The purpose of this proposal is to establish new fundamental insight of the reactivity and thereby the catalytic activity of oxides, nitrides, phosphides and sulfides (O-, N-, P-, S- ides) in the Cluster-Nanoparticle transition regime. We will use this insight to develop new catalysts through an interactive loop involving DFT simulations, synthesis, characterization and activity testing. The overarching objective is to make new catalysts that are efficient for production of solar fuels and chemicals to facilitate the implementation of sustainable energy, e.g. electrochemical hydrogen production and reduction of CO2 and N2 through both electrochemical and thermally activated processes. Recent research has identified why there is a lack of significant progress in developing new more active catalysts. Chemical scaling-relations exist among the intermediates, making it difficult to find a reaction pathway, which provides a flat potential energy landscape - a necessity for making the reaction proceed without large losses. My hypothesis is that going away from the conventional size regime, > 2 nm, one may break such chemical scaling-relations. Non-scalable behavior means that adding an atom results in a completely different reactivity. This drastic change could be even further enhanced if the added atom is a different element than the recipient particle, providing new freedom to control the reaction pathway. The methodology will be based on setting up a specifically optimized instrument for synthesizing such mass-selected clusters/nanoparticles. Thus far, researchers have barely explored this size regime. Only a limited amount of studies has been devoted to inorganic entities of oxides and sulfides; nitrides and phosphides are completely unexplored. We will employ atomic level simulations, synthesis, characterization, and subsequently test for specific reactions. This interdisciplinary loop will result in new breakthroughs in the area of catalyst material discovery.

The BiOp-FibEnd project aims to develop a functional optical fiber for in-vivo examination of suspect tissues. The information obtained is equivalent to that of a biopsy without removing samples from the living body. The main contribution of this technique is to detect earlier, without bringing distress and discomfort to the patient, diseases such as cancer, coronary obstructions, and many others. To this purpose a hyper-lens providing super-resolved imaging in the mid-IR, mid-IR spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) will be combined. A fiber endoscope, ready for in-vivo tests, able to observe and get spectroscopy information of living tissues will be realized.

Sustainable economic development requires new biocatalysts to carry out novel, selective synthesis reactions in an environmentally-friendly fashion. Halogenated organic compounds, key products due to their multiple biological activities and industrial applications, continue to be produced via traditional chemistry and their efficient and cost-effective biosynthesis has not been yet achieved. In the present project, rooted in Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology approaches, I will undertake a complete genetic and metabolic engineering of the model bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to create a platform for the bio-based production of chlorinated polyketides à la carte, which will contribute to the design of new drug analogues. I will establish and implement a clear roadmap from the extant bacterium to a re-factored version of the microorganism capable of efficiently producing chlorinated precursors, which will be channeled to the synthesis of new-to-nature chlorinated polyketides by reprogrammed modular polyketide synthases enzymes. Furthermore, the broad portfolio of halogenated molecules that can be synthetized with the cell factories from this project will contribute to the European knowledge-based bio-economy, enhance the EU's competitiveness in White Biotechnology and benefit the society as a whole. From a personal perspective, the implementation of this challenging and innovative project in The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain, the ideal scientific environment to pursue the tasks of DONNA), under the supervision of Dr. Pablo I. Nikel (an expert in the field of Metabolic Engineering of Pseudomonas), will be an unbeatable opportunity for both my professional and personal development. My solid scientific background, on the other hand, ensures a smooth progression as an independent researcher in the field of Metabolic Engineering that will result in a win-win situation for myself and the receiving laboratory.

Essentially all materials microstructures are three-dimensional (3D). In spite of this, by far the most widely applied characterization tool is microscopy, which gives 2D images only. There is a need to go to 3D, and daily access to 3D measurements is required. Instruments that can be operated at home laboratories is thus the way forward. Our solution is to use newly developed and commercially available X-ray optics to focus the X-ray beam down to micrometer size in a laboratory X-ray instrument, and adapt measurement principles inspired by synchrotron X-ray techniques to enable nondestructive 3D imaging with a spatial resolution of 1 μm. The resulting laboratory 3D micro X-ray diffraction (LabμXRD) method will outperform all existing tools for mapping crystallographic orientations and be the first of its kind enabling measurements of strain tensors within local microstructural elements. The project objectives are: • to prove the concept and demonstrate the innovation potential of our LabμXRD idea (filed as a patent application); • to validate LabμXRD results, quantify resolution specifications as well as the strain measurement potentials and provide guidelines for LabµXRD measurements for different types of samples; • to complete a first business plan for commercialization. In this project, we will focus on demonstrating the potential of LabμXRD for non-destructive 3D microstructural characterization by the use of metallic materials. It must, however, be noted that LabμXRD can be used for characterization of any crystalline material with grain/subgrain size down to 2 μm. When LabμXRD is manufactured and commercialized at a sales price within reach for leading universities and industries, in the order of 1.5 M €, we foresee that it in time will revolutionize the way materials are characterized – moving away from the present 2D methods to full non-destructive 3D characterizations of the distribution of both crystal orientations and local strains.

The great challenge for humankind is to mitigate climate changes by replacing fossil fuels with renewables. We will have to store excess energy produced by solar and wind power for usage in dark and calm weather. Excess energy can be stored electrochemically by high-temperature electrolysis cells as they have the potential to store vast amounts of electrical energy by conversion to chemical fuels. Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology is well known and proven, but not price competitive with storage of fossil fuels. To drive the SOEC research towards a breakthrough, it is critical to determine relations between electrochemical activity and structure/composition in the cells. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a very powerful method for determining the contribution from processes in the cell to the overall activity. EIS cannot show structure/composition which is offered by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Conventional TEM, however, does not offer insight into active cells, but only post mortem analysis. High-temperature electrochemical TEM is extremely challenging because this requires a) that hard and brittle ceramic cells are thinned to electron transparency (ca. 100 nm), b) that the cells are carefully designed to allow for characterization of the layer interfaces, and c) that the cells are characterized during exposure of i) reactive gasses, ii) electrical potentials and iii) temperatures up to ca. 800 °C. The aim of HEIST is to cover step a) to c), i.e. to transform TEM into an electrochemical lab for high-temperature electrochemical experiments including EIS. HEIST will give us “live” images of nanostructures and composition during operation of the electrochemical cells and thus disclose structure-activity relations. This is important, because the structures of nanomaterials will transform depending on the electrochemical environment, and post mortem analysis does not offer a correct representation of the active nanostructures.