Research and Education in Active Coatings Technologies for human habitat – REACT

Five unifying principles govern efforts (see methods and integrated approaches of ACT1-3: vide infra) of transdisciplinary research [(Bio) Chemistry, (Nano) Physics, Nano-sciences/technologies] deployed in the ANR / NSF- REACT «for achieving the objectives associated with the scientific programs of its 3 subprojects (ACT1-3): (i) synergy of scientific and technological approaches; (ii) research on innovative active coatings combining efficiency and robustness, ii) the unifying role of theory and simulation, (iv) the use of advanced characterization methods allowing access to multi-scale structure/property/performance correlations, and (v) the transformative translation from basic research advances into innovative technologies and applications in synergetic collaboration with the industry.
ACT1: more efficient collection of water via self-assembled and hierarchized «smart surfaces« and purification by ultra-thin membranes (nanocomposites with high volumetric fraction in nanoparticles) with improved performances with respect to the state of the art.
ACT2: prevention of the risks of transmission of infections by understanding the process of adhesion and control of the proliferation of bacteria via the engineering of thin nanofilms self-assembled by the layer-by-layer method to achieve true biomechanical and bio-chemicals countermeasures against biofilms.
ACT3: (i) Improved collection of incident photons from the solar spectrum coupled with more efficient photovoltaic conversion processes via luminescent solar concentrators added to the surface of 3rd generation solar cells by additive manufacturing and (ii) more efficient electrochemical storage in the next generation of post-lithium ion battery technology via the advent of new families of solid polymer electrolytes.

REACT/Status after 18 months
ACT1: Networks of nanowires have been functionalized to control their wettability (super-hydrophilic/hydrophobic surfaces). An Innovative mecanochromic microcapsules’s technology, consisting in advanced optically integrated optomechanical microsensors with an optical response for detecting and measuring induced strain in active coatings and ultra-thin membranes has been produced.
ACT2: Development and realization of experimental tests to quantify the loading and diffusion of antibiotics in different materials and self-assembled polyelectrolyte films fabricated by LbL. Recently patented, a high-throughput process for the deposition and screening of nanofilms produced in nanowells has been used for the production and characterization of LbL films and their subsequent loading with biomolecules.
ACT3: Decorated at their periphery by pro-mesogenic ligands, the directed self-assembly of quantum dots into controlled morphologies and the synthesis of new functional ligand families to allow for the control of the self-assembly of nanorods or nanoplatelets enabling the activation of complex photonic engineering processes (ascending or descending photon conversion) have been obtained. Early successes have been encountered in the spatial confinement of these nanoscale functional nanostructures into thin films of diblock copolymers. A hand full of remarkable results have been accumulated on nanostructured (lamellar organization) functional precise copolymers through the nanoscale confinement of ionic functions. Concerted transatlantic efforts are undertaken by teams of the French and American partners for the engineering, synthesis, implementation and characterization of single-ion multi-block copolymer electrolytes, i.e. true version 2.0 of the model solid polymer electrolytes systems studied during the first 18 months of the project.

REACT/Status after 18 months
Beyond being initially conceived as an integrated solution to the 3 major problems faced by governmental agencies and NGOs that are to be projected onto theaters of operations after (climatic) catastrophes/events [1: diverting, collecting and purifying water. 2) to fight against the proliferation of infections. 3) to produce and store energy], the scientific advances and innovative technologies of the ANR / NSF-PIRE project «REACT« are more generally answers to the societal challenges of the 21st century (see societal challenges 1-4 of the French National Strategy of Research/ France Europe
2020 cache.media.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/Strategie_Recherche/26/9/strategie_nationale_recherche_397269.pdf and ANR: www.agence-nationale-recherche.fr )
The synergistic and concerted efforts of the French and American teams involved in the Franco-American collaborative research project REACT should be translated into scientific advances and technological innovations which will be valued into scientific publications (submitted to peer-reviewed international) or even in patents (previously filed before publication) when considered as necessary/of interests, and communications in (inter) national conferences.
The transdisciplinary consortium [(Bio) Chemistry, (Nano) Physics, Nano-sciences / technologies] assembled for the ANR/NSF-PIRE REACT project constitutes, in whole or in part, a key enabling resource for the preparation and submission of future local collaborative (Comue-UGA), national (ANR, NSF, etc ...) and international (H2020 etc ...) projects

REACT/Status after 18 months
Articles published in peer-reviewed international journals
*C.A.S. Burel et al., «Plasmonic-based mechanochromic microcapsules as strain sensors«, Small (2017). DOI: 10.1002/smll.201701925
*K.C. Elbert et al., «Design, self-assembly, and switchable wettability in hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and janus dendritic ligand-gold nanoparticle hybrid materials«, Chem. Mater. (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b02928.
*T.H.R. Niepa et al., «Microbial nanoculture as an artificial microniche«, Sci. Rep. 6, 30578 (2016). DOI: 10.1038/srep30578
*N. Manohar et al., «Solvent-driven infiltration of polymer (SIP) into nanoparticle packings« ACS Macro Lett. 6, 1104 (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00392
*J.L. Hor et al., «Nanoporous polymer-infiltrated nanoparticle films with uniform or graded porosity via undersaturated capillary rise infiltration«, ACS Nano 11, 3229 (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b00298
*E.C. Glor et al., «Out of-Plane orientation alignment and reorientation dynamics of gold nanorods in polymer nanocomposite films«, Soft Matter 13, 2207 (2017). DOI: 10.1039/C6SM02403C
*E.B. Trigg et al., «High morphological order in a nearly precise acid-containing polymer and ionomer«, ACS Macro Lett. 6, 947 (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00450
*E.B. Trigg et al., «Chain folding produces a multilayered morphology in a precise polymer: Simulations and experiments«, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139, 3747 (2017). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b12817
Patents filled
*F. Dalonneau, J, Liu, C. Picart. Robotic method for coating a multiwell plate by a polyelectrolyte multilayer film. European Patent Application, Filed on December 16 2016.
*C.A.S. Burel, A. Alsayed, L. Malassis, B. Donnio, R. Dreyfus. Microcapsules having metal nanoparticles, methods for making microcapsules having metal nanoparticles, and uses thereof, Provisional US Patent Application No. 62/485535 filed on April 14, 2017.