Innovation: ENEA develops photopolymers for smart optical systems

Implementing remote light-activated innovative devices made with polymers, intended for numerous applications in the field of energy and environmental sensors, is the purpose of the European project PULSE-COM[1] based on a patent[2] developed jointly by ENEA and Cnr in collaboration with the University of Grenoble (France), and already extended to Europe and the United States.

 “These new generation polymeric materials[3] deform when irradiated by light, both natural and artificial. In particular, when in the form of films they are able to fold since they undergo a variation in shape when exposed to light” explained the scientific coordinator of the project Giuseppe Nenna, ENEA researcher at the Laboratory of Nano Materials and Devices of the Portici Center (Naples). "The photomobile polymer equipped with suitable electrical contacts - he said - can be used to make sensors and switches not currently on the market".

The devices will be integrated into more complex optoelectronic systems[4] through an "incremental high-risk" research funded by the European project FET[5], with the aim of creating cutting-edge applications like opto-switches, opto- microvalves and energy harvesting systems.

“The devices will work as actuators- i.e. used to move small objects- and can be employed as light sensors or to recover solar energy through movement. They offer  multiple applications since they serve the general purpose of controlling movement”, said Nenna.

The ENEA Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Devices of the Department of Sustainability of Production and Territorial Systems is leader in research on photomobile and piezoelectric devices, together with the Smart Materials Laboratory - headed by Lucia Petti, coordinator of the PULSE-COM project - of the Institute of Applied Sciences and Smart Systems of the Cnr of Pozzuoli (Naples).

The "Smart Materials for Opto-Electronic Applications" event to be held in Prague on April 25th as part of the SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics conference, stemmed from  a long-standing collaboration between ENEA and Cnr.