IMS2020 aims at strengthening international co-operation and supporting global European-centric research under the IMS initiative, providing an effective interface to ongoing European road-mapping activities (such as European Technology Platform, etc.) and creating research synergies at international level through establishment of inter-regional manufacturing communities in the five Key Areas of Activity of IMS.
A coordination action is proposed to reinforce the international dimension of EU research on nanomaterials in formulations in the Asia-Pasific region.
The stability of thin films in contact with different materials is a critical issue for a wide range of modern devices, including high-k films in the microelectronics industry, metal electrodes for fuel cells, and nanometer sized particles on oxides for catalysis. Some groups are working on thermodynamic analysis of thin film stability, which correlate relative interface energies with dopant adsorption.
Thin film solar cells, based on non-toxic, abundant and air-stable silicon (Si) will probably, based on forecasts, dominate the photovoltaic market in the future and thus replace bulk Si from its leading position. This prognosis is fostered by the strong cost reduction potential due to highly effective materials utilization at low energy consumption. However, thin film Si suffers from inherently small grains, which limits efficiencies to ~10% due to carrier recombination at grain boundaries.
The growing fields of organic electronics and spin-based electronics rely on the use of organic conjugated molecules and polymers as active components in multi-layer device applications such as light-emitting displays, solar cells, field-effect transistors, (bio)chemical sensors and storage devices.
The InLiveTox project will form an interdisciplinary consortium at the European level, together with a key American research group to develop an improved in vitro model for the study of nanoparticle (NP) uptake, transport and cellular interaction, thus advancing our understanding of NP toxicity. Rather than repeat what has, or is being done in the field of aerosol NP and lung toxicology, InLiveTox will focus on the impact of NP exposure via ingestion, in the healthy and diseased gastrointestinal (GI) tract, vascular endothelium and liver.
Engineered Nanoparticles (ENP) are increasingly produced for use in a wide range of industrial and consumer products. Yet it is known that exposure to some types of particles can cause severe health effects. Therefore it is essential to ascertain whether exposure to ENP can lead to possible health risks for workers and consumers. We have formed a consortium of well-known scientists from European Universities and Research Institutes, with over 100 publications in the field of Nanotoxicology. Our aim is to develop an approach for the Risk Assessment of ENP (ENPRA).
The approach of AFORE project is to develop novel, industrially adaptable and techno-economically viable bio-based solutions for the separation, fractionation, and primary upgrading of green chemicals from forest residues, wood chips, and chemical pulping liquors to be used as starting materials for current and novel value-added applications. It is targeted that by this means European forest and pulping industry can substantially increase its profitability and overall income within 10 years with positive impact on the waste formation and sustainability of the process.
Engineered nanomaterials (ENs) present tremendous opportunities for industrial growth and development, and hold great promise for the enrichment of the lives of citizens, in medicine, electronics, and numerous other areas. However, there are considerable gaps in our knowledge concerning the potential hazardous effects of ENs on human health and the environment. Our EU-US partnership is committed to filling these knowledge gaps through a comprehensive assessment of ENs, with particular focus on effects on the immune system.
NanoReTox will identify the potential risks to the environment and human health posed by free engineered (i.e. manmade) nanomaterial by comprehensively addressing five key questions:
- How does the environment into which nanoparticles are released affect their physicochemical properties and their bioreactivity?
- How does this impact on their ability to interact with and/or penetrate mammalian and aquatic cells and organisms (bioavailability) and will bioavailability result in toxicity?
