Nanoscience

Functional Nanomaterials
Materials composed of nanosized structures may possess novel physical, chemical or biological properties that can be utilized to perform specific functions unattainable with conventional materials.

The availability of such functional nanomaterials is likely to revolutionise industrial manufacturing capabilities and capacities. Therefore, the ability to design and synthesise such materials with desired functionality is a key element for nanotechnology.

The role of nanoscience in this context is to procure the necessary scientific knowledge base to ensure successful implementation into technology. This requires a detailed understanding of the fundamental properties of nanostructures, which can be achieved only through a close interplay between theory and experiment.

Self assembly of molecular nanostructures
One of the major fundamental challenges within the area of nanoscience is to learn the basic mechanisms behind the assembly of nanoscale materials. Organic molecules and other nanosized materials such as nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes have a variety of fascinating properties, which may be useful in, e.g. molecular electronics, optics, and molecular mechanics. However, today there are still no simple and efficient methods for assembling individual components into functional devices such as electronic circuits, photonic networks, or nano‐robotics.

Nano energy materials
A large scale transition to renewable energy sources is dependent on major scientific and technological breakthroughs. Important research areas include solar cells, hydrogen technology, wind energy, gas conversion, synthetic diesel, biofuels and so forth. A key element in all of these research areas is the development of novel materials with new and improved properties. In other words the key to the development of technologies for a sustainable energy supply lies in the ability to characterize, design and control materials.

With the new capabilities offered by nanotechnology to control materials at the atomic level, the potential for materials design has vastly improved. By designing new materials atom by atom, completely new classes of materials with properties not found in any known materials can be created.

Nanomedicine
Nanomedicine is a rapidly emerging new research field with exciting possibilities for generation of new scientific concepts for improvement of quality of life through the development of novel strategies for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The driving force for nanomedicine is the fact that nanoscience and associated nanotechnologies can be merged with the biomedical sciences in a clinical setting, which results in a radically novel approach to combat human disease. The focus areas are nanoparticles for drug delivery and bioimaging, regenerative medicine and nanofunctionalised soft and hard implants, nanodrug design and nanobiosensors.

Nanoelectronics and -photonics
The miniaturization of the current Si-based electronics will most likely come to an end within 1-2 decades. Some of the visions within the field of nanoelectronics and nanophotonics are to make logical elements from individual molecules and efficient optical components based on nanocrystals. Major challenges within this field are to assemble molecules or nanocrystals on predefined nano-templates and to create interconnects between functionalized units. 

PhD students
SDC PhD students play an important role in the research collaboration. They all work with both a Danish and a Chinese supervisor, do research in both countries and contribute to teaching the Master’s programmes at SDC in Beijing. This close connection provides the PhD students with a unique opportunity to establish personal and professional relationships and bring Danish and Chinese research environments closer together.