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Facile preparation of glycine-based mesoporous graphitic carbons with embedded cobalt nanoparticles

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Título : Facile preparation of glycine-based mesoporous graphitic carbons with embedded cobalt nanoparticles
Autores: Wenhai Wang, Alvaro Y. Tesio, Mara Olivares-Marín, Pedro Gómez Romero & Dino Tonti
Citation and DOI: J Mater Sci 57, 13403–13413 (2022).
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07421-3
PlumX: Facile preparation of glycine-based mesoporous graphitic carbons with embedded cobalt nanoparticles
A simple route has been developed for the preparation of mesoporous graphitic carbons with embedded cobalt nanoparticles just using glycine as a nitrogen source, cobalt nitrate and distilled water. After heating the mixture to 300 °C under magnetic stirring, a dry solid product was obtained, which was then carbonized at 900 ºC under argon atmosphere. Changing the glycine/Co molar ratio allowed controlling the size of the cobalt particles and their dispersion in the carbon matrix, the porosity of the carbon and its graphitic character.

Energy

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Wenchao Duan | ICMAB-CSIC

Congratulations Doctor Wenchao Duan, new ICMAB graduate!

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Date: 2022-09-09

Doctor Wenchao Duan, from the Nanoparticles & Nanocomposites (NN) Group at ICMAB-CSIC, defended his PhD thesis titled "Metal nanoparticle carbon nanocomposites to produce electrochemical devices for environmental water monitoring" on Thursday, 8 September 2022 at ICMAB.

PhD Congrats

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Understanding the blade coated to roll-to-roll coated performance gap in organic photovoltaics

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Título : Understanding the blade coated to roll-to-roll coated performance gap in organic photovoltaics
Autores: Rana Adel, Graham Morse, Francesco Silvestri, Esther Barrena, Eugenia Martinez-Ferrero, Mariano Campoy-Quiles, Priti Tiwana, Marco Stella
Citation and DOI: Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Volume 245
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2022.111852
PlumX: Understanding the blade coated to roll-to-roll coated performance gap in organic photovoltaics
The fabrication of efficient organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules via high throughput methods is a crucial milestone to facilitate their commercialization. The achievement of reliable printing and coating processes for large-scale modules has, however, been challenging thus far. Indeed, the performance gap is large between cells produced at lab-scale and those resulting from industrial methods. Therefore, understanding the critical steps in the upscaling process is decisive to address the research efforts towards decreasing the aforementioned gap.

Energy

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Welcome Giulia Pancotti at ICMAB!

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Nombre y apellidos: Giulia Pancotti

Hello! I am Giulia from Rome, I recently finished my master in Photochemistry and Molecular Materials in Bologna where I did my thesis on molecular machines. I am now excited to start the PhD in ICMAB under the supervision of Prof. David Amabilino, my project deals with the synthesis and characterization of new chiral organic materials for solar cells.

On my free time I like to go to concert, discover music and explore new places

See you in ICMAB :)

Italy

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HR and Talent Officer Open Position at ICMAB

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Deadline: 2022-10-10
ICMAB is looking for a dynamic, self-motivated and organized person to be ICMAB’s Nurturing Talent Officer. The successful candidate will be responsible of the Talent Attraction and Retention, and the Career Development Programmes for ICMAB researchers. In addition to that, the officer will assist the head of International Projects in the management of all tasks related to our recently granted Marie Curie Skłodowska Curie COFUND Programme, DOCFAM+, with 26 fellows.

Jobs General & Scientific Services, Breaking News

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Metal-Free Radical Dendrimers as MRI Contrast Agents for Glioblastoma Diagnosis: Ex Vivo and In Vivo Approaches

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Título : Metal-Free Radical Dendrimers as MRI Contrast Agents for Glioblastoma Diagnosis: Ex Vivo and In Vivo Approaches
Autores: Songbai Zhang, Vega Lloveras*, Silvia Lope-Piedrafita, Pilar Calero-Pérez, Shuang Wu, Ana Paula Candiota*, and José Vidal-Gancedo*
Citation and DOI:
Biomacromolecules 2022, 23, 7, 2767–2777
Publication Date:June 24, 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00088
PlumX: Metal-Free Radical Dendrimers as MRI Contrast Agents for Glioblastoma Diagnosis: Ex Vivo and In Vivo Approaches
Simultaneously being a nonradiative and noninvasive technique makes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) one of the highly required imaging approaches for the early diagnosis and follow-up of tumors, specifically for brain cancer. Paramagnetic gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast agents (CAs) are the most widely used ones in brain MRI acquisitions with special interest when assessing blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity, a characteristic of high-grade tumors. However, alternatives to Gd-based contrast agents (CAs) are highly required to overcome their established toxicity.

Biomaterials

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Welcome Luis Pérez Fidalgo at ICMAB!

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Nombre y apellidos: Luis Pérez Fidalgo
Hello everyone! I'm a student of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. I am joining ICMAB to start my final degree project with the Nanopto group. I will work with them on studying some materials and their characteristics to see if they can be promising by using them in photovoltaic cells. I hope i learn a lot during my stay. See you at ICMAB!

Spain

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Welcome Paulius Baronas at ICMAB!

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Nombre y apellidos: Paulius Baronas
Hi everyone! I am Paulius from Vilnius in Lithuania. I have a PhD in Physics from Vilnius University, where I mainly focused on laser spectroscopy of organic materials. Here at ICMAB, I’m excited to join Prof. K.M. Poulsen as a Postdoc for 2 years to work on photoswitches for solar energy storage.
On my free time, I’m an avid cyclist and amateur photographer. See you around!

Lithuania

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Translational Covariance of Flexoelectricity at Ferroelectric Domain Walls

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Título : Translational Covariance of Flexoelectricity at Ferroelectric Domain Walls
Autores: Oswaldo Diéguez and Massimiliano Stengel
Citation and DOI: Phys. Rev. X 12, 031002
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.12.031002
PlumX: Translational Covariance of Flexoelectricity at Ferroelectric Domain Walls
Macroscopic descriptions of ferroelectrics have an obvious appeal in terms of efficiency and physical intuition. Their predictive power, however, has often been thwarted by the lack of a systematic procedure to extract the relevant materials parameters from the microscopics.

Oxides

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Visit of the CSIC President at ICMAB | ICMAB-CSIC

The CSIC president visits the institution's centers in Catalunya

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Eloísa del Pino visited some of the CSIC centers in Catalunya to meet the staff and discuss the needs and challenges of the institutes. She has been able to tour emblematic infrastructures such as the IMB-CNM Clean Room and the Nanoquim and Nanbiosis platforms at ICMAB; or the Automated X-ray Crystallography Platform at IBMB.

Institutional

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Supramolecular Isomerism in Cobalt(II) Coordination Polymers Built from 3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)benzoate and 4,4′-Bipyridine

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Título : Supramolecular Isomerism in Cobalt(II) Coordination Polymers Built from 3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)benzoate and 4,4′-Bipyridine
Autores: Francesco Papi, Albert Rosado, Oriol Vallcorba, Arianna E. Lanza, Mauro Gemmi*, Núria Portolés-Gil, Ana M. López-Periago, Concepción Domingo, and José A. Ayllón*
Citation and DOI:
Cryst. Growth Des. 2022, 22, 7, 4463–4471
Publication Date:June 2, 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00406
PlumX: Supramolecular Isomerism in Cobalt(II) Coordination Polymers Built from 3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)benzoate and 4,4′-Bipyridine
The reaction of [Co2(H2O)(TFMBz)4(py)4] (1) (TFMBz: 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzoate; py: pyridine) with 4,4′-bipyridine (bpy) in different solvents yields four coordination polymers with unlikely structures but with the same stoichiometry. Three of them contain similar ladder chains consisting of binuclear nodes “Co2(TFMBz)4”, in which two of the TFMBz ligands show bidentate bridge coordination, double linked to each adjacent node by bpy but packed in different fashions.

Energy

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Single-Step Electrochemical Liquid–Liquid–Solid-Assisted Growth of Ge–Sn Nanostructures as a Long-Life Anode Material with Boosted Areal Capacity

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Título : Single-Step Electrochemical Liquid–Liquid–Solid-Assisted Growth of Ge–Sn Nanostructures as a Long-Life Anode Material with Boosted Areal Capacity
Autores: Siavash. Khabazian, Sohrab Sanjabi*, Francisco Javier Del Campo, Eduardo Fernández Martín, and Dino Tonti
Citation and DOI:
ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2022, 5, 5, 5589–5602
Publication Date:May 3, 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c03839
PlumX: Single-Step Electrochemical Liquid–Liquid–Solid-Assisted Growth of Ge–Sn Nanostructures as a Long-Life Anode Material with Boosted Areal Capacity
A single-step electrochemical liquid–liquid–solid (ec-LLS) deposition route is developed for growing nanowire-based Ge–Sn nanostructures with tailored morphologies and compositions. Composite films, submicron fibers, nanowires, and also three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures are fabricated in the same electrolyte, simply by varying the electrodeposition current density. COMSOL simulations indicate that the current density is able to generate sufficient Joule heating to activate the ec-LLS growth mode.

Energy

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NextGEM project partners during the Kick-off meeting in Crete on July 2022

ICMAB participates in the new NextGEM European project to investigate new generation electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure and possible health effects

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The 48-month EU-funded NextGEM project started on 1 July 2022 and counts with 7.56 M€. One of the objectives of the project is to ensure EU citizens’ healthy living and a safe working environment when employing existing and future electromagnetic fields (EMF)-based telecommunication technologies

New Projects, Breaking News

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Submolecular Resolution Imaging of P3HT:PCBM Nanostructured Films by Atomic Force Microscopy: Implications for Organic Solar Cells

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Título : Submolecular Resolution Imaging of P3HT:PCBM Nanostructured Films by Atomic Force Microscopy: Implications for Organic Solar Cells
Autores: Letizia Liirò-Peluso, James Wrigley, David B. Amabilino*, and Peter H. Beton*
Citation and DOI:
ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2022, XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX
Publication Date:June 17, 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c01399
PlumX: Submolecular Resolution Imaging of P3HT:PCBM Nanostructured Films by Atomic Force Microscopy: Implications for Organic Solar Cells
The efficiency of organic bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells depends greatly on both the bulk and surface structure of the nanostructured bicontinuous interpenetrating network of materials, known as the active layer. The morphology of the top layer of a coated film is often resolved at the scale of a few nanometers, but fine details of the domains and the order within them are more difficult to identify. Here, we report a high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigation of various stoichiometries of the well-studied poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) active layer mixture.

Molecular

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Quatsomes Formulated with l-Prolinol-Derived Surfactants as Antibacterial Nanocarriers of (+)-Usnic Acid with Antioxidant Activity

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Título : Quatsomes Formulated with l-Prolinol-Derived Surfactants as Antibacterial Nanocarriers of (+)-Usnic Acid with Antioxidant Activity
Autores: Sara Battista, Mariana Köber, Pierangelo Bellio, Giuseppe Celenza, Luciano Galantini, Guillem Vargas-Nadal, Lorenza Fagnani, Jaume Veciana, Nora Ventosa*, and Luisa Giansanti*
Citation and DOI:
ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2022, 5, 5, 6140–6148
Publication Date:May 9, 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.1c04365
PlumX: Quatsomes Formulated with l-Prolinol-Derived Surfactants as Antibacterial Nanocarriers of (+)-Usnic Acid with Antioxidant Activity
The efficacy of the treatment of bacterial infection is seriously reduced because of antibiotic resistance; thus, therapeutic solutions against drug-resistant microbes are necessary. Nanoparticle-based solutions are particularly promising for meeting this challenge because they can offer intrinsic antimicrobial activity and sustained drug release at the target site. Herein, we present a newly developed nanovesicle system of the quatsome family, composed of l-prolinol-derived surfactants and cholesterol, which has noticeable antibacterial activity even on Gram-negative strains, demonstrating great potential for the treatment of bacterial infections.

Biomaterials

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Highly Aligned Bacterial Nanocellulose Films Obtained During Static Biosynthesis in a Reproducible and Straightforward Approach

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Título : Highly Aligned Bacterial Nanocellulose Films Obtained During Static Biosynthesis in a Reproducible and Straightforward Approach
Autores: Nerea Murugarren, Soledad Roig-Sanchez, Irene Antón-Sales, Nanthilde Malandain, Kai Xu, Eduardo Solano, Juan Sebastian Reparaz, Anna Laromaine
Citation and DOI: Adv. Sci. 2022, 2201947. 
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202201947
PlumX: Highly Aligned Bacterial Nanocellulose Films Obtained During Static Biosynthesis in a Reproducible and Straightforward Approach
Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is usually produced as randomly-organized highly pure cellulose nanofibers films. Its high water-holding capacity, porosity, mechanical strength, and biocompatibility make it unique. Ordered structures are found in nature and the properties appearing upon aligning polymers fibers inspire everyone to achieve highly aligned BNC (A-BNC) films. This work takes advantage of natural bacteria biosynthesis in a reproducible and straightforward approach. Bacteria confined and statically incubated biosynthesized BNC nanofibers in a single direction without entanglement.

Biomaterials

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Oscillatory patterns in redox gradient materials through wireless bipolar electrochemistry. The dynamic wave-like case of copper bipolar oxidation

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Título : Oscillatory patterns in redox gradient materials through wireless bipolar electrochemistry. The dynamic wave-like case of copper bipolar oxidation
Autores: L. Fuentes-Rodríguez, E. Pujades, J. Fraxedas, A. Crespi, K. Xu, L. Abad and N. Casañ-Pastor *
Citation and DOI:
Mater. Chem. Front., 2022, Advance Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM00482H
PlumX: Oscillatory patterns in redox gradient materials through wireless bipolar electrochemistry. The dynamic wave-like case of copper bipolar oxidation
Bipolar electrochemistry allows the development of processes in a wireless manner, with reactions occurring at the induced anodes and cathodes of an immersed conducting material in the electrolyte. As a result, a gradient oxidation state may appear along the main axis field on the surface or bulk of the material depending on the type of reaction available at each induced potential. Redox intercalation gradients have been observed, metal anodization, or deposition, and also reactions at the electrolyte in the nearby environment of the poles induced.

Energy

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