We are excited to announce the 3rd STiBNite School, organized by the University of Perugia. It will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of February in Perugia, Italy. Find all the details and how to participate on the program of the school:
In this video, ESR 6 Laura (UCLouvain) describes why Theoretical Chemistry is an important tool in research, both to predict and rationalize properties of future materials. Laura’s role in STiBNite project is to support and direct, with computational simulations, experimental scientists on the design and synthesis of new molecules, and to predict the properties of not-yet-existing BN-doped materials.
In this short interview, recorded during the STiBNite consortium meeting in Munich (September 2021), STiBNite coordinator Prof. Davide Bonifazi (UNIVIE), explains the goal of the project and the importance of an international experience in the PhD. The STiBNite project trains 15 PhD students while working towards the development of a new generation of semiconductors, based on renewable organic materials doped with Boron and Nitrogen, for application in electronic devices such as displays, solar cells and transistors.
In this research paper, STiBNite ESRs Marco Franceschini and Martina Crosta (UNIVIE) present the synthesis and the properties of a series of BN-doped molecular ribbons. The BN-graphenoids in this study show systematic red-shift of their UV−vis absorption and emission spectra, as well as a decrease in their oxidation potential, upon elongation of the fused aromatic backbone. In addition, the ribbons’ emission shows a Thermally-Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) component. All these properties are highly desirable features to engineer p-type organic semiconductors. The full paper can be found here.
In this video, ESR 11 Carolina (RUG) explains the principles of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), state-of-art characterization technique in surface science. Carolina’s research goal is the on-surface synthesis of BN-doped graphene through photopolimerization and thermal conversion of BNC precursors. XPS is the analytical technique accurate for surface characterization and suitable for all type of synthetic steps.
In this collaborative work, Anna Voronova (Univ. Lille) and STiBNite ESR Diego Jaramillo (device fabrication, UCLouvain) present the delivery of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, ramipril, using an electrothermal actuator based on a gold nanowire array to increase the transdermal ramipril flux. Using rats as in vivo model, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were monitored, while heat activation in the electrothermal actuator provided full drug delivery. The full paper can be found here.
In this research paper, STiBNite ESR Laura Caputo, using first-principles (ab initio) techniques, investigates the periodic doping of graphene with borazine-like rings. The theoretical calculations show that the properties are sensitive to the doping pattern and doping concentration, and therefore these materials could be interesting candidates for optoelectronic applications. The full paper can be found here.
In this short video, ESR 7 Diego Jaramillo (UCLouvain) explains the basics of photolithography. Diego is working on the integration of BNC materials into electronic devices, and photolithography represents one of the possible techniques that can be used to build such architectures.
ESR 4 Sumon (UNIPG) presented his poster “Solvent-free monophasic bromination of mesborazine with NBS and catalyst” during the 2nd Virtual Symposium for Young Organic Chemists (#ViSYOChem2022) organized by Società Chimica Italiana. The poster presentation took place on Twitter on the 20th of October, 2022, and Sumon discusses the problems, and their solutions, of borazine functionalization. You can find his poster here.
In this video, ESR 14 Miquel Garcia Lleo (GXT) explains what it means to pursue a PhD in industry. Miquel is working on the preparation of Boron-Nitrogen-Carbon bulk materials, for coating applications, at GXT, company based in Bologna, Italy.