Spectral downconversion of visible or UV-light, that is the transformation of high-energy light into lower energy radiation, is used for a broad range of commercial products or applications and is therefore part of everyday life of most people. For example, highlighter pen inks contain organic dyes able to transform ambient UV-light into visible radiation making surfaces such as paper or fabric look bright. In contrast, optical effects based on light upconversion, that is the transformation of low-energy light into higher energy radiation, have barely been investigated since solid-state materials efficiently upconverting light at low intensities (< 100mW·cm-2) are only slowly emerging. The aim of this project is to conceive and prepare functional ink formulations capable of upconverting light by triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) therefore enabling unique new optical effects such as fluorescent patterns under near-infrared irradiation and a better applicability of upconverting solid-state materials. At the same time, the aim is to learn more about the intriguing phenomenon of triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion, which, as highlighter pen inks, is based on organic dyes. In order to obtain multicolour, designable and high throughput upconverting functional inks, the goals of this action include finding a suitable printing technique and substrates, such as inkjet printing on paper, developing coatable, printable and patternable solid-state light upconverting materials for ink formulations, such as modified rubbers or molecular glasses, analysing the morphology as well as the optical properties from the resulting prints and develop new custom-made solid-state upconverter concepts for printing.

TRACKWAY aims at training the next generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative researchers combining projects at the frontline of the research in functional dispersed polymers with interdisciplinary training in transferable and specialized skills. Based on the synergetic collaboration between BASF, a leading industry in dispersed polymers and University of the Basque Country, a reputed academic institution in the field, the research programme faces the challenge of innovation aiming at creating new waterborne dispersed polymers with new functionalities and lower environmental impact. In particular, it aims at developing intrinsically autonomous self-healing coatings, waterborne adhesives with controlled temperature responsiveness, and non-leaching exterior coatings that will avoid the long-term environmental concern caused by the leaching of surfactants from roofs and facades. The research program is complemented with training in basic and industrially-relevant transferable skills and with exposure of the young researchers to different environments and ways of thinking beyond the consortium. The young researchers trained in this interdisciplinary and intersectorial programme will be able to face the challenge of converting knowledge into useful, marketable and sustainable products, which will make them highly valuable by the large EU industry in this field as well as for many other industrial sectors and academia.

According to the FAO, plant diseases cost the global economy around 210€ billion per year, and fungal pathogens destroy at least a third of all food crops annually. Commercial agriculture relies on chemical fungicides for crop protection owing to their easy application and low cost; however, their overuse and misuse have devastating implications for all living systems and the entire ecosystem. Thus, establishing sustainable crop protection strategies is essential for global economic development, environmental protection, and food security. Inspired by superhydrophobic plants, such as lotus and broccoli which exhibit wax crystals on their cuticles, we propose a generic sustainable strategy for passive crop protection against fungal pathogens. Our biomimetic technology, termed SafeWax, relies on bio-derived non-toxic fatty acid-based sprayable formulations which self-assemble into a multifaceted protective coating with anti-adhesive, self-cleaning and antifungal properties. When applied on sensitive crops, which do not naturally exhibit wax crystals, SafeWax will synthetically render their foliage to passively resist pathogens. SafeWax concepts will initially be demonstrated on grapevine, as a relevant model crop of high importance to Europe’s economy, environment and culture, which is highly susceptible to fungal diseases and is the most-frequently treated crop. SafeWax will then be expanded to other sensitive commodity crops. The biodegradable SafeWax coating will not only protect crops from fungal infections but will also be tuned to provide UV radiation filtering, prevent sun damage, as well as facilitate water collection from dew condensation, mitigating inevitable effects of climate change. SafeWax will revolutionize the global fungicides market (valued > 20 billion €), starting from the biofungicide market with a value of 3,2 billion € by 2025.