Gabriella Cavallo, Valentina Dichiarante, Giancarlo Terraneo and Pierangelo Metrangolo have recently published an article on "Waterproof-breathable films from multi-branched fluorinated cellulose esters".
The full paper can be found at the following link: Waterproof-breathable films from multi-branched fluorinated cellulose esters.

Abstract. Cellulose ester films were prepared by esterification of cellulose with a multibranched fluorinated carboxylic acid, “BRFA” (BRanched Fluorinated Acid), at different anhydroglucose unit:BRFA molar ratios (i.e., 1:0, 10:1, 5:1, and 1:1). Morphological and optical analyses showed that cellulose-BRFA materials at molar ratios 10:1 and 5:1 formed flat and transparent films, while the one at 1:1 M ratio formed rough and translucent films. Degrees of substitution (DS) of 0.06, 0.09, and 0.23 were calculated by NMR for the samples at molar ratios 10:1, 5:1, and 1:1, respectively. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the esterification. DSC thermograms showed a single glass transition, typical of amorphous polymers, at −11 °C. The presence of BRFA groups shifted the mechanical behavior from rigid to ductile and soft with increasing DS. Wettability was similar to standard fluoropolymers such as PTFE and PVDF. Finally, breathability and water uptake were characterized and found comparable to materials typically used in textiles.

How to cite the article:
Giacomo Tedeschi, Susana Guzman-Puyol, Luca Ceseracciu, José J. Benitez, Luca Goldoni, Andreas Koschella, Thomas Heinze, Gabriella Cavallo, Valentina Dichiarante, Giancarlo Terraneo, Athanassia Athanassiou, Pierangelo Metrangolo, José A. Heredia-Guerrero, Waterproof-breathable films from multi-branched fluorinated cellulose esters, Carbohydrate Polymers, 271, 2021, 118031

Pierangelo Metrangolo, Chair of the Editorial Board of CrystEngComm, has recently edited a collection of hot articles highlighting the contribution of the halogen bond to the field of crystal engineering.

Introduce yourself to this collection by reading its presentation:

"The halogen bond is the attractive interaction between an electrophilic region associated with a halogen atom in a molecular entity and a nucleophilic region in another, or the same, molecular entity. Since its rediscovery in the early 2000s, the field of halogen bonding has boomed, becoming one of the most used chemical interactions in crystal engineering. This Editor’s collection highlights recent contributions to CrystEngComm that are broadly focused on halogen bonding in crystal engineering. The selection of articles showcases how the field has developed from the design of crystal structures to the development of functional materials. The wide range of halogen bond applications covers phosphorescent materials, pharmaceutical co-crystals and peptides, organic electronics, coordination frameworks, where the halogen bonds either drive the formation of the network, or stabilize it as a secondary interaction, or is used to bind hosted guests. Halogen bonding has become a mature field of research but its rediscovery has sparked interest towards other lesser known interactions, which are anticipated to become more prominent in the future, such as chalcogen, pnictogen, and tetrel bonds. 

All of these articles are free to access until June 30th 2021 and we hope you enjoy reading them"

The collection can be found at the followink link: Halogen Bonding in Crystal Engineering

Applications are welcome for an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) position associated with PhD-level research activities as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Industrial Doctorate (EID) programme related to the Consortium “REMEDI” (Trapping and Removal of X-ray Contrast Medium agents from water resource and stream Sediments New Concepts in Trapping, Recycling and Management). The latter leverages on a partnership between Politecnico di Milano (Italy), the University of Warwick (United Kingdom) and TAUW GMBH (Germany). The project will focus on the design and preparation of sorbent materials for the removal of iodinated contrast agents from water. We offer 1 full-time Marie Skłodowska-Curie scholarship, very competitive salary and relocation package, for a period of 36 months (40 hours per week), starting from November 2, 2021. Application deadline is May 20, 2021. For further info, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and visit https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/629536

We are seeking highly motivated post-doctoral candidates to apply for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowships (MSCA-IF) and work within the SupraBioNano Lab group at Politecnico di Milano (Italy).

Our research interests are focused on self-assembly processes for the design of functional supramolecular materials, fluorine chemistry and crystal engineering. In particular, we are very much focused on the exploitation of non-covalent interactions in engineering perovskite solar cell materials. 

Selected candidates will be invited to attend an in depth training course on the proposal writing through online webstreaming (28-29 June 2021), to have a virtual meeting with their supervisors and to make use of full support in the application writing process by POLIMI advisors.

Candidate fellows and supervisors will be guided throughout the whole application process with deadline on 15 September 2021. Only those who get funding through the European Commission’s MSCA PF program will be admitted to Politecnico di Milano.

If you are interested in applying please send your CV to Gabriella Cavallo: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.