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Graphene Coated Nanoparticles and Nanograins

Project description

Exploring the atomic world of graphene-coated nanoparticles

The challenge of designing, characterising and understanding the properties of a new family of particles at the atomic level is a complex and demanding task that requires advanced cross-disciplinary knowledge and expertise. Funded by the European Research Council, the GRANN project is a cross disciplinary research initiative that aims to synthesise a novel family of high-quality monolayer graphene-coated nanoparticles and graphene nanograins. It will investigate their catalytic activity, chemical stability and optical characteristics for potential use in industrial catalysis, solar cells, and interstellar chemistry. The project will bring together expertise from surface science, optics, nanoscience and astrophysics to develop new systems that could potentially serve as the first laboratory models of catalytic nanoparticles for interstellar surface chemistry.

Objective

In a truly cross-disciplinary research project encompassing surface science, optics, nano-science, astrophysics and chemistry we will synthesize a novel family of high quality mono-layer graphene coated nanoparticles and graphene nanograins with new chemical and optical properties and investigate their catalytic activity, chemical stability and optical characteristics to gauge their relevance for and applicability in industrial catalysis, solar cells, and interstellar chemistry.

This will be accomplished by extending existing expertise, knowledge and methods developed by us and by international colleagues for graphene synthesis, graphene reactivity and chemical functionalization, graphene coatings on industrially relevant samples and interstellar surface astrochemistry on carbonaceous materials, into the nanoparticle regime. Combined with state-of-the-art surface science characterization methods with emphasis on scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermal desorption mass spectrometry, complemented by Raman and transmission spectroscopy, this will enable us to design, characterize, and understand the properties of this new family of particles at the atomic level.

The vision is to harness and combine the remarkable properties of graphene and nanoparticles to create systems with entirely new and unexplored characteristics, to tune these characteristics to be useful for real-world applications, and to exploit the new systems as the first realistic laboratory models of catalytic nanoparticles for interstellar surface chemistry.

This ambitious and cross-disciplinary research program will predominantly take place at the Surface Dynamics Laboratory at Aarhus University which is headed by the applicant, but will also involve local, national and international collaborators.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2014-CoG

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Host institution

AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 996 147,00
Address
NORDRE RINGGADE 1
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Midtjylland Østjylland
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 996 147,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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