Research funding for projects in sustainability
Rafael Cichelero and Ihar Faniayeu, both researchers at the Department of Physics, has received SEK 71 000 each in research funding from the Adlerbertska Research Foundation. The funding goes towards their respective research projects in sustainability.
Rafael Cichelero – “Sensor-ID: Materials identification by optical nanoantennas for recycling technology”
The goal of Rafael Cicheleros project is to engineer the ideal optical and label-free nanosized sensors, which due to high sensing capabilities can identify and classify different materials with their unique dielectric response.
The sensors take advantage of plasmonics, which are collective electronic oscillations induced by light near metallic nanostructures, which results in a large increment of light-matter interaction, thus increasing the sensing and identification capabilities.
“We propose a new ID-tagging system based on plasmonic resonances, which are capable to identify between material families, glasses, metal, paper and polymers, and so on. Such sensing capabilities can potentially be applied at recycling technology industry, where the material separation plays a fundamental role identifying and tracking noble, hazardous or environmental contaminant materials,” says Rafael Cichelero.
Ihar Faniayeu – “Warm windows: the future of indoor comfort in the Nordics”
The vision of Ihar Faniayeus project is to create multipurpose transparent warm windows, powered by the sun. The proposed project will address the energy loss in all these contexts by developing a new class of solar warm windows that take the solar energy and transform it into local heating, saving or directly generating the energy, depending on the application.
The proposed project relies on renewable energy systems and the interplay of various energy systems like solar-based thermal energy generation with interior heating in buildings.
“This potentially game-changing versatile technology for solar energy harvesting and utilization in windows can make the life of people in Sweden more comfortable, pleasant, and productive,” says Ihar Faniayeu.