Safe(r) by design guidelines for the nanotechnology industry.

Expectations for safer and sustainable chemicals and products are growing to comply with the United Nations and European strategies for sustainability. The application of Safe(r) by Design (SbD) in nanotechnology implies an iterative process where functionality, human health and safety, environmental and economic impact and cost are assessed and balanced as early as possible in the innovation process and updated at each step. The EU H2020 NanoReg2 project was the first European project to implement SbD in six companies handling and/or manufacturing nanomaterials (NMs) and nano-enabled products (NEP). The results from this experience have been used to develop these guidelines on the practical application of SbD. The SbD approach foresees the identification, estimation, and reduction of human and environmental risks as early as possible in the development of a NM or NEP, and it is based on three pillars: (i) safer NMs and NEP; (ii) safer use and end of life and (iii) safer industrial production. The presented guidelines include a set of information and tools that will help deciding at each step of the innovation process whether to continue, apply SbD measures or carry out further tests to reduce uncertainty. It does not intend to be a prescriptive protocol where all suggested steps have to be followed to achieve a SbD NM/NEP or process. Rather, the guidelines are designed to identify risks at an early state and information to be considered to identify those risks. Each company adapts the approach to its specific needs and circumstances as company decisions influence the way forward.

Pitch-based carbon/nano-silicon composite, an efficient anode for Li-ion batteries.

As silicon-carbon electrodes with low silicon ratio are the negative electrode foreseen by battery manufacturers for the next generation of Li-ion batteries, a great effort has to be made to improve their efficiency and decrease their cost. Pitch-based carbon/nano-silicon composites are proposed as a high performance and realistic electrode material of Li-ion battery anodes. Composites are prepared in a simple way by the pyrolysis under argon atmosphere of silicon nanoparticles, obtained by a laser pyrolysis technique, and a low cost carbon source: petroleum pitch. The effect of the size and the carbon coating of the silicon nanoparticles on the electrochemical performance in Li-ion batteries is highlighted, proving that the carbon coating enhances cycling stability. Helped by a homogeneous dispersion of silicon nanoparticles into the amorphous carbon matrix, a high coulombic efficiency (especially in the first cycle) and a high stability over cycling is observed (over 1100 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles at relatively high current density 716 mA g-1 for Si based electrodes), which are superior to pitch-based carbon/silicon composites found in literature. This simple synthesis method may be extrapolated to other electrode active materials.

A structural and functional mimic of the active site of NiFe hydrogenases.

The structural mimic of the active site of NiFe hydrogenases, [Ni(xbsms)FeCp(CO)](BF(4)), is an electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution from trifluoroacetic acid in DMF.

Tricarbonylmanganese(I)-lysozyme complex: a structurally characterized organometallic protein.

The reaction of the new and structurally characterized covalent {Mn(CO)(3)(H(2)O)(2)}(+)-lysozyme adduct with NiS(4) and NiN(2)S(2) complexes generates binuclear Ni-Mn complexes; relevance to the reactivity of the protein-bound {Fe(CO)(CN)(2)} intermediate during maturation of [NiFe] hydrogenases is discussed.