Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Setting up of Center for Nano Science and Technology of IIT@PoliMi dedicated to new-generation photovoltaic and smart materials

Home > Press > Setting up of Center for Nano Science and Technology of IIT@PoliMi dedicated to new-generation photovoltaic and smart materials

Abstract:
With the aim of developing new applications in the fields of energy and smart materials, the Center for Nano Science and Technology of has been set up by the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) with the collaboration of Politecnico di Milano.

Setting up of Center for Nano Science and Technology of IIT@PoliMi dedicated to new-generation photovoltaic and smart materials

Milan,Italy | Posted on July 12th, 2011

With a staff of 53 researchers of various nationalities, in a building of around 1,000 square metres, the Center for Nano Science and Technology is focused on technological innovation starting with basic research. In particular, the specific fields of application are photovoltaic conversion, biomimetic systems and plastic electronics.

The CNST contributes to the "Energy" platform of IIT's 2009-2010 scientific plan, concentrating on the study of photophysical phenomena, on the building of prototypes and on the production of innovations within the field of polymer and organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells . The CNST is working, for example, on new photovoltaic cells, made from organic polymer materials synthesized in the laboratory which can replace silicon cells in terms of costs and energy efficiency. The photovoltaic cells made in the laboratory consist of plastic materials much more ductile than silicon so that, in future, they could be easily installed on building facades or inside windows. With the collaboration of private companies, the CNST expects to engineer an exclusive technology able to permit producing polymer-based cells simply and in large quantities.

Within the "Smart Materials" platform, the CNST is instead developing new functional materials for biomimetic photodetectors, for electric transport and other bio-inspired systems. Among the center's most ambitious and stimulating goals is the creation of an artificial retina.
The latter is a highly multi-disciplinary project developed together with the Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies at IIT headquarters in Genoa, which intends using photovoltaic organic polymers as retinal photoreceptors and studying the communication mechanisms between the artificial system and the neuronal cells. Various experiments have already enabled the IIT to show that the neurons taken from rats, connected to a layer of photosensitive material, are activated when the latter is illuminated; these results were published in a recent article in the prestigious journal, Nature Communications. For this application the use is important of organic and biocompatible polymers which provide much better adaptability and natural interaction with the tissues of the human body than those provided by silicon.

The Center also has its basic strong point in the integration of skills and in cultural exchange, so typical of a well-amalgamated scientific community. In this perspective, Politecnico di Milano - scientific-technological university with a total of 1400 professors and researchers engaged in advanced research activities at national and international level - has been pinpointed by the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia as a partner to implement the Center for Nano Science and Technology of
Using the same criteria, 53 researchers were selected with an average age of just over thirty. About ten of these are foreigners of various nationalities: China, Pakistan, UK, Spain, Greece, Cuba and Iran. The Center has also established itself as point of attraction for Italian brain drain exponents abroad. Members of the CNST team in fact include five Italian researchers who, after working abroad, have decided to return to Italy, leaving their previous jobs in prestigious universities such as Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Chicago and Groningen, to assist the Center's coordinator, Guglielmo Lanzani.

«IIT multidisciplinarity and the highly-ranked expertise of the Politecnico di Milano will find in CNST a concrete opportunity to merge fundamental and applied research, carrying on striking science in the fields of smart materials and energy», says Guglielmo Lanzani, Coordinator of CNST.

«With this opening, the IIT adds another crucial piece to the development of its network and to building a multidisciplinary organisation which has enabled the Institute to achieve excellent results and extend its exposure and scientific reputation at national and international level. An increasingly more widely recognised model of excellence which is helping bring back to our country Italian "brain drain" scientists, while at the same time making it possible to attract a number of foreign researchers. To date, these two components are already very significant and altogether represent 48% of the total of around 600 scientists in the IIT at December 2010», says Roberto Cingolani, Scientific Director of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia.

«The creation of an IIT Center in the Politecnico di Milano is part of the strategic partnership development strategy involving universities and research centers adopted by the University at national and international level. Only through the creation of a network of Italian innovation centers which are more competitive at international level will it be possible for the country to maintain and strengthen its role in the world. The cooperation between IIT and Politecnico di Milano wishes to represent a step in this direction» stated Giovanni Azzone, Rector of Politecnico di Milano.

Helping the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and the Politecnico di Milano in their top-level research work are industrial partners such as Omet, Pirelli, Saes Getters, Konarka, Industria e Innovazione and Tertium Technology. Thanks to them, the CNST di projects are absorbed into the production system, creating interaction between public and private, research and enterprise.

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About Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) is a private-law foundation established jointly by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Ministry of the Economy and Finances, with the aim of promoting excellence in basic and applied research and favouring the growth of the Italian economic system. Of the roughly 800 people who work at the IIT, about 1/3 is represented by foreigners from over 30 different countries, while about Ľ consists of returned Italian “brain drain scientists”. Another 20% of the staff is made up of young post-graduates.
IIT’s production boasts about 60 patents and over 1500 publications. Working together in the Genoa headquarters are departments such as Robotics (Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Advanced Robotics; TeleRobotics and Applications), departments dedicated to life sciences (Neurosciences and Brain Technologies, and D3) and Nanochemistry, Nanophysics, Nanostructures and Computer Imaging facilities. Since 2009, scientific activities have been further supported by research centers dotted around Italy (Torino, Milano, Trento, Parma, Pisa, Napoli, Lecce) engaged in developing the new 2009-2011 scientific plan platforms.

Politecnico di Milano is one of Europe’s most outstanding technical Universities. Founded in 1863, it is the largest school of architecture, design and engineering in Italy, with three main campuses located in Milano, the heart of fashion and design industries and the future venue of Expo 2015, and five more facilities within the Lombardy region.
Many important scientists and architects have studied and taught here, among them Achille Castiglioni, Gio Ponti, Renzo Piano and Aldo Rossi, both Pritzker Prize-winners in 1990 and 1998 respectively, and Giulio Natta, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963.
Politecnico di Milano offers innovative programmes at all levels, within 6 schools of engineering, 2 schools of architecture and 1 school of design. Thanks to a strong internationalization policy, many programmes are taught entirely in English, attracting an ever-increasing number of talented foreign students, who now form a diverse community from more than 100 different countries.

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Contacts:
Weber Shandwick: Costanza Bajlo/Giancarlo Boi

Telephone: 02. 57 378 352/356

Francesca Pierangeli

Telephone: 02 23992441

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