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GraphenE-orgaNIc hybrid architectures for organic electronics: a mUltiSite training action

Final Report Summary - GENIUS (GraphenE-orgaNIc hybrid architectures for organic electronics: a mUltiSite training action)

GENIUS is an EC FP7-funded Marie Curie Initial Training Network coordinated by Dr. Vincenzo Palermo from CNR-ISOF, Bologna, Italy. It is a multi-site ITN aimed at enabling supra-sectorial and cross-disciplinary training and research in an emerging field at the interface between Supramolecular Chemistry, Materials Science, Nanoscience, Physics and Engineering. The overall mission of GENIUS is to improve the career perspectives of Early-stage researchers (ESRs) and of a few Experienced Researchers (ERs) in both the public and private sector in the societal and economically important area of organic electronics and nanotechnology. To this end we have set-up an 8-partners joint training programme to enable a pool of young researchers to gain expertise in the area of Supramolecular Materials, while simultaneously generating new scientific and technological knowledge relevant to industry. The network is composed by 7 European academic/scientific institutions: the ISOF-CNR (CNR, Italy), the Mainz Max-Plank (MPG, Germany), University of Cambridge (UCAM, UK), Université de Mons (UM, Belgium), Université de Strasbourg (UdS, France), University College of London (UCL, UK), Universitat zu Berlin (UBER, Germany) and an associated industrial partner: BASF (G).
The main objective of GENIUS is to train a new generation of young researchers on the production, processing and characterization of graphene, the most recent and one of the most promising among nanotechnology breakthroughs.
GENIUS will thus offer a top-quality environment for multidisciplinary training and Transfer of Knowledge (ToK) in a very wide spectrum of techniques including (i) organic and supramolecular synthesis, (ii) advanced top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication techniques to self-assemble the GOHs in solution and on surfaces, (iii) Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) characterization of physico-chemical properties of the GOHs, (iv) new computational techniques to model graphenic systems, (v) steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopies both in solution and solid state, (vi) fabrication and testing of graphene-based devices and (vii) development of new composites of technological interest for application in the fields of electronics and consumer products.
GENIUS has started on 1st December 2010 together with the web-based presentation of the network and publicity of the training positions. During the Period 1 (Dec 2010 – Nov 2012), a successful international recruitment process has resulted in the hiring of 13 highly qualified ESRs and 3 ER, and receiving an excellent review from the REA Project Adviser and the external scientific expert.
For this reason, in Period 2 (Dec 2012 – Nov 2014) a focussed redistribution of budget has been approved by all the nodes to reinforce the effort on activities described in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement. It has been decided to increase the total number of appointees to 22 (19 ESRs and 3 ERs) compared with 18 ones budgeted (15 ESRs and 3 ERs). The recruitment of further 4 fellows has been regularly completed.
Overall, 22 highly qualified appointees have been hired: 14 fellows hold European nationalities (British, Cyprian, German, Greek, Italian and Pole) while the other 8 fellows come from Brasil, China, Ethiopia, India and Lebanon. All the Declarations on the Conformity (DoC) documents have been submitted to the Commission for all 22 appointed researchers, as well as the Personal Career Development plan for each fellow has been presented and the Consortium Agreement has been approved and signed.
Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) has been nominated at the beginning of Period 2. It includes dr. Luigi Colombo (TI Fellow in the External Research Development group at Texas Instruments@), dr. Daniel Neumaier (Group Manager at AMO GmbH) and prof. Jari Kinaret (Professor at Chalmers University). All of them are not directly involved in GENIUS activities.

Training and networking program has been completed as planned, including the organization of 8
Progress Meetings, 2 Schools, 4 Workshops and 1 International Conferences.
Overall, the fellows attended to 30 international Conferences and Events. contributing to 39 oral
presentations and 42 posters, and to 26 international Schools and Workshops such as the yearly
Graphene Week, Graphene, EMRS, ChemOnTubes conferences.

Publications
102 papers have been published in the high-impact scientific journals (Nature, Advanced Materials, JACS, Physical Review, etc) and 12 papers on the Open Archives Initiative arXiv.org (successively published). A further 2 contributions on Conference Proceedings have been published.
Due to the effective and the extended collaborations inside and outside the project, it's reasonable to expect that the total number of paper continues to increase within this year.
* further 18 papers have been published after the end of the project (1st December 2014 – 28th February 2015) and 11 have been written by the fellows.

List of the achieved main scientific results:
- Comparison of different exfoliation techniques of graphene in liquid: supramolecular, chemical, mechanical and electrochemical
- Comparison of exfoliation techniques and nanoscale characterization on 2D materials: graphene and Boron-Nitride
- Assembly of Graphene Organic Hybrids (GOHs) in liquid by exploiting noncovalent functionalization of small aromatic dyes
- Study of the role of molecular dye structure and charges: exfoliation and stabilization graphenic sheets, graphite capture, GOHs in suspension (rule of the pH)
- Study of functional dyes for exfoliation in liquid
- Force-Field Modelling of the GOH self-assembly
- Study of the interaction of synthetic PAHs at the interface with graphene
- Molecular doping of graphene: a study of dynamics
- GOH for conductive ink
- Synthesis of novel Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with different peripheral functionalizations
- Bottom-up synthesis of nanographene and nanoribbon in solution and on surface
- Electronic characterization of nanographene systems
- Characterization of GOH-phototransistors (IV characteristics, photocurrent mapping, time-spectroscopy)
- Optical characterization of graphene/PAH interaction
- Study of the physico-chemical properties of supramolecular engineered graphene-organic based composites (Calorimetry and UV-Vis spectroscopy)
- Spectroscopic and electronic characterisation of graphene based layers for applications in organic thin film electronic devices
- Tuning of the charge-injection properties in FET using molecular doped graphene as electrode (an electron spectroscopy study)

It is important to mention a further result of the GENIUS-ITN project. High-level training of a new generation of young researchers is the main issue of an ITN project with a positive scientific and economic outcome.
It is a pleasure to announce that 6 appointees (5 ESR and 1 ER) are currently employed in industries such as medium enterprises and corporations. In the meanwhile, 2 ERs are currently working in Academy and all the other ESRs are finishing their doctorate.

For complete details and regular updates visit our website:
http://www.genius-network.eu/
The GENIUS coordination team can be reached at vincenzo.palermo@isof.cnr.it.