Seznam abstraktů 2024: WORKSHOP NANOENVICZ

The NanoEnviCz research infrastructure provides access to state-of-the-art instrumentation for the study of nanomaterials, supporting cutting-edge research in environmental applications. This presentation will provide an overview of key instruments available within NanoEnviCz at the Technical University in Liberec (TUL), with a focus on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. NMR is a powerful tool for the detailed characterization of nanomaterials, offering insights into molecular structure, dynamics, and interactions. By highlighting specific examples of NMR applications, the talk will demonstrate how this technique enhances our understanding of nanomaterials' properties and behaviors, ultimately contributing to the development of innovative solutions in nanotechnology.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The authors acknowledge the assistance provided by the Research Infrastructure NanoEnviCz, supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic under Project No. LM2023066.

Confinement of catalytic sites and reactant molecules within nanometer-scale pores plays a crucial role in the functionality of numerous heterogeneous catalysts in chemistry and enzyme-based catalysts in bio-chemistry and nature. The active sites within the catalyst's pores, which are of a size comparable to that of the reactant molecules involved in the reaction can influence the course of the catalytic transformation as well as the nature of the catalytic center. In this contribution, we focus on the studies that were carried out with the assistance of the NanoEnviCz infrastructure, and which contributed to the development and understanding of nanoconfined catalysts. The presentation will introduce a concept for the creation of heterogeneous catalysts with a confined reaction environment, combining the advantages of shape-defined and accessible porous structures resembling zeolites together with the very high surface area, stability, and physical properties of graphene carbon.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The authors acknowledge the assistance provided by the Research Infrastructure NanoEnviCz, supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic under Project No. LM2023066.

The NanoEnviCz is a large infrastructure offering a simple way to contact the specialist and support any research within the student thesis or research on nanotechnology or environmental topics. The universities and academic institutions form a network of six academic subjects. All institutions have experience with syntheses and characterization of nanomaterials, detection of contaminants or decontamination of pollutants, studying toxicity, etc.
The innovation of instrumental techniques is very important because of better detection sensibility, quicker analysis, and more practical solutions or completely new kinds of information. IIC will get untill the end of this year a new infrared spectrometer and, next year, a small X-ray powder diffractometer, which is useful for quick monitoring in the laboratory.
Effective decontamination of drinking water or water in general is actually problematic. The sorbents that could be applied are in many different groups. The most critical parameters are the price and availability to be prepared on a large scale and the selectivity or the opposite to have multifunctionality.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The authors acknowledge the assistance provided by the Research Infrastructure NanoEnviCz, supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic under Project No. LM2023066.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are pivotal in energy storage, particularly for mobility applications and electric vehicles (EVs). Commercial LIBs were first introduced by Sony Inc. in the 1990s. Since then, they have become widely used in various applications, from consumer electronics to EVs. Over the past decade, their adoption has surged due to their superior energy density compared to lead-acid batteries and their high efficiency. During this period, their energy density has doubled, while their cost has decreased by a factor of ten or more. State-of-the-art LIBs can achieve specific energy levels above 250 Wh/kg at the cell level and 175 Wh/kg at the pack level, with estimated costs ranging from 100 to 150 €/kWh at the pack level. For a relatively large battery, this translates to a range of approximately 400 km and an estimated lifespan of around 150,000 km. The next generation aims for energy densities of about 450 Wh/kg at the cell level to support heavy-duty applications. LIB technology has advanced to Gen 3, while the next generation, for example, based on solid-state components, is still in the research and development phase.
Our main aim is to drive genuine advancements to develop safe-and-sustainable-by-design materials, to ensure the economical and widespread utilization of safer LIBs in modern society. The pivotal scientific and technological challenges encompass the development of functional materials, the design of sustainable fabrication and recycling processes, and the understanding of pertinent interfacial phenomena and degradation mechanisms. Specifically, our research focuses on (i) fabricating innovative nanofiber-based architectures for smart-functioning separators able to protect battery flaws - especially thermal runaway; and on (ii) developing cutting-edge and eco-friendly recycling processes to recover all materials (metals, separators - via solvolysis&pyrolysis - and electrolyte) from end-of-life LIBs.
NanoEnviCz provides a unique set of facilities for advancing the complex and comprehensive analysis of LIBs. We will present some of our facilities which include the latest atomic-force microscopy or analytical instruments used to identify complex compounds in the chemical recycling processes of polymers in LIBs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The authors acknowledge the assistance provided by the Research Infrastructure NanoEnviCz, supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic under Project No. LM2023066 (www.nanoenvicz.cz/en), REPOBAT TA ČR TN02000051/016, and the Horizon Europe project INERRANT GA No. 101147457 (https://inerrant-batteries.eu/). We are also grateful to our industrial partners, namely nanoSPACE Technology, s.r.o and IBG Česko, s.r.o. for their support.

The services of the NanoEnviCz research infrastructure were recently broadened by unique instrumentation ChromiumX capable to analyze gene expression changes (mRNA).and detection of surface proteins on the level of individual types of cells in tissues and mixtures of cell cultures. Chromium X is a state-of the-art device for single-cell analyses that enables to study mechanisms of interactions between nanomaterials and biological system on a molecular level in individual cells. In comparison to bulk sample analyses (providing an average signal of all the tested cells), single-cell analyses enable the study of each cell's unique genetics, gene expression, and other molecular features. As such, single cell analyses detect heterogeneity within the tissue or cell populations and reveal mechanism of different cell functions and behaviors in response to various stimuli, such as nanomaterial treatment. The instrumentation might be useful in nanomedicine (drug development, personalized medicine), and nanosafety (nanotoxicity, adverse outcome pathways, new approach methodologies). Chromium X can also be employed in microbiology (interactions between nanomaterials and microorganisms, microbial resistance), environmental biotechnology (bioremediation, wastewater treatment), and other environmental sciences (biomonitoring, biosensoring). The presentation will summarize the advantages and possibilities of this new instrumentation in comparison with technique used within NanoEnviCz. Until now.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The authors acknowledge the assistance provided by the Research Infrastructure NanoEnviCz, supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic under Project No. LM2023066.