The emission of NOx - nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - by engines in a confined work environment without ventilation and exhaust treatments represents major health and safety issues. In France, almost 800,000 workers are exposed to such highly toxic NOx emissions. The NOA project aims to develop a NOx adsorption process for non-road vehicles using an optimal adsorbent. It will be loaded and transportable by the worker, to be placed at the exhaust gas outlet of vehicles. The adsorption cartridge needs then to be periodically changed since it works on an accumulative mode, by gas-solid adsorption. The regeneration of the process will therefore take place in time and deported from the vehicle. The operation chosen is the gas-solid adsorption which is more effective than the catalysis at low temperature. Technical obstacles exist; the proposed process has to be selective: to trap NOx without adsorbing water and carbon dioxide, and the affinity of the trapping materials with NOx has not to be too high to allow the regeneration. Therefore, a selection of materials (MOF, zeolites,) with properties required will be made thanks to DFT and GCMC calculations. The goal is to identify the best adsorbents with the highest affinity and largest uptake to NOx in the presence of H2O and CO2. The most promising adsorbents will be synthesized with different morphologies and characterized. A first principle model based on momentum, heat and mass balances will be developed in order to accurately predict the NOx concentration profiles over time at the outlet of a column containing the best adsorbents. Finally, calculations and experiments will be carried out to sizing and design of a transportable device. A technology transfer to companies for its development will be performed at the end of the project. These different activities are not time-sequential but fully interwoven throughout the development stages and the validation of the innovative concepts. The work program is divided into seven work packages (WP) over the 48 months, each WP comprising from 1 to 5 tasks. Five French teams are involved in this project: four academics and one private association (coordinator). The consortium is complementary; it combines the advantages of a multidisciplinary research, involving chemistry of materials, thermodynamic and kinetic analyses, multiscale modelling (molecular simulations and process simulations), process and chemical engineering applications with efficient synergies. It should identify the most promising adsorbents for a highly challenging targeted selective adsorption, and intends to develop industrial tools for occupational risk prevention and environmental protection. Technology transfer to companies for the development and commercialisation of the optimised material(s) and selected process will be dealt with by the coordinator. The NOA project contains an important part of experimental/modelling investigations. Therefore, it requires the recruitment of scientists as follows: two PhD students, one post-doc (18 months) and one master2 student (6 months). It requires also the purchase of manometry equipment for corrosive gas to carry out adsorption isotherms. The project has no rental costs. It does not request funding for the costs of acquiring licenses, patents, copyrights, etc. A consortium agreement will be established between the five partners in the first year of the project. The financial support requested for NOA project stands at 535 k€ for four years, and at 131 man-months (permanent staff). The scientific impact of the work will appear at various levels, with the three following objectives: (i) sharing research results with the scientific community (conferences, publications, etc) (ii) ensuring a wide awareness of the project to both potential end-users and to the general audience (technology transfer) and (iii) disseminating knowledge to people outside of the consortium through training activities.

The ChanPulse project is dedicated to the development of an innovative class of molecular photothermal transducers for the controlled translocation of ions and water across lipid bilayers. Building on the discovery of artificial ion and water channels, this project focuses on the implementation of two-photon (2P) activated photothermal transducers as synthetic channels. Unlike conventional approaches, the project emphasizes the direct photoresponsiveness of channel constituents, ensuring precision without compromising the integrity of surrounding cell membranes. Temperature modulation, achieved through photothermy, offers a safe and controlled means to influence cellular functions, with potential therapeutic applications. The primary objectives include the synthesis and photophysical characterization of 2P-activated channels, the assessment of translocation through pulsed photothermal gradients in lipid bilayers, and the rationalization of photo-boosted transport through molecular modeling. The project's novelty lies in the creation of self-photothermal synthetic channels, a breakthrough with potential applications surpassing traditional light-activated molecular switches and photothermal nanoparticles. The ChanPulse project is poised to demonstrate the bottom-up formation of nanochannels and their activation through synergistic photothermal and mass transport processes. The anticipated impact encompasses showcasing the ability of photothermal molecules to enhance translocation, revealing transport mechanisms through adaptive artificial channels, and achieving the first active artificial channel capable of generating heat gradients. The ChanPulse project presents a promising avenue for advancing active transport technologies, with far-reaching implications for therapeutic interventions and technological innovations.

While insecticides are essential tools in agriculture, their effects on ecosystems are deleterious. One third of insecticides (e.g. neonicotinoids, fipronil and broflanilide) act by targeting insect pentameric ligand-gated ion channels. The project aims to understand the molecular mode of action of these types of insecticides, via complementary approaches of structural biology, electrophysiology and simulations. We will express GABA and nicotinic acetylcholine acetylcholine receptors of several beneficial and pest insect species and obtain their structures by cryo electron microscopy. We will use molecular dynamics to explore insecticide’s binding pockets and conformational transitions of the receptors. We will perform whole-cell and single channel electrophysiological measurements to describe the functional action of insecticides. These data could open avenues for discovery of compounds with enhanced efficacy and better specificity towards pest species.

The global annual production of ethene and propene exceeds 200 million tonnes with these chemicals mostly used to prepare plastics. However, the separation of alkenes such as ethylene and propylene from their respective alkanes (ethane or propane) represent some of the most challenging and certainly the most energy intensive separations currently employed. The above-mentioned alkane/alkene separations are particularly problematic due to the similarity in the physical and chemical properties of the components. The current solution employed for these separations involves over 70 distillation steps at sub-ambient temperature. Bearing in mind the above mentioned global requirement for these alkenes for polymers, any room temperature alternative to the current process represents a game changer in this domain. This project aims by coupling experimental studies and simulation to develop effective and energy-efficient separation processes using microporous materials such as zeolites and MOFs.

The aim of this project is the rational design of novel electronic devices, transistors or sensors, based on two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDC), such as MoS2 and WS2. In these devices the density and mobility of charge carriers in the 2D materials is controlled through ionic-liquid (IL) gating. An IL is a stable and safe, highly concentrated electrolyte that induces electrostatic doping in the TMDC through the ordering of ions in ultra-thin interfacial layers. So far, very little attention has been paid to choosing or designing these electrolytes, an opportunity we address. One strength of the project is its combined approach integrating physical chemistry of liquids and interfaces with nanomaterials science, through electronic structure theory, molecular simulation and experiments (AFM, XPS, capacitance). This project also connects fundamental research directly with the intended applications through the construction and testing of innovative prototypes.