Brief description of the project's missions

The scope of this project is to develop synthesis and fabrication techniques that will afford novel devices based on polymeric smart-structures involving polymers with controlled morphology, chemical functionalities, and diverse responses to external stimuli. The materials will be capable to be exploited for the development of chemo-sensors, drug-delivery devices, and smart actuators.

The originality of this project is represented by the synthesis procedure that involves photo-controlled or two-photon induced ATRP (atom transfer radical polymerization) reaction which are powerful emerging techniques insufficiently explored at this moment. Thus, the novelty consists, first of all, in the development of efficient photo-ATRP systems based on novel photo-initiators and their use in different reaction conditions. The 3D photo-ATRP is not present so far in the literature, this achievement opening new routes for post-functionalization of materials with 3D controlled morphology. Secondly, through the use of the properties of the material for practical applications such as sensing, drug delivery, and actuators, the advantages of the synthesis strategies can be better highlighted.

The challenge in designing these stimuli-responsive polymeric systems is to create networks capable of inducing small, orchestrated molecular changes that lead to significant physicochemical responses upon external or internal stimuli. This entails clever synthesis strategies, molecular design, and testing conditions. Even though significant progress has been made in the synthesis of precisely controllable polymerization methods leading to well-defined macromolecular blocks with stimuli-responsive characteristics, the understanding of the physical-chemical aspects of these systems remains to be a challenge.