Grants

Low-dimensional materials for solar fuels conversion and valorization (SOLAR2VAL)

SONATA BIS 13

Project period: 2024-2029

Funding: NCN Sonata Bis 13, UMO-2023/50/E/ST4/00197

PI: dr hab. Silvio Osella

The need to reduce anthropogenic amounts of CO₂ in the atmosphere is nowadays one of the most urgent issues that we have to face as a global community and that we cannot delay any further. It is becoming clear that its storage cannot represent a long-term solution. On the other hand, CO₂ conversion into valuable chemicals (named solar fuels) is poised to become the most promising tool to reduce noxious emissions. Together with the conversion of N₂ into ammonia, one of the most valuable chemical for fertilizing industry, the formation of ethylene and ethanol from CO₂ is of high significance due to their high production costs. SOLAR2VAL will implement a material-by-design approach to produce groundbreaking technologies that can perform solar to fuel reactions, by resorting only to low-dimensional materials as the constituent building blocks for light harvesting, charge transfer and transport, and heterogeneous catalysis. In this project, we will exploit these tools with the specific aim of answering the fundamental questions which are at the core of photo(electro)catalysts reduction process optimization: i) how to suppress the carrier recombination at the light-absorption site of the system; ii) how to enhance the lifetime of the separated charges, in order to reach the catalytic centre; iii) how to efficiently and selectively convert N₂ and CO₂ into target chemicals such as ammonia, ethylene and ethanol. The achievement of the SOLAR2VAL’s ambitious objectives will contribute to shape a future sustainable and zero-emission energy generation, enabled by advanced in green, sustainable nanotechnology.

Low-Dimensional Nano-Architectures for Light Emission and Light-to-Electricity Conversion

OPUS-LAP 20

Project period: 2022-2025

Funding: NCN Opus 20, UMO-2020/39/I/ST4/01446

PI: dr hab. Silvio Osella

The overarching goal of LOW-LIGHT is to rationally design stable and highly efficient hybrid nanomaterials for optoelectronic applications, which include light harvesting/conversion and light emission, to be implemented in proof-of-concept devices. The rational hybridization of all carbon-based nano-objects (the Nano Building Blocks, NBBs) and their formulation into stable colloidal dispersions ready for thin films processing are essential activities that constitute the core of LOW-LIGHT ambitious objectives. Key to this development is the control of the interactions and self-assembly properties of the NBBs at the nanoscale, in order to optimize the structure-property-function relationships in the integrated nano-systems, with the aim of mimicking the perfection of natural structures for light conversion. The nano-hybrids approach proposed by LOW-LIGHT thus represent a merging point between the highly efficient commercial solutions mostly based on inorganics and the chameleonic purely organic electronics.

Selected publications

S. Knippenberg, K. De, C. Aisenbrey, B. Bechinger, S. Osella “Hydration-temperature dependent fluorescence spectra of Laurdan conformers in a DPPC membrane”, Cells, 13, 1232 (2024)

K. Liu, W. Zheng, S. Osella, Z.-L. Qiu, S. Böckmann, W. Niu, L. Meingast, H. Komber, S. Obermann, R. Gillen, M. Bonn, M. R. Hansen, J. Maultzsch, H.I. Wang, J. Ma, X. Feng, “Cove-Edged Chiral Graphene Nanoribbons with Chirality-Dependent Bandgap and Carrier Mobility”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 146, 1026-1034 (2024).

Rational design of bio-organic systems for biomimetic applications

SONATA 14

Project period: 2019-2022

Funding: NCN Sonata 14, UMO-2018/31/D/ST4/01475

PI: dr Silvio Osella

The goal of this project is to expand our knowledge of hybrid, complex protein-graphene interfaces by assembling a multidisciplinary team of computational chemists and physicist. The research project focuses on the computational study of a new hybrid protein-graphene interface, as a possible candidates for bio-electronic devices, such as biosensors, bio-organic photovoltaic cells (bio-OPV) and bio-organic transistors (bio-OFET). The proteins under investigation are small light harvesting proteins (SLPH), interacting with a graphene layer as conducting material as well as charge carrier by means of different molecular linkers (SAM). The interaction and stability of the SLHP/SAM/graphene interface are key parameters to investigate the nature of the interface. Through the use of different computational methods, we will investigate on the one hand the conformational stability and the strength of the interactions at the interface, and on the other hand we will use state-of-the-art methods to account for optoelectronic properties and energy and electron transport mechanisms.

Selected publications

M. Izzo, M. Jacquet, S. Osella, M. Kiliszek, E. Harputlu, A. Starkowska, A. Łasica, G. Unlu, T. Uspienski, P. Niewiadomski, D. Bartosik, B. Trzaskowski, K. Ocakoglu, J. Kargul, “Enhancement of Direct Electron Transfer in Graphene Bioelectrodes Containing Novel Cytochrome c553 Variants with Optimized Heme Orientation”, Bioelectrochemistry, 140, 107818 (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2021.107818

S. Osella, M. Marczak, N. A. Murugan, S. Knippenberg, “Exhibiting environmental sensitive optical properties through multiscale modelling: a study of photoactive probes”, J. Photoch. Photobio. A, 425, 113672 (2022). doi: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2021.113672

 

Towards an efficient design of biosensors: an investigation of the interplay between light harvesting proteins and graphene

POLONEZ 1

Project period: 2017-2018

Funding: NCN POLONEZ 1, 2015/19/P/ST4/03636

PI: dr Silvio Osella

Hybrid protein–graphene systems offer promising routes toward bioelectronic devices. The focus is the interaction between graphene and the reaction center (RC) of photosystem II, a protein responsible for light absorption and energy conversion in photosynthetic bacteria. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a two dimensional honeycomb lattice, acts as a conductive platform for charge transport. Understanding how the RC binds to graphene and how this interface supports charge transfer is essential for the design of biosensors, bio organic photovoltaic cells, and bio organic transistors. The goal is to clarify the structure, stability, and electronic properties of protein–graphene interfaces and guide the development of new bio organic electronic systems.