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Tier-1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Organic Electronics: Materials, Processes and Devices
Canada Research Chairs

Research areas description

This Chair's research scope is the improvement of the environmental footprint of and integration of bio-sourced organic materials and materials produced using green chemistry processes, which are used in electronic and energy storage devices. This research is topical, given growing demand for electronic hardware, which results in massive quantities of electrical and electronic equipment waste, all of which is compounded by manufactured obsolescence and failure.

Professor Santato’s research initiative objective is the integration of materials into electronic devices of technological interest, components that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and have low intrinsic energy (i.e., the amount of energy used to manufacture a device). Target materials over the short- and long-term include melanins, indigo, tannins, and lignin by-products, some of which are abundant in Québec.

Research interests

Expertise type(s) (NSERC subjects)
  • 3302 Electronic properties of solids
  • 3304 Semiconductors
  • 3303 Surfaces, interfaces and thin films

Research staff

Professors / researchers (1)

External sources of funding

Professor Santato’s Chair will receive $200,000 annually over seven years, provided by the Canada Research Chairs Program. The Chair will also receive infrastructure funding of $175,000 from the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (CFI), $175,000 from the Government of Québec, as well as a $143,952 contribution from Polytechnique Montréal and partners, for a total of $493,952 earmarked for research infrastructure.

Press review about Tier-1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Organic Electronics: Materials, Processes and Devices

May 11, 2023, ICI Radio-Canada | Matins sans frontières, La gestion des déchets électroniques Clara Santato, professeure titulaire au Département de génie physique, partage son expertise à propos de la gestion des déchets électroniques.
August 13, 2022, ICI Radio Canada Nouvelle, Vers l'électronique biodégradable grâce à l'encre de seiche Cet article de l’agence «La Presse canadienne», diffusé par plusieurs médias, porte sur des travaux de recherche dirigés par Clara Santato, professeure titulaire au Département de génie physique, qui visent l’utilisation de matériaux biosourcés dans les composants électroniques.
June 16, 2021, Le journal de Montréal, Environnement : Et si on pouvait composter un téléphone? Clara Santato, professeure titulaire au Département des génie physique de Polytechnique Montréal, présente l'objectif de ses travaux : rendre l'électronique biodégradable.