0901, taking place within two joint meetings, provided contacts with different researchers involved in TiO2 nanotube fabrication and characterization. In cooperation with the MP0901 this type of nanotubes was incorporated into composite materials investigated within our Action.
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5. Establishment of collaborative links between Aragon institute of technology in Spain, which has widespread experience with development and testing of new tribological materials, and J. Stefan Institute from Slovenia and Weizmann Institute from Israel, who are two main producers of the nanotube particles within the Action, resulted in fabrication of new polyamide and PET composites with highly improved tribological properties. This work is one of the very important examples of joining partners with complementary expertise. 6. The Action meeting (minisymposium) taking place in Mainz, Germany, was organized as a joint meeting with international conference on Transition Metal Chalcogenide and Halide Nanostructures - TMCN'12. Discussions of Action partners with researchers from the field of nanomaterials fabrication stimulated exchange of ideas and experience on various safety issues related to development and applications of nanomaterials. 7. New ”nonstandard” techniques for characterization of nanoparticles and their composites with polymers, like PAS – positron annihilation spectroscopy, THz spectroscopy, plasma treatment, etc. were introduced via inter-disciplinary networking. 8. New knowledge was obtained on the combination of chemical and electrochemical polymerization for the preparation of thin nanocomposite films in-situ over the insulating gap between the gold micro-electrodes of a gas sensor which resulted in the doubling of the ammonia sensitivity of the TiO2 containing nanocomposite film. This was achieved through the STSM of ESR P. Kunzo from the working group of Prof. P. Lobotka (Slovakia) and his collaboration with the working group of Prof. S. H. Anastasiadis (Greece). 9. A partner group from Greece involved in synthesis of new composite materials started collaboration with partner group from Italy that provides testing of these composites as possible component of photovoltaic cells. Collaborative efforts resulted in fabrication of composite materials with superior morphological properties for application in solar cells. 10. Interdisciplinary collaboration between the groups from Israel and Poland resulted in development of new methods for nanorods and nanowire alignment in porous alumina films. 11. New knowledge on properties of soft liquid-crystalline polymers doped with small amount of nanoparticles (ZnO nanorods) was obtained from collaboration between the groups from Poland and Czech Republic. 12. In the framework of the Action a partner from Italy (IIT) started collaboration with University of Vienna, Riga Technical University, ETH Zurich and Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana achieving new results and competences in dynamic- and thermo-mechanical analysis of new type of nanowires/elastomer composites.
Evaluation of whether the level of inter-disciplinarity was sufficient to potentially provide scientific impacts. (Specific examples) The level of inter-disciplinarity amongst the action-members was sufficient to provide scientific impacts. Some examples are specifically mentioned below. They highlight the inter-disciplinary approach on different aspects of the action, which are of general scientific and technological interest. 1. Very lively cooperation between the partners of the WG1-“Fabrication of Materials” and the partners of the WG2-“Characterization” was present all time. This cooperation served as a base to foster transfer of knowledge and experience between chemists and physicists/material scientists. 2. Establishment of WG4 - “Engineering” in 2011 stimulated research focused on applications of new composite materials in various devices. This cooperation was based on the links between researchers from academia and from industrial laboratories established during the topical meetings organized within the Action. 3. Availability of inorganic nanoparticle samples amongst the Action-members enabled systematic studies on various aspects of research on inorganic nanotube composite systems, such as mechanical, electrical optical properties or wear and tribological tests. This has boosted the scientific output and co- operation between the nanotube producing partners and different groups of the action studying the processing and characterization. The mutual feed-back led to improvements of dispersability of inorganic nanotubes and the establishment of general processing guidelines. 4. Different samples of nanotube-reinforced aluminium alloys have been prepared by Action members to validate the developed non-destructive mechanical testing technique. Results of dissipative material properties characterisation gave the possibility to formulate the recommendations for the improvement of technological process. 5. A combination of measurements, computer simulation and analytical theory were necessary to find out that nanotubes need not be electrically conductive for composites to be conductive with a low percolation 24
threshold if use is made of another conducting component that can be templated onto the nanotubes. Without such kind of interdisciplinary co-operation, this breakthrough discovery could not have been made. 6. Two partner groups from WG1-Fabrication of materials are involved in synthesis and preparation of new type of inorganic nanotubes decorated with noble-metal nanoparticles. These new materials are made available to partners from other WGs, which allows fast scanning/monitoring of their most interesting/promising properties.
Evaluation of whether the level of inter-disciplinarity was sufficient to potentially provide socio- economic impacts. (Specific examples) Inter-disciplinary collaboration within the scope of the Action was to our opinion sufficient to potentially provide full insight into the properties and application capacities of the IN-P nanocomposite materials, which can consequently provide important socio-economic impacts.
1. The participating industrial partner from Israel has invested 20 years of research efforts to synthesize inorganic nanotubes. This is far beyond the means or timeframe of any specific project. However, now that the nanotubes are available in large amounts and exhibit excellent mechanical properties, collaborations with different research groups from the Action that study nanocomposites is of great value for the Israel group. Only versatile and extensive interdisciplinary investigations, as available in the framework of the Action, can provide rapid transfer of these new materials from the laboratory-scale samples to industrial products. 2. One of the fascinating applications to be exploited with the new composites is the production of thermoelectric films. In fact, a large range of 1D and 2D nanomaterials, when fabricated into devices, can produce electricity form waste heat. This is an amazing property to be exploited, for example, in a gas-fired power plant, approximately 50% of the energy produce is lost as waste heat, while for coal and oil plants the figure raises up to 70%. The development of efficient thermoelectric devices would allow some of this waste heat to be recycled cheaply and easily. These investigations definitely require concerted activities of researchers from various disciplines. 3. Several partners are involved in research activities on two specific fields: INT-polymer based solar cells and tribological properties of INT-polymer composites. Both topics can potentially provide high impact on development of new energy production and energy saving technologies, which are vital for further economic development of European region.
II.C. New networking Additional new members joining the Action during its life. At the kick-off meeting in Brussels on November 6, 2009, the Action started with 15 COST participating members. By the end of 2009 Lithuania, Sweden and Slovakia had joined. In 2010 Belgium, Estonia, Romania, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Ukraine (non-COST) joined. In 2011 Cyprus and Republic of Korea (non-COST) joined. In 2012 Croatia and Australia (non-COST) joined. Researchers from Bulgaria, Russia and PR China were discussing with Action MC members about possible participation, but their intensions were never formalised. During its ending year (2013) the Action altogether comprised 25 COST signatory partners and 3 non-COST members.
Total number of individual participants involved in the Action work. (Number of participants. Give % of female and of Early Stage Researcher participants) In November 2013 the Action was composed of about 150 individual participants (accordingly to the Action e-mailing list). From these about 20% were female and about 20% were Early Stage Researcher (ESR) participants.
Involvement of Early Stage Researchers in the Action, in particular with respect to STSMs, networking activities, and Training Schools. In addition, justification should be provided if less than 4 STSMs were carried out during some year.
Training schools: The first COINAPO training was organized in Oxford, GB, in July 2011. All the participants were ESRs, predominantly Ph.D. students. They obtained an extensive training on different methods/techniques for nanomaterials characterization. The training combined lectures and practical work in the laboratory. By working with modern experimental equipment available at the host institution using samples of inorganic nanotube-polymer (IN-P) composites, the trainees became directly involved in the scientific and research activities of the Action. The second COINAPO training school was organized in Bucharest, Romania in September 2012. 22 out 25
from 23 trainees selected to receive the COST grant for this school were ESRs, again predominantly Ph.D. students. Also this school combined lectures with practical training.
STSMs: Altogether 27 STSM exchange visits were accomplished, (6 in 2010, 7 in 2011, 5 in 2012, and 9 in 2013). The majority, i.e. 85% of the STSM visits, involved ESRs, and 44% involved female scientists.
Networking and other activities: The ESRs involved in the STSM visits were invited to the Action meetings and were asked to present their research work performed during the STSM visit in the oral presentation. This provided promotion of their work as well as improvement of their skills in relation with giving presentations on their research results. Via two STSM visits within the Action an ESR (S. Kumar) attained knowledge on nanotube/polymer composite microfibers. Based on innovative ideas related to possible use of such fibers in polymer-based solar cells he established a spin-off company „1SUN Ltd.“, which operates within the AREA Science park in Trieste, Italy.
Involvement of researchers from outside of COST Countries. (Number of participants from non-COST Countries approved by the CSO. Give % of such participants from countries with reciprocal agreements. Specify their contribution) Participation of Ukraine (1 participating research group to the WG3-“Theory”) was approved by the CSO in spring meeting 2010. Participation of Republic of Korea (1 participating research group to the WG1- “Fabrication of Materials”) was approved by the CSO in spring meeting 2011. Australia – country with the reciprocal agreement - (1 participating research group to the WG2-“Characterization”) was approved by the CSO in autumn meeting 2012. By the end of the Action (1/28)=3,6% of participants from countries with reciprocal agreements were involved in Action activities.
Advancement and promotion of scientific knowledge through publications and other outreach activities. (Number of publications and other outreach activities that resulted from COST networking through the Action. Complete list should be given in an annex) In 2010 design and creation of the Action web site: www.coinapo.eu, serving as basic source of information on Action research goals and networking activities took place. In 2010 also the Action logo and Action flyer were created, which served for distribution of basic information on the Action at international meetings, conferences, etc. (they were all time available for downloading on Action web page). Extensions of the Action web site (password protected area for Action members) took place in 2011. This extension provided exchange of ideas, information and materials between Action partners. In 2012 the Action we site was updated with a new more modern design and some further extensions of password protected area for Action members were made. In 2012 also new updated Action flyer was printed and distributed. Informative article about COINAPO project for publication on Wikipedia was prepared. Short information about COINAPO was pasted to Twitter and Facebook social networks. The Action final publication, was published as a special issue of Physica Status Solidi A (Wiley) in November 2013 just after official ending of the Action. 17 articles were submitted and 14 were approved for publication. Soon after their acceptance all articles became available on-line (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pssa.v210.11/issuetoc ). In December 2013 the special issue placed on the USB stick was distributed among the Action participants. (for list of papers published in the special issue see annex). A selection of 9 scientific papers resulting from collaborative research activities within the Action were published in October 2011 in the special issue of “Sensors & Transducers Journal” (International Frequency Sensors Association (IFSA)), (Vol. 12 - special issue); http://www.sensorsportal.com/HTML/DIGEST/Journal_CD_2011.htm, (for list of papers see annex). Besides the publications in the above mentioned special issues, 60 regular scientific papers resulting from collaborative research activities within COST networking were published/accepted/submitted (see annex) 54 conference contributions (on non-COINAPO meetings) publications resulting from collaborative research activities within COST networking were published (see annex). 24 Ph.D. /M.Sc./B.Sc. works were accomplished in relation to the COST networking through the Action (see annex). 8 Books of Abstracts were published (printed) as part of Action meetings.
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27 research reports were prepared about works performed during STSM visits. A special booklet on “safety of nanotube-polymers composite materials” was published on the USB stick together with the Action final publication and was distributed to the participants in December 2013.
Activities and projects with COST network colleagues. 122 creations of new collaborations between different research groups are documented in the Action records (the list of all new collaborative initiatives is given in the annex). These collaborations prove, that the research field of the IN-P composites, which practically did not exist in the starting year of the Action (2009), developed into a widely recognisable interdisciplinary research topic. The “COINAPO- materials” are now established as an independent materials research field.
A starting link with the COST Action MP0701 was established by inviting the coordinator of the Action MP0701 (Dr. Erich Kny) to the Kick-off meeting of the working groups (Greifswald, Germany, March 2010).
An active link with the COST Actions MP0901 and MP0701 was established by organizing/participating to joint meetings (Ljubljana, October 2010; Paris, June 2011). The link with the COST Action MP0901 was further strengthened by organizing/participating to a joint meeting in Slovenia (Slonano 2011, Ljubljana).
The capacity of the Action members to raise research funds. As can be seen from the lists of granted/applied national projects given above, the capacity of the Action members to raise research funds on national level was very satisfactory, while the success on international level was not so good. Despite the usual “practice”, there were no new project applications on the EC level during the last year of Action running (2013). However, all Action partners agree that widespread collaborative links established within the Action should be used as a base for common project applications also after the end of the Action – i.e. within the Horizon 2020 calls.
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III. DC General Assessment prepared by the Domain Committee
The main objective of the COST Action MP0902-COINAPO was to develop new composite materials from inorganic nanotubes and polymers and to establish appropriate links and transfer of knowledge needed for application and commercialisation. Nanotubes made of inorganic materials are an interesting alternative to carbon nanotubes, showing advantages such as e.g. easy synthetic access, good uniformity and solubility, and predefined electrical conductivity depending on the composition of the starting material. They are therefore very promising candidates as fillers for polymer composites with enhanced thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. As part of this Action a large array of inorganic nanotube materials were prepared characterised. Amongst a considerable number of technical successes were the development of a new method for preparation MoSI nanowires coated with CdSe quantum dots, with potential applications in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. By chemically manipulating nanomaterials in the liquid-phase, a promising approach was developed for the fabrication of industrial scale composite films with well- controlled electric properties for microelectronics (transistors, displays) applications. It was commented by one of the external experts that in this area of research this project has been ‘world leading’, evidenced by the research output of the relevant groups. The publication output from the Action included 83 refereed journal and 54 conference papers. These include one paper in Nature and two in Science. The Action final publication, was published as a special issue of Physica Status Solidi A (Wiley) in November 2013 (14 articles). There was considerable praise from the members as to the high quality of the Action coordination role carried out by Prof. Irena Drevensek Olenik. Networking as part of this Action included 27 STSM exchange visits and 2 training schools. While assisting the industrial application of composite materials from inorganic nanotubes and polymers was originally objective, overall there was a relatively limited industrial impact of the Action. This partly reflects the relatively early stage in the commercial application of this technology.
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ANNEX
List of papers published in the special issue of Sensors&Transducers Journal: Vol. 12, October 2011 1. Distributed array of polymeric piezo-nanowires through hard-templating method into porous alumina: Valentina CAUDA, Davide DAPRA, Ilze AULIKA, Danilo DEMARCHI, Pierluigi CIVERA, Marco PIZZI
2. Charge transfer properties of surface-treated WS2 nanotubes and Fullerene-like nanoparticles: Tiziana DI LUCCIO, Carmela BORRIELLO, Sumeet KUMAR, Giuseppe NENNA
3. Effect of Mo6SxI10-x nanotubes addition on electrooptical properties of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals: Jerneja MILAVEC, Aleš MRZEL, Irena DREVENŠEK-OLENIK, Mykhailo PEVNYI, Victor RESHETNYAK
4. Nanomaterials characterization using nuclear methods at IFIN-HH: Ion Burducea, Liviu Stefan Craciun, Cristina Ionescu, Mihai Straticiuc, Alin Titus Serban, Petru Mihai Racolta
5. Ultrasonic Characterization of Dynamic Elastic Properties of Polymer Composites with Inorganic Nanotubes : V. SAMULIONIS, J. BANYS, A. SANCHES-FERRER and R. MEZZENGA
6. Dynamic- and thermo- mechanical analysis of inorganic nanotubes / elastomer composites: Armin FUITH, Marius REINECKER, Antoni SÁNCHEZ-FERRER, Raffaele MEZZENGA, Aleš MRZEL, Maris KNITE, Ilze AULIKA, Marija DUNCE and Wilfried SCHRANZ
7. Transient grating experiments on inorganic–elastomer nanocomposites: Andrea TASCHIN1,2, Paolo BARTOLINI, Antoni SÁNCHEZ-FERRER, Raffaele MEZZENGA, Aleš MRZEL and Renato TORRE
8. The mechanical and tribological properties of epoxy nanocomposites with WS2 nanotubes: Elad ZOHAR, Sharon BARUCH, Mark SHNEIDER, Hanna DODIUK,Samuel KENIG, H. Daniel WAGNER, Alla ZAK, Alex MOSHKOVITH , Lev RAPOPORT, Reshef TENNE
9. Large-scale synthesis of WS2 multiwall nanotubes and their dispersion, an update: Alla ZAK, Liat SALLACAN ECKER, Roni EFRATI, Larissa DRANGAI, Niles FLEISCHER and Reshef TENNE
List of papers published in the special issue of Physica Status Solidi A Journal: Vol. 210, No. 11, 2013 (ACTION FINAL PUBLICATION) 1. Inorganic nanotubes and fullerene-like nanoparticles: synthesis, mechanical-properties and applications: R. Tenne, R. Rosentsveig, A. Zak.
2. Broadband dielectric and conductivity spectroscopy of inhomogeneous and composite conductors: Jan Petzelt, Dmitry Nuzhnyy, Viktor Bovtun, Maxim Savinov, Martin Kempa, Ivan Rychetsky.
3. Effect of Mo6S3I6 nanowires on the dielectric properties of poly(epsilon-caprolactone): Sarunas Svirkas, Dziugas Jablonskas, Vytautas Samulionis, Auste Kupreviciute, Juras Banys, Seow Jecg Chin, Tony McNally.
4. Preparation and characterization of novel nanocomposites of WS2 nanotubes and polyfluorene conductive polymer: Tiziana Di Luccio, Carmela Borriello, Annalisa Bruno, Maria G. Maglione, Carla Minarini, Giuseppe Nenna. 29
5. Synthesis of silanes functionalized sodium titanate nanotubes and their influence on thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposite: Ivan Brnardić, Miroslav Huskic, Polona Umek, Alberto Fina, Tamara Holjevac Grguric.
6. Two-step method for preparation of Al2O3/IF-WS2 nanoparticles composite coating: J. Korzekwa, R. Tenne, W. Skoneczny, G.Dercz.
7. Tribological performance of the epoxy-based composite reinforced by WS2 fullerene-like nanoparticles and nanotubes: Mark Shneider, Lev Rapoport, Alexey Moshkovich, Hanna Dodiuk, Shmuel Kenig, Reshef Tenne, Alla Zak.
8. Tribological properties of composites of polyamide-6 and nanotubes of MoS2, and nanowires of MoO(3-x) and Mo6S2I8: Johann G. Meier, Ales Mrzel, Margarita Canales, Pilar Gonzalvo, Noelia Alcala.
9. Mechanical properties of Polyvinylidene fluoride with added MoS2 nanotubes: Maja Remskar, Janez Jelenc, Bojana Visic, Ana Varlec, Maja Cesarek, and Andrej Krzan.
10. Influence of inorganic nanoparticles on the glass transitions of polyurea elastomers: Marius Reinecker, Armin Fuith, Viktor Soprunyuk , Antoni Sánchez-Ferrer, Ales Mrzel, Renato Torre , Wilfried Schranz.
11. Effect of inorganic 1D nanoparticles on electrooptic properties of 5CB liquid crystal: Denis Rajh, Sergii Shelestiuk, Alenka Mertelj, Ales Mrzel, Polona Umek, Silvia Irusta, Alla Zak.
12. Microscopic and spectroscopic investigation of MoS2 nanotubes/P3HT nanocomposites: Ana Varlec, Shehab A. Mansour, Tiziana Di Luccio, Carmela Borriello, Annalisa Bruno, Janez Jelenc, Bojana Visic, Maja Remskar.
13. Nanocomposites of polyaniline and titania nanoparticles for gas sensors: Pavol Kunzo, Peter Lobotka, Eva Kovacova, Kiriaki Chrissopoulou, Lambros Papoutsakis, Spiros H. Anastasiadis, Zuzana Krizanova, and Ivo Vavra.
14. Ultrasonic properties of composites of polymers and inorganic nanoparticles: Vytautas Samulionis, Sarunas Svirkas, Juras Banys, Antony Sanches-Ferrer, Seow Jecg Chin, Tony McNally.
List of other scientific papers resulted from COST networking through the Action:
1. “Bonding States in Molecular-Scale MoSI Nanowire-Gold Nanoparticle Networks”, Compagnini G, Patane G, Sinatra M, Puglisi O, Nicolosi V, Mihailovic D, Vengust D, Strle J , JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS, 1, 1, 393-397, 2010.
2. “Atom-by-atom structural and chemical analysis by annular dark-field electron microscopy” , Krivanek OL, Chisholm MF, Nicolosi V., Pennycook TJ, Corbin GJ, Dellby N, Murfitt MF, Own CS, Szilagyi ZS, Oxley MP, Pantelides ST, Pennycook SJ, NATURE, 464, 7288, 571-574, 2010.
3. “Processing and characterisation of Mo6S2I8 nanowires”, Schnabel M, Nicholls RJ, Salzmann CG, Vengust D, Mihailovic D, Nellist PD, Nicolosi V., PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS, 12, 2, 433- 441, 2010.
4. “Universal approach to produce two-dimensional platelets by liquid exfoliation of layered materials”, Jonathan N Coleman, Mustafa Lotya, Shane D Bergin, Arlene O’Neill, Umar Khan, Karen Young, Alex Gaucher, Sukanta De, George Stanton, Hye-Young Kim, Kangho Lee, Georg S Duesberg, Toby Hallam, John J Boland, Jing Jing Wang, John F Donegan, Aleksey Shmeliov, Rebecca J Nicholls, James M Perkins, Eleanor Grieveson, Koenraad Theuwissen, David W. McComb, Peter Nellist and Valeria Nicolosi, Submitted to SCIENCE, July 2010.
5. “Optical Spectra and Direct Optical Transitions in Amorphous and Crystalline ZnO Thin Films and Powders”, Dejneka, I. Aulika, M. V. Makarova, Z. Hubicka, A. Churpita, D. Chvostova, L. Jastrabik, and V. A. 30
Trepakov, Journal of Electrochemical Society 157 (2010) G67.
6. “Thermo-optical investigations of NaNbO3 thin films by spectral ellipsometry”, I. Aulika, A. Dejneka, A. Lynnyk, V. Zauls, M. Kundzins, Physica Status Solidi (c), Volume 6 (2009) 2765.
7. “The influence of processing parameters on the formation of optical gradients in chemical solution- derived PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films”, I. Aulika, S. Corkovic, A. Bencan, S. D’Astorg, A. Dejneka, Q. Zhang, M. Kosec and V. Zauls, Journal of Electrochemical Society 156 (2009) G217.
8. “Spectroscopic ellipsometry applied to phase transitions in solids: possibilities and limitations”, A. Dejneka, I. Aulika, V. Trepakov, J. Krepelka, L. Jastrabik, Z.Hubicka, A.Lynnyk, Optics Express 3 (2009) 14322.
9. V. Domenici, M. Conradi, M. Remskar, M. Virsek, B. Zupancic, A. Mrzel, M. Chambers, B. Zalar, “New composite fulms based on MoO(3-x) nanowires aligned in a liquid single crystal elastomer matrix”, Journal of Material Science 46, 3639-3645 (2011).
10. 2. V Nicolosi, Z. Aslam, K. Sader, G. M. Hughes, D. Vengust, N. P. Young, R. Doole, D. Mihailovic, A. L. Bleloch, A. I. Kirkland,N. Grobert and P. D. Nellist, “A Facile Route to Self-assembled Hg/MoSI Nanowire Networks”, New Journal of Chemistry, 34, 2241 - 2246 (2010)
11. J.N. Coleman, M. Lotya, A. O’Neill, S. D. Bergin, P. J. King, U. Khan, K. Young, A. Gaucher, S. De, R. J. Smith, I. V. Shvets, S. K. Arora, G. Stanton, H. Kim, K. Lee, G. T. Kim, G. S. Duesberg, T. Hallam, J. J. Boland, J. J. Wang, J. F. Donegan, J. C. Grunlan, G. Moriarty, A. Shmeliov, R. J. Nicholls, J. M. Perkins, E. M. Grieveson, K. Theuwissen, D. W. McComb, P. D. Nellist, and V. Nicolosi, “Universal approach to create functional two-dimensional atomic layers from layered compounds via liquid phase exfoliation”, Science, 331, 6017, 568-571 (2011)
12. Chaganti Srinivasa Reddy, Alla Zak, Eyal Zussman “WS2 nanotubes embedded in PMMA nanofibers as energy absorptive materials”, Journal of Materials Chemistry,…
13. “Polydispersity and Connectivity Percolation of Anisometric Nanofillers”, R. Otten, P. van der Schoot, J. Chem. Phys. 134 (2011), 094902, 1-15.
14. “Supramolecular balance: using cooperativity to amplify weak interactions”, M. Roman, C. Cannizzo, T. Pinault, B. Isare, B. Andrioletti, P. van der Schoot, and L. Bouteiller, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132 (2010), 16818–16824.
15. C. S. Reddy, A. Zak and E. Zussman, WS2 nanotubes embedded in PMMA nanofibers as energy absorptive material, J. Mater. Chem. (2011)21, 16086-16093.
16. M. Krause, A. Mucklich, A. Zak, G. Seifert and S. Gemming, High resolution TEM study of WS2 nanotubes, Phys. Status Solidi B 248, (2011)2716-2719.
17. R. Kreizman, O. Schwartz, Z. Deutsch, A. Zak, R. Popovitz-Biro, R. Tenne and D. Oron, Semiconductor Quantum Dot - Inorganic Nanotube Hybrids and Their Optical Properties, Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys, Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys., (2012) 14, 4271–4275.
18. A. Taschin, P. Bartolini, A. Sánchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, A. Mrzel, R. Torre “Investigation of Relaxation Processes in Nanocomposites by Transient Grating Experiments”, Mater. Sci. Forum 2012, 714, 79-83
19. B. Paci , G.D. Spyropoulos , A.Generosi , D. Bailo ,V. Rossi Albertini , E.Stratakis , and E.Kymakis “Enhanced Structural Stability and Performance Durability of Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Devices Incorporating Metallic Nanoparticles”, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2011, 21, 3573–3582.
20. J. Petzelt, I. Rychetsky, D. Nuzhnyy: Dynamic Ferroelectric–Like Softening Due to the Conduction in Disordered and Inhomogeneous Systems: Giant Permittivity Phenomena, Ferroelectrics 426, 171–193 (2012)
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21. Kunzo, P., Lobotka, P., Micusik, M., & Kovacova, E. (2012). Palladium-free hydrogen sensor based on oxygen-plasma-treated polyaniline thin film. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, In Press, doi: 10.1016/j.snb.2012.05.080
22. S. Kumar, C. Borriello, G. Nenna, R. Rosentsveig, T. Di Luccio, Dispersion of WS2 nanotubes and nanoparticles into conducting polymer matrices for application as LED materials European Physical Journal B-Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, 2012, 85(5), 160.
23. M. Castrillón, A. Mayoral, C. Magén, J. G. Meier, C. Marquina, S. Irusta, and J. Santamaría, Synthesis and characterization of ultra-small magnetic FeNi/G and NiCo/G nanoparticles. Nanotechnology, 2012. 23(8): p. 085601
24. E. Fazio, S.Patanè, L.D'Urso, G.Compagnini, F.Neri “Enhanced nonlinear optical response of linear carbon chain colloid mixed with silver nanoparticles” Optics Communications vol.285 pp.2942–2946 (2012).
25. R. Otten and P. van der Schoot: “Connectedness percolation of elongated hard particles in an external field”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108 (2012), 088301.
26. L. Bouteiller, P. van der Schoot “Probing weak intermolecular interactions in selfassembled nanotubes”, , J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134 (2012), 1363–1366.
27. R. Otten, P. van der Schoot, “Polydispersity and Connectivity Percolation of Anisometric Nanofillers”, J. Chem. Phys. 134 (2011), 094902, 1-15.
28. M.Knite, J.Zavickis*, V.Teteris, A.Linarts, Polyisoprene – multi wall carbon nanotube composite structure for flexible pressure sensor application, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2011 V11, 8677-8681 doi:101166/jnn.2011.3473
29. J.Zavickis, M.Knite, K.Ozols, G.Malefan, Development of percolative electroconductive structure in piezoresistive polyisoprene-nanostructured carbon composite during vulcanisation, Materials Science & Engineering C, 2011, V31, p 472-476
30. G.Sakale, M.Knite, V.Teteris, Polyisoprene-nanostructured carbon composite (PNCC) organic solvent vapour sensitivity and repeatability, Sensors and Actuators. A: Physical, 2011, V171, p19-25.
31. J.Zavickis, M.Knite, G.Podins, A.Linarts, R.Orlovs Polyisoprene – nanostructured carbon composite – a soft alternative for pressure sensor application, Sensors and Actuators. A: Physical, 2011, V171, p38-42
32. A.Sternberg, I.Muzikante, R.Dobulans, D.Millers, L.Grigorjeva, K.Smits, M.Knite, G.Sakale, Nanocomposites for novel sensing systems, NATO Science for Peace and Security Series B: Physics and Biophysics, 2012, p 133-142.
33. Iván Moreno, Nuria Navascués, Silvia Irusta, Jesús Santamaría, “Silver nanowires/polycarbonate composites for conductive films” Materials Science and Engineering 40, (2012) 012001.
34. N. Moussaif, I. Viejo, J. M. Bielsa, C. Crespo, S. Irusta, C. Yagüe and J. G. Meier. “Preparation, characterization and FE-simulation of the reinforcement of polycaprolactone with PEGylated silica nanoparticles”, Materials Science and Engineering 40, (2012) 012026.
35. Iván Moreno, Nuria Navascués, Silvia Irusta, Jesús Santamaría. “Facile preparation of transparent and conductive polymer films based on silver nanowire/polycarbonate nanocomposites”, Nanotechnology 24, (2013) 275603.
36. M. Shneider et al., “Tribological performance of the epoxy-based composite reinforced by WS2 fullerene-like nanoparticles and nanotubes“, Phys. Stat. Solidi A, 2013 DOI 10.1002/pssa.201329162
37. Miroslav Huskić, Tamara Holjevac Grgurić, Polona Umek, Ivan Brnardić, ’Functionalization of Sodium Titanate Nanoribbons with Silanes and their use in the Reinforcement of Epoxy Nanocomposites" Polymer Composites, (accepted) 2013.
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38. Ivan Brnardić, Miroslav Huskić, Polona Umek, Tamara Holjevac Grgurić Journal: Sol-gel functionalization of sodium TiO2 nanotubes and nanoribbons with aminosilane molecules, Ceramics International, article in press http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272884213005786
39. G.Forte, L.D'Urso, E.Fazio, S.Patanè, F.Neri, O.Puglisi, G.Compagnini, “The effects of liquid environments on the optical properties of linear carbon chains prepared by laser ablation generated plasmas” Applied Surface Science, vol.272, pp. 76–81 (2013).
40. G.C. Messina, P.Wagener, R.Streubel, A.De Giacomo, A.Santagata, G.Compagnini, S.Barcikowski “Pulsed laser ablation of a continuously-fed wire in liquid flow for high-yield production of silver nanoparticles” Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys. vol.15, pp. 3093-3098 (2013).
41. A. De Giacomo, M.Dell’Aglio, A.Santagata, R.Gaudiuso, O.De Pascale, P.Wagener, G.C. Messina, G. Compagnini and S. Barcikowski “Cavitation dynamics of laser ablation of bulk and wire-shaped metals in water during nanoparticles production” Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys. vol.15, pp.3083-3092 (2013).
42. S.Barcikowski, G.Compagnini “Advanced Nanoparticle Generation and Excitation by Lasers in Liquids” Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys vol.15, pp. 3022-3026 (2013).
43. A.M. Mihut, A. Sánchez-Ferrer, J.J. Crassous, L.A. Hirschi, R. Mezzenga, H. Dietsch “Enhanced Properties of Polyurea Elastomeric Nanocomposites with Anisotropic Functionalized nanofillers” Polymer, 2013
44. A. Taschin, P. Bartolini, A. Sanchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, A. Mrzel, R. Torre, Investigation of Relaxation Processes in Nanocomposites by Transient Grating Experiments, Materials Science Forum Vol 714, 79 (2012).
45. Ionescu, C.; Craciun, L. S.; Manea, M. M.; Racolta, P. M.; et al., JOURNAL OF OPTOELECTRONICS AND ADVANCED MATERIALS Volume: 14 Issue: 11-12 Pages: 971-975 Published: NOV-DEC 2012
46. Straticiuc, M.; Pana, I.; Burducea, I.; Racolta, P. M.; et al., OPTOELECTRONICS AND ADVANCED MATERIALS-RAPID COMMUNICATIONS Volume: 6 Issue: 9-10 Pages: 836-839 Published: SEP-OCT 2012
47. Burducea, I.; Straticiuc, M.; Racolta, P. M.; et al.Source: OPTOELECTRONICS AND ADVANCED MATERIALS-RAPID COMMUNICATIONS Volume: 6 Issue: 9-10 Pages: 832-835 Published: SEP-OCT 2012
48. I. BURDUCEA, C. IONESCU, M. STRATICIUC, L. S. CRACIUN, P. M. RACOLTA, AL. JIPA, CHARACTERIZATION OF INDIUM NITRIDE AND ZINC OXIDE THIN FILMS BY AFM AND RBS, Rom J Phys, vol 58, 3-4, 2013
49. E. Tkalya, M. Ghislandi, W. Thielemans, P. van der Schoot, G. de With, C. Koning, "Cellulose nanowhiskers templating in conductive polymer nanocomposites reduces electrical percolation threshold five-fold", ACS Macro Lett. 2 (2013), 157–163.
50. B. Nigro, C. Grimaldi, P. Ryser, A. P. Chatterjee, P. van der Schoot, “Quasiuniversal Connectedness Percolation of Polydisperse Rod Systems”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 (2013), 015701, 1-5.
51. G. Cunningham , M. Lotya , N. McEvoy , G. S. Duesberg , P. van der Schoot and J. N. Coleman, “Percolation scaling in composites of exfoliated MoS2 filled with nanotubes and graphene”, Nanoscale 4 (2012), 6260-6264.
52. V.Grehov, J.Kalnacs, L.Matzui, M.Knite, A. Murashov, A.Vilken. Nitrogen Adsorption by Thermoexfoliated Graphite, Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences, 2013, N1, 58-65
53. A Baumerte, G Sakale, J Zavickis, I Putna, M Balode, A Mrzel and M Knite, Comparison of effects on crustaceans: carbon nanoparticles and molybdenum compounds nanowires,Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2013, Volume 429, Issue 1, Article number 012041
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54. Linarts, A., Zavickis, J., Matzui, L., Knite, M. Entirely hyperelastic pressure sensor system based on polyisoprene/nanographite composites, Energetika, 2013, accepted.
55. A.N. Enyashin, G. Seifert, “Density-functional study of LixMoS2 intercalates (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 1)”, RSC Advances (2012) vol. 2 (26), page: 9839-9845.
56. T. Lorenz, M. Ghorbani-Asl, J. O. Joswig, T. Heine, G. Seifert, “Is MoS2 a roboust material for 2D electronics?”, submitted to Sci. Reports., 2013.
57. H. Nemec, V. Zajac, I. Rychetsky, D. Fattakhova-Rohlfing, B. Mandlmeier, T. Bein, Z. Mics, P. Kužel, “Charge transport in films with complex percolation pathways investigated by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy”, IEEE Transaction in Terahertz Science and Technology 3, 1-12 (2013).
58. S. A. Jensen, K.J. Tielrooij, E. handry, M. Bonn, i. Rychetsky, H. Nemec, Terahertz response of depolarization fields in TiO2 films reveals particle morphology”, submitted, 2013.
59. B. Paci, D. Bailo, V. Rossi Albertini, J. Wright, C. Ferrero, G. D. Spyropoulos, e. Stratakis, E. Kymakis, Spatioally-Resolved In-Situ Structural Study of Organic Electronic Devices with Nanoscale Resolution: The plasmonic Photovoltaic Case Study, Adv. Mater. 25, 4760 (2013).
60. D. Nuzhnyy, M. Savinov, V. Bovtun, M. Kempa, J. Petzelt, B. Mayoral, T. McNally: Broadband conductivity and dielectric spectroscopy of composites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and poly(ethylene terephthalate) around their low percolation threshold, Nanotechnology 24, 055707/1-9 (2013).
Conference contributions (meetings out of the scope of the Action):
1. J. G. Meier, C. Crespo, P. Gonzalvo, et al. The nanostructure and mechanics of MWCNT reinforced TPEs for application as large strain-mechanical gauges. in SLONANO 2010. 2010. Ljubljana, Slovenia. 2. “Connectivity Percolation of Carbon Nanotubes in an External field” 9th Dutch Soft Matter Meeting, Leiden, 26 November 2010 3. Glass transitions of confined molecular liquids and nanoparticle–elastomer composites: Johannes Koppensteiner, Marius Reinecker, Armin Fuith, A. Sánchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga and Wilfried Schranz, Accepted for poster presentation at the 8th Liquid Matter Conference LMC, Sept. 6-10, 2011, Vienna, Austria 4. Multiphase Polymers and Polymer Composites, June, 2011 Paris, France., Investigation of elastic, thermal and viscoelastic dynamics of nanocomposite by transient grating experiments., A. Taschin, P. Bartolini, A. Sánchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, A. Mrzel and R. Torre. 5. R. Tenne, “The Effect of Inorganic WS2/MoS2 Fullerene-like Nanoparticles & Nanotubes on Polymer properties”, Invited talk for the 6th International Conference - “Nanotechnology for the Plastics & Rubber Industries”, Shenkar college, Israel.. 6. R. Tenne,, “Applications of the Inorganic Fullerene-like Nanoparticles (IF) & Nanotubes (INT)”, talk in Nanotechnology conference, Israel. 7. R. Tenne, “Industrial Synthesis of Inorganic WS2 Fullerene-like (IF) Nanoparticles and Inorganic WS2 Nanotubes (INT), and their Applications”, talk for Peking University and Nankai University, China 8. R. Tenne, “Large-Scale Synthesis of WS2 Multiwall Nanotubes”, “The Effect of Fullerene-like Tungsten Disulfide and Carbone Nanotubes on the Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Adhesives”, “The Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Epoxy Nanocomposites with WS2 Nanotubes”, posters: for “China Nano 2011” conference, China. 9. R. Tenne, “Influence of inorganic WS2 nanoparticles on the tribological properties of epoxy resin”, poster for NanoIsrael 2012 conference, Israel. 10. Akishin P., Barkanov E., Smyth R. and McNally T. (2012): Elastic and Dissipative Material Properties of Aluminium Alloys with Carbon Nanotubes. Book of Abstracts of the XVII International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials, Riga, Latvia, 28 May – 1 June 2012, 32. 11. R. Tenne, 2013, Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring meeting, Invited speaker in symposium entitled "Beyond Graphene and Carbon Nanotubes: 2D Systems from Atomic Layered Materials", which will be held in San Francisco (USA). 12. Ivan Brnardić, Majda Žigon, Miroslav Huskić, Polona Umek, Tamara Holjevac Grgurić:Preparation and characterization of amine functionalized TiO2 nanoribbons-epoxy nanocomposites. PolyChar20, Dubrovnik. 13. Ivan Moreno, Nuria Navascues, Silvia Irusta, Jesus Santamaria: Silver Nanowires/Polycarbonate Composites for Conductive Films, , Nanostruc 2012, International Conference on Structural Nano Composites, Crandfield University, UK, 34
14. Barbara Paci*,“In-situ X-ray/AFM setup for time-resolved structural/morphological studies: the case of polymer-based films for organic photovoltaics “, ECOST-MEETING-MP0902 topical meeting: Polymer composites with inorganic nanomaterials: Fabrication, Propertiesand Technical Applications (25.10.- 26.10.2010, Zaragoza, Spain) 15. Barbara Paci*, Amanda Generosi, Daniele Bailo, Valerio Rossi Albertini, George D. Spyropoulos, Minas M. Stylianakis, Emmanuel Stratakis and Emmanuel Kymakis “IN-SITU STUDIES OF POLYMER-BASED NANOCOMPOSITES FOR PLASMONIC ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS”, INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Multiphase Polymers and Polymer Composites From Nanoscale to Macro Composites, Universite Paris-Est Creteil, France U-PEC, 8-10 June 2011. 16. D. Nuzhnyy, J. Petzelt, V. Bovtun, M. Savinov, I. Rychetský, J. L. Menendez, T. McNally, Wide‐Range AC Conductivity and Dielectric Spectra of Dielectric ‐ Conductor Composites around Their Percolation Threshold, ISPMA Praha, September 2011, oral 17. D. Nuzhnyy, J. Petzelt, V. Bovtun, M. Savinov, I. Rychetský, J. L. Menendez, T. McNally, Wide-Range AC Conductivity and Dielectric Spectra of Some Dielectric - Conductor Composites around Their Percolation Threshold DYPROSO 33 Aussois, September 2011, oral 18. J. Petzelt, I. Rychetský, D. Nuzhnyy, Giant Permittivity Phenomena due to Conduction and Dynamic Slowing-Down near Electrical Percolation Threshold in Composites, Polish-Czech seminar Ustron, May 2012, invited talk 19. J. Petzelt, I. Rychetský, D. Nuzhnyy, Giant dielectric constant and effective dielectric spectra of dielectric - conductor composites, Electroceramics 13, Enschede June 2012, oral 20. V. Bovtun, J. Petzelt, D. Nuzhnyy, M. Kempa, M. Savinov, J.L. Menendez , T. McNally, Broadband AC Conductivity and Dielectric Spectra of Ceramic and Polymer Composites with Carbon Nanofibres and Nanotubes around Their Percolation Threshold, 15 European Conference on Composite Materials, Venice, June 2012, oral 21. M. Savinov, D. Nuzhnyy, J. Petzelt, V. Bovtun, M. Kempa, T. McNally, E. Konyushenko-Tomsik, J. Stejskal, Broad-band dielectric spectroscopy of dielectric – nanocarbon composites around the percolation threshold and conducting polyaniline, ECAPD Aveiro July 2012, poster 22. J.H. Park, M. Labardi, G. Scalia, “Investigation of the molecular wire formation of discotic liquid crystals,” communication to the Spring meeting of the Korean Physical Society (2012). 23. Pavol Kunzo, Peter Lobotka, Kiriaki Chrissopoulou, and Spiros H. Anastasiadis ECNP Conference; April 24. – 27. 2012, Prague, Czech Republic 24. G. Sakale, D. Jakovlevs, I. Aulika, M. Knite, “Effect of Nanotube Aspect Ratio on Chemicals Vapour Sensing Properties of Polymer/MWCNT Composites”, Abstract book of International Conference on Diffusion in Solids and Liquids (DSL-2012), Istanbul (Turkey), June 25-29th 2012 25. V. Cauda, S. Stassi, G. Canavese, I. Aulika “Confined polymeric nanowires into porous alumina matrix as composite piezoelectric membrane for sensing applications”, Proceedings of the 15th European Conference on Composite Materials (15th ECCM), Venice (Italy), June 24-28th 2012 26. V.Samulionis, J.Banys, Š.Svirskas A.Sanchez-Ferrer and R. Mezzenga, Ultrasonic Characterization of Polyurea Elastomers. Proceedings of the 19th International Congress on Sound and Vibration (Recent developments in acoustics , noise and vibration). Ed. by. D. Čiplys. Vilnius, Lithuania, July 08-12, 2012. 27. Connectivity Percolation of Carbon Nanotubes in an External Field, Paul van der Schoot, ChemOnTubes 2012, Arcachon, France, 1-5 April 2012. 28. Gita Sakale, Maris Knite, Marika Novada, Elina Liepa, Santa Stepiņa, Velta Tupureina, Atmosphere control by chemoresistive polymer composites, Proceedings of 8th International Conference on informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2011), July 28-31, 2011, Noordwijkerthout, The Netherlands, p 370-375 29. J. Zavickis, M. Knite, A. Linarts and R. Orlovs, Hyper-elastic Pressure Sensors: Temperature Dependence of Piezoresistivity of Polyisoprene – Nanostructured Carbon Composite, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2012), 28 - 31 July, 2012, Roma, Italy, p 494-498 30. M. Knite, L. Matzui, J.Zavickis, G.Sakale, A.Linarts, K.Ozols, Sensing Effects in Polymer/Thermoexfoliated Graphite and Polymer/Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Composites, Abstracts of International Conference “Functional materials and nanotechnologies 2012”, Riga, Latvia, April 17-20, 2012, 26 31. G.Sakale, M.Knite, I.Aulika, D.Jakovlevs, Percolation phenomena and chemoresistivity study of polyisoprene-MWCNT composite, Abstracts of 9th International Conference on Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies (NN12), , July 3-6, 2012, Thessaloniki, Greece, p 154 32. J.Zavickis, M.Knite, A.Linarts, L.Matzui, R.Orlovs, Elastomer nanographite composites for large scale pressure and impact sensing, Abstracts of 9th International Conference on Nanosciences & Nanotechnologies (NN12), , July 3-6, 2012, Thessaloniki, Greece, p 246 33. S. Svirskas, V. Samulionis, , J.Banys; A. Sanchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, “Dielectric and Ultrasonic Investigation of Polyurea Elastomers with Imbedded Inorganic Nanotubes”,presentation at International
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conference of functional materials and nanotechnologies, April 21-24, 2013, Tartu, Estonia. 34. S. Svirskas, V. Samulionis, J.Banys, A. Mekys, A. Sanchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, “Dielectric and Ultrasonic Investigation of Polyurea Elastomers with Inclusions of Inorganic Nanotubes”, Presentation in E- MRS 2013 Spring Meeting May 27-31, Strasbourg, France. 35. V. Samulionis, J. Banys, S. Svirskas, A. Sanches-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, T. Mc.Nally, “Ultrasonic studies of polymer composites with inorganic nanotubes”, by and will be published in symposium proceedings, Presentation in IEEE-International Ultrasonic Symposium (UFTC2013) 21-25 July 2013, Prague, Czech Republic. 36. V. Samulionis, J. Banys, S. Svirskas, A. Sanches-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, “Ultrasonic behavior near phase transitions in polyurea elastomers with inorganic nanoparticles”, Presentation in International Meeting of Ferroelectricity (IMF-13) 2-7 September, 2013, Krakow, Poland. 37. Authors: STRATICIUC, Mihai; PANA, Iulian; BURDUCEA, Ion; RACOLTA, Petru Mihai, Slow positron source prototype for interdisciplinary applications, 2nd European Nuclear Physics Conference – EuNPC, September 17-21, Bucharest, 2012, Romania, poster presentation 38. M. Labardi, D. Prevosto, H.K. Nguyen, M. Lucchesi, E. Fanizza, N. Depalo, M. Striccoli, “Space resolved relaxation dynamics of poly(vinyl acetate) close to interfaces with SiOx nanoinclusions,” AIP Conf. Proc. 1459, 217 (2012), doi: 10.1063/1.4738448. 39. J.H. Park, M. Labardi, D. Prevosto, H.K. Nguyen, S. Capaccioli, M. Lucchesi, P. Rolla, A. Mrzel, C. Seong, G. Scalia, “Nanoscale electrical properties investigation of PVP/Mo6S2I3-4 nanocomposite electrospun single fibers,” Spring meeting of the Korean Physical Society (April 2012). 40. M. Labardi, D. Prevosto, H.K. Nguyen, M. Lucchesi, E. Fanizza, N. Depalo, M. Striccoli, “Space resolved relaxation dynamics of poly(vinyl acetate) close to interfaces with SiOx nanoinclusions,” 6th International Conference on Times of Polymers (TOP) and Composites, Ischia (Italy), June 10th/14th, 2012. 41. Paul van der Schoot, “Connectedness percolation of polydisperse nanofillers”, 20 January 2012, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France. 42. Paul van der Schoot, “Connectedness percolation of high anisometric nanofillers”, 11 June 2012, Instituut AMOLF, Amsterdam. 43. Paul van der Schoot, “Continuum percolation of highly anisometric filler particles”, 4 Sept 2012, Department of Physics, University of Durham, UK. 44. P. van der Schoot, “Connectedness percolation in complex colloid mixtures”, Physics of Complex Colloids, May 14-18 2013, Ljubljana, Slovenia. 45. V. Samulionis, J. Banys, S. Svirskas, A. Sánchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, T. McNally, B. Mayoral, . “Ultrasonic Studies of Polymer Composites with Inorganic Nanotubes”, IEEE-International Ultrasonic Symposium 2013 (IUS13), Prague, Czech Republic (July, 2013). 46. S. Svirskas, V. Samulionis, J. Banys, A. Sánchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, “Dielectric and Ultrasonic Investigations on Polyurea Elastomers with Embedded Inorganic Nanotubes”, Functional Materials & Nanotechnologies 2013 (FM&NT-2013), Tartu, Estonia (April, 2013). 47. V. Samulionis, J. Banys, Š.Svirskas, A. Sánchez-Ferrer, R. Mezzenga, “Ultrasonic Characterization of Polyurea Elastomers”, 19th International Congress on Sound and Vibration (ICSV19), Vilnius, Lithuania (July, 2012). 48. Tommy Lorenz, Jan-Ole Joswig, Gotthard Seifert: "Nanoindentation of a circular sheet of monolayer MoS2" (poster, Nanobrücken Dresden, March 2013) 49. Tommy Lorenz, Jan-Ole Joswig, Gotthard Seifert: "Simulated nanoindentation of an MoS2 monolayer” (poster, Graphene Week, Chemnitz, Juni 2013) 50. Tommy Lorenz, Jan-Ole Joswig, Gotthard Seifert: "Simulated nanoindentation of an MoS2 monolayer" (poster, Flatlands beyond graphene, Bremen, June 2013 51. Gotthard Seifert: „Defects and edges in metal chalcogenide layers“ (talk, Flatlands beyond grapheme, Bremen June 2013) 52. Gotthard Seifert: „Layered metal chalcogenides electronic and mechanical properties “ (talk, NanoMA Symposium, Chemnitz January 2013) 53. Gotthard Seifert: „Layered nanostructures - electronic and mechanical properties“ (talk, MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco April 2013). 54. I. Rychetsky, A. Klič, Dielectric properties of grainy composites studied by finite element method, European conference on the applications of ferroelectrics, July 2012, Aveiro.
List of Ph.D., M.Sc. and B.Sc. works resulted from COST networking through the Action:
1. Manuel Schnabel, “Liquid phase processing of Mo6S2S8 nanowires”, M.Sc. Thesis - University of Oxford
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2. Shaolong Cheng, “Functionalisation of MoSI nanowires with phthalocyanines”, M.Sc. Thesis - University of Oxford
3. Ilze Aulika, “Optical depth profile and phase transitions investigation of NaNbO3 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films”, PhD Thesis, University of Latvia, Institute of Solid State Physics.
4. M. Eržen, “Electrical conductivity of nanowire-polymer composites”, Diploma Thesis, University of Ljubljana, 2010
5. J. Milavec, “Electrooptic properties of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals”. M. Sc. Thesis, Jozef Stefan Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, 2010
6. Andrea Arcifa: “MoS2 nanostructures produced laser ablation in liquid environments“ Diploma Work, University of Catainia, June 2010
7. Atis Linarts, “The change of percolation parameters of polyisoprene/nanostructured carbon composites depending upon dispersing methods of carbon”, Diploma work, Riga Technical University, Institute of Technical Physics, Riga, 2010.
8. Joris Stegen , Master thesis: . “Kinetics of Nanotube scission under Sonication”, TU/e, Eindhoven, April 2011.
9. P. Akishin, Master thesis: Characterisation of Nanocomposite Material Properties by Nondestructive Technique, RTU, Riga, 2011.
10. Auste Kupreviciute , Bachelor thesis:, Dielectric investigation of polycaprolctone composites with molybdenium sulphur iodine nanowires, Vilnius University, 2011
11. Laura Bukonte , Bachelor thesis: „Luminescence properties of polymer/oxide nanopowder composites”, Diploma Work, Riga Technical University in collaboration with University of Latvia, Riga, 2011
12. Juris Zavickis , PhD thesis: “the FEATURES of percolation and piezoresistive effect in polyisoprene – nanostructured carbon composites”. Riga Technical University, Institute of Technical Physics, Riga, (Defended on 09.09.2011).
13. Artis Linarts, Diploma work (master level): “ELABORATION AND INVESTIGATION OF HYPER- ELASTIC POLYISOPRENE NANOSTRUCTURED CARBON BLACK PRESSURE SENSOR SYSTEMS. Riga Technical University, Institute of Technical Physics, Riga, (Defended on 21.06.2012).
14. D. Bailo , Ph.D. thesis in “Scienza dei Materiali”- Rome la Sapienza Univesity of entitled “In-situ Structural/Morphological study of polymer-based active materials for Organic Photovoltaic devices:bulk, surface and interface properties and aging effects”. Supervised by B. Paci
15. R. Otten, PhD thesis’s: Self-organisation of anisometric particles: statistical theory of shape, confinement and external-field effects, Ronald Otten (Eindhoven University of Technology).
16. M. Gomes Ghislandi, PhD Thesis, Nano-scaled carbon fillers and their functional polymer composites, (Eindhoven University of Technology).
17. J. Stegen, Master thesis: Kinetics of nanotube scission under sonication, Joris Stegen (Eindhoven University of Technology).
18. Cristina Ionescu- PhD thesis entitled: “Nanotribologycal and nanomechanical characterization of surfaces using atomic force microscope”, Romania 19. Ion Burducea- PhD thesis entitled: Depth profiling of thin films and interfaces by nuclear techniques,
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Romania 20. Mihai Straticiuc- PhD thesis entitled: An experimental positron accelerator for interdisciplinary studies, Romania 21. Gita Sakale „ELABORATION AND INVESTIGATION OF POLYMER-NANOSTRUCTURED CARBON COMPOSITE FOR APPLICATION AS CHEMICAL SENSOR, Dr.sc.ing. in Materials Science, Riga Technical University, Institute of Technical Physics, Riga, Latvia. 22. Patrick Gotze, „Molecular-dynamics simulation of nanostructure-polymer composites”, BSc thesis, TU Dresden, 2013. 23. PhD thesis: M. Reinecker, “Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Composites of inorganic nanotubes and polyurea”, University of Vienna, in progress, 2013. 24. Diploma work: J. Schabasser, “Messung des elastischen Verhaltens hygroskopischer Polymere”, University of Vienna, June 2013.
List of new collaborations resulted from COST networking through the Action:
Collaborations established in the period from 06/11/2009 to 31/08/2010
1. Ilze Aulika, IIT Torino, IT: Within the COST COINAPO framework new collaboration with Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Dr. A. Mrzel) was established. The MoS6, Mo6S2I8, and Mo6S4I6 nanotubes and nanowires were analysed for transversal and lateral cross sections. These nanotubes and nanowires in the composite materials are investigated for possible application as the pressure sensor.
2. Germano Montemezzani, LMOPS, Metz, FR Investigation of nanowires from Univ. Ljubljana (A. Merzl), Slovenia. Discussions about integration in polymer composites with Institute Jean Lamour of Nancy, FR.
3) Giuseppe Compagnini: University of Catania, IT is involved in collaborations with University of Oxford (Oxford Materials – Leader: V.Nicolosi), GB Department of Complex Matter (J.Stefan Institute – Leader: D.Mihailovic), SI In the frame of these collaborations we are investigating MoSI nanowires. Fundamental aspects involve the evaluation of the crystalline structure and bonding in connection with the synthesis method.
4) Irena Drevenšek Olenik: University of Ljubljana, SI Cooperation with group of Christine Boeffel, Fraunhofer IAP, DE - conductivity of polymer films doped with MoSI and MoS2 nanowires/nanotubes. Cooperation with group of Antoni Sanchez Ferrer, ETH Zuerich, CH - elasomechanic and optical properties of elastomer films doped with MoSI and MoS2 nanotubes. Cooperation with group of Jan Petzelt and Jirka Hlinka, Institute of Physics, Academy of Science of Czech Republic, CZ, investigation of structure and properties of thin films of MoSI nanowires deposited on sapphire substrates. Cooperation with group of Volker Brueser, INP Greifswald, DE, Investigations of plasma treatment of MoSI nanowires. Cooperation with group of Wilfried Schranz, Martin Fally, University of Vienna, AT, investigation of mechanical and optical properties of polymer/nanoparticle composites. Neutron diffraction on composites.
5) Valeria Nicolosi: Oxford Materials, GB, collaborations with Giuseppe Compagnini, University of Catania, IT, XPS characterisation of MoSI nanowires Dragan Mihailovic, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI, dispersion, functionalisation, processing and characterisation of MoSI nanowires Peter Nellist, University of Oxford, GB, High resotution electron microscopy characterisation of inorganic nanostructures
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Jonathan Coleman – University of Dublin, IE, processing and liquid phase processing of inorganic one- and two-dimensional nanostructures Jan Petzelt and Jirka Hlinka - Academy of Science of Czech Republic, CZ, investigation of structure and properties of thin films of MoSI nanowires deposited on sapphire substrates Reshef Tenne, Weizmann Institute of Science, IL, characterization of WS2 and MoS2 nanotubes
6) Volker Bruser: INP Greifswald, DE The influence of oxygen plasma treatments on structural changes of Molybdenum sulphide has been investigated. Further we are planning to incorporate plasma treated nanotubes into polymers and to check their properties. In this activity the INP collaborates with the University of Ljubljana and J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ, Fraunhofer IAP, Golm, DE.
7) Wilfried Schranz: University of Vienna, AT Measurements of the thermal expansion and dynamic elastic response of Elastomer-Carbon Nanotube composites with various carbon nanotube-concentrations is joint cooperation of the Vienna group (A. Fuith, W. Schranz, et al.) and the COST network colleagues M. Dunce, M. Knite from Riga Technical University/Institute of Technical Physics, LV, I. Aulika from Smart Material Platform - Center for Space Human Robotics, Italian Institute of Technology, Torino, IT, To compare with the results from Elastomer-CNT composites we are now performing similar measurements on composites of Elastomer with inorganic Nanowires Mo6S2I8 and MoS2, which we received very recently. They were fabricated by our COST partners at ETH-Zürich, CH (A. Sanchez-Ferrer).
8) Mojca Jazbinsek: Rainbow Photonics, Zurich, CH Discussions have started considering the exchange of composite materials for characterization with o Food & Soft Materials Science Group at ETH Zurich, CH (Dr. Antoni Sánchez-Ferrer), and o Complex Matter Group at Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI (Dr. Ales Mrzel).
9) Renato Torre: LENS, Florence, IT Started a couple of collaborations with two groups that are preparing composites of inorganic nanotubes and polymers in order to select samples adapt for time-resolved laser experiments. Dr. Christine Boeffel (Functional Materials & Devices OLED Technology Development, Geiselbergstr. 69, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany, DE) – PMMA/MoSI nanowires. Unfortunately, these samples turned out to be not adapt for optical spectroscopy. Dr. Antoni Sanchez-Ferrer (ETH Zurich, CH, Inst. Of Food Science & Nutrition) – elastomers/MoS2 nantotubes and Mo6S2I8 nanowires. They seem OK for optical spectroscopy and we are planning to start the experiments soon.
10) Muriel Sales, AIT Austrian Institute for Technology GmbH, AT is focused mainly on determination of the tribological properties of nanotube materials - newly started cooperation with the group of R. Tenne, IL - newly started cooperation with the group of A. Mrzel, SI
11) Emmanuel Kymakis, Technological Education Institute of Crete, GR established collaboration with Dept. of Materials of the Imperial College of London, GB, regarding graphene for photovoltaic and field emission applications.
12) Christine Boeffel, Fraunhofer IAP, Golm, DE is involved in fabrication of nanotube composites with PMMA and has in this purpose established successful cooperation with J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI
13) Maris Knite, Riga Technical University, LV established collaboration in the field of nanotube/polymer composites with University of Vienna, AT
14) Ewa Gorecka, Warshav University, PL started collaborative investigations of WS2 nanotube materials in cooperation with Weizmann Institute of Science, IL.
15) Jan Lagerwall, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, DE is involved in investigation of liquid crystal – nanotube composite materials and has extended his activities in 39
this field to a new collaboration with J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI LCVN, Montepellier, FR
16) Emanuela Pawliczek, The Institute of Heavy Organic Synthesis “Blachownia”, PL also started collaborative investigations of WS2 nanotube materials in cooperation with Weizmann Institute of Science, IL.
17) Reshef Tenne, Weizmann Institute of Science, IL provided nanotube materials (MoS2, WS2) for new collaborative investigations to the following partners: Laurent Alvarez, LCVN, FR Muriel Sales, Austrian institute of technology, AT Giuseppe Compagnini, University of Catania, IT Johan G. Meier, Aragon Institute of Technology, Zaragoza, ES Christine Boeffel, Fraunhoffer IAP, Golm, DE Victor Yu. Reshetnyak, University of Kyiv, Ukraine Giusy Scalia, ENEA, Portici, IT Ewa Gorecka, University of Warshaw, PL
18) Gotthard Seifert, Technical University of Dresden, GE is involved in molecular dynamics simulation of nanosize systems. His research group established new collaboration with Reshef Tenne from Weizmann Institute of Science, IL
19) Paul van der Schoot, Technical University Eindhoven, NL is concentrated on theoretical modeling of polymer materials and has in the framework of the COST Action started collaborative research work with the group of J. G. Meier, Instituto Technologico di Aragon, Zaragoza, ES
20) J. G. Meier, Instituto Technologico dea Aragon, Zaragoza, ES New established contact with theoretician Paul van der Schoot, University of Eindhoven, NL new cooperation with Josef-Stefan-Institute, Ljubljana, SI new cooperation with Weizmann-Institute (preparation of polymer nanocomposites by melt-mixing: mainly exchange of nanomaterials), IL new cooperation with the Laboratory of dielectrics and magnetics, University, of Warsaw, PL, focused on SAXS on polymer nanocomposites
21) Ales Mrzel, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SI the group from Ljubljana is one of the central sources of nanotube materials, which are provided for further investigation to several partner groups: Christine Boeffel, Fraunhoffer IAP, Golm, DE Antoni Sanchez-Ferrer, ETH Zurich, CH Wim Wenseleers, University of Antwerpen, BE Volker Brueser, INP Greifswald, DE Maris Knite, Riga Technical University, LV Jan Lagerwall, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, DE Ilze Aulika, IIT Torino, IT Germano Montemezzani, LMOPS, Metz, FR Muriel Sales, AIT Austrian Institute for Technology GmbH, AT J. G. Meier (M), Instituto Technologico de Aragon, Zaragoza, ES
Collaborations established in the period from 31/08/2010 to 31/07/2011
1. Alla ZAK, NanoMaterials Ltd., Israel: establishes several new collaborations via providing WS2 nanotube material to the Action partners: Reshef Tenne, Weizmann institute, Israel Ioannis Zuburtikudis, T.E.I. of Western Macedonia, Greece Marco Pizzi, ELTEK, Torino, Italy Tiziana di Luccio, ENEA, Portici, Italy Johann G. Meier, ITA, Zaragoza, Spain 40
Ilze Aulika, IIT, Torino, Italy Hans Sawade, INP Greifswald, Germany Vladka Novotna, Institute of Physics, Prague, Czech Republic
2. Mikael Hedenqvist, KTH Stockholm, Sweden: is involved in fabrication of biodegradable polymers and polymer composites. He has recently established cooperation with A. Mrzel, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia I. Drevensek-Olenik, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Tiziana di Luccio, ENEA, Portici, Italy
3. Giusy Scalia, Seoul National University, South Korea: This is a new non-COST partner of our Action which will participate in the field of composite materials fabrication. She has already established collaborations with the following Action partners: Ewa Gorecka, Warshaa University, Poland Ewa Enz, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany Irena Drevensek-Olenik, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
4. Ioannis Alexandrou, The Netherlands: is involved in HRSTEM imaging of nanotubes and established new collaborations with the following Action partners: Valeria Nicolosi, University of Oxford, UK A. Mrzel, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
5. Juras Banys, Vilnius University, Lithuania: is involved in investigations of dielectric and conductive properties of composites. He has recently strated new collaboration with: Tony Mc.Nally, Queen's University Belfast, UK
6. Renato Torre, LENS, Florence, Italy: during the last year established interesting scientific connections with: Antony Sanchez-Ferrer, ETH, Zuerich, Switzerland Ales Mrzel, J. Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia Irena Drevensek-Olenik, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Wilfried Schranz, University of Vienna, Austria
7. Vytautas Samulionis, Vilnius University, Lithuania: started with ultrasound investigations of the composite materials. His investigations take place in cooperation with: Antony Sanchez-Ferrer, ETH, Zuerich, Switzerland
8. Giuseppe Compagnini, University od Catania, Italy: The group at the University of Catania, Italy has used STSM to exchange young researcher visits with the J.Stefan Institute in Ljubljana"
9. The group of Jan Petzelt from Prague, CZ: during the last year established cooperation with: Tony Mc.Nally, Queen's University Belfast, UK
Collaborations established in the period from 31/07/2011 to 31/07/2012
1. Weizmann-Institute from Israel, group of R. Tenne, collaborated with groups of: Ioannis Zuburtikudis, Greece. Dispersion on INT-WS2 nanoparticles in thermoplastic matrices by melt extrusion/compounding or melt mixing and mechanical/thermal properties; Hans Sawade, Germany. Plasma treatment of the INT&IF-WS2 surface to improve adhesion to polymer matrix; Tiziana Luccio, Italy. Electronic devices based on IF- and INT-WS2; Johann G. Meier, Spain. Tribological measurements for polymer composites; 41
Marco Pizzi, Italy. Composites for automotive & household appliance components (sensors, packaging, life time); Petru M. Racolta, Romania. PAS – positron annihilation spectroscopy for defects, substituted (doped) atoms, etc. in WS2 nanotubes investigations. Jan Petzelt, Czech Republic. c of polymer electro spun fibres incorporated with INT-WS2; Tony McNally, Unite Kingdom. Polymer composites with INT-WS2 and their mechanical and thermal properties; Wilfried Schranz, Austria. Polymer composites with INT-WS2 and their mechanical and thermal properties; Emmanuel Stratakis, Greece. Inorganic nanotubes of WS2 on Si microcones for field emission experiment.
2. Collaboration of University of Zagreb (Holjevac Grgurić, Croatioa) with CO PoliMaT in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in the preparation of polymer nanocomposites with sodium titanate nanotubes and nanoribbons.
3. Miro Huskič, Collaboration of CO PoliMaTin Ljubljana (Slovenia) with Queens University Belfast in the preparation of polymer nanocomposites with WS2 nanotubes.
4. Collaboration between Silvia Irusta (Spain) and Irena Drevensek (Slovenia) on the composites containing silver nanowires.
5. Group of Antoni Sanchez-Ferrer (Switzerland) started collaboration related to elastomers with Vytautas Samulionis’ group, Wilfried Schranz’s group and Renato Torre’s group.
6. Group of Spiros H. Anastasiadis (Greece) started collaboration with the group of Prof. P. Rolla from University of Pisa, Italy and with the group of Prof. P. Lobotka, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia
7. Group of Ewa Gorecka (Warsaw, Poland) started collaboration with group of Viera Hamplova from Institute of Sciences (Czech Rebublic), collaboration focused on LC polymeric composites.
8. ENEA UTTP NANO: Tiziana Di Luccio, Italy : STSM of Dr. Sumeet Kumar in the period (01/09/2011-30/09/2011) established a link between ENEA and Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Prof. Mikael Hedenqvist). The project consisted of the preparation and characterization of MoSI nanowires and poymer fibers (Polystyrene and Polyethylene Oxide) nanocomposites. The main activity of the last year of the project was based on nanocomposites of conducting polymers of interest for light emitting devices and solar cells and WS2 nanotubes. WS2 nanotubes were purchased by NanoMaterials (contacted through the network). Purification of the purchased WS2 nanotubes was one of the main issues addressed thanks to information exchanged with the network colleagues (I. Drevenšek-Olenik and A. Mrzel’s groups from Slovenia, A. Zak from Istrael)
9. New collaborations will be established based on contacts established during the workshop of all Working Groups held in Prague in April 2012 Barbara Paci (ISM CNR, Italy): Interface studies of polymer-nanomaterial nanocomposites for organic electronic devices Wilfried Schranz (University of Vienna, Austria): mechanical investigation of P3HT layers reinforced by WS2 nanotubes. Maja Remškar (Josef Stefan Institute, Slovenia): study of P3HT and Mo- and W–sulfide nanocomposites to be employed in OLEDs and solar cells. A STSM application will be submitted.
10. Riga Technical University, Institute of Materials and Structures: Group of Evgeny Barkanov: cooperation with Tony McNally, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Queen's University Belfast, BT9 5AH, UK, Non-destructive technique for the dissipative material properties characterisation have been improved and adapted for the testing of nanocomposite material samples with small dimensions.
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11. Queen's University Belfast, GB: Group of Tony McNally: Cooperation with Alla Zak (Weizmann- Institute) and Miroslav Huskić (Slovenia) on Composites of PCL with WS2
12. TU Eindnhoven, The Netherlands, Paul van der Schoot: started collaboration with C. Grimaldi (Switzerland) and J. Coleman (Ireland).
13. Group of G. Seifert, Germany, collaborates with Weizmann Institute (Israel), J. Stefan Institute (Slovenia).
14. The group of Jan Petzelt from Prague, CZ: during the last year established the following cooperations: - Marco Pizzi and Ilze Aulika (ELZEK company, IT) - Alla Zak from Weizmann institute (IL)
Collaborations established in the period from 31/07/2012 to 31/07/2013
1. Weizmann institute (Israel), A. Zak and R. Tenne, started collaborations with - V. Brueser from INP Greifswald (Germany) on plasma treatment of WS2, NbS2 and similar kinds of nanotubes. - J. Korzekwa from University of Silesia (Poland) on alignment methods for nanotubes - M. Naffakh from Politechnical University of Madrid (Spain) on mechanical, thermal and tribological properties of WS2 nanotubes in biocompatible polymers. - 2. T. Di Luccio from ENEA (Italy) started active collaboration (STSM exchange visits) with M. Remškar from J. Stefan Institute in Ljubljana (Slovenia) on the field of solar cells.
3. E. Gorecka from Poland started new collaborative activities with V. Hamplova from Czech Republic on the problem of doping soft liquid crystalline polymers with ZnO nanorods.
4. M. Labardi from Pisa (Italy) started collaboration with J. H. Park from Seoul National university (Korea) and A. Mrzel from J. Stefan Institute (Slovenia).
5. P. Lobotka from Bratislava (Slovakia) started cooperation with partners from IP ASCR in Prague (Czech Republic) in the field of ionic liquids.
6. R. Torre from LENS Florence (Italy) started cooperation with V. Reshetnyak and I. Pinkevych from university of Kyiv (Ukraine) in the field of theoretical modelling of nanocomposite dynamics.
7. I. Brnardić from University of Zagreb (Croatia) started research activities with Politechnico di Torino (Italy) and CO Polimat from Ljubljana (Slovenia) on preparation of polymer nanocomposites with sodium titanate nanotubes and their characterization.
8. Group of G. Seifert from TU Dresden (Germany) started collaboration with M. Remškar from J. Stefan Institute in Ljubljana (Slovenia) on oxidation process of MoS2 nanotubes/MoO structures.
9. V. Reshetnyak from University of Kyiv (Ukraine) started collaboration in the field of ionic liquids and their use in composite materials with P. Lobotka from Bratislava (Slovakia) and I. Drevenšek-Olenik from Ljubljana (Slovenia).
10. The group of J. Petzelt from Prague (CZ) started collaboration with M. Remskar (SI) on MoS2 and MoS3 nanopowders and pellets and with E. Gorecka (PL) on THz spectroscopy of Au nanoparticles.
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Group photo from COINAPO WG+MC meeting in Ercolano, Italy, March 2013
Thin film of elastomer material doped with MoSI nanotubes (Fabricated by A. Sanchez-Ferrer, ETH, Zurich, CH)
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