Description

The Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity, was formed on the 2nd January 2002 by the merging of two CNR Research Institutes and two CNR Research Centres:

- The Institute of Carbon Compounds containing Heteroatoms and their Applications (ICoCEA);
- The Institute of Photochemistry and High-Energy Radiation (FRAE);
- The Centre for the Study of the Physics of Macromolecules (CSFM) in the Dept. of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", at the University of Bologna;
- The Centre for the Study of Photoreactivity and Catalysis (CSFC) in the Dept. of Chemistry at the University of Ferrara.

The Institute has its main centre in the CNR Bologna Research Area and is placed in two different buildings, building 4 and building 12, formerly FRAE building and ICoCEA building respectively.
At the time of its formation, ISOF had, beyond the division within the Department Chemistry of Ferrara University, three other research divisions :
o Fossatone di Medicina (Linear Accelerator Laboratory - LINAC);
o Legnaro, Padua within the INFN Centre ;
o Dept. of Chemistry, University of Bologna.

Pre-existing research groups, with well-established experience in organic, organometallic, theoretical chemistry and physical chemistry, have been combined together in a single Institute in order to realize a leading structure in the chemical field.

The mission of ISOF is:
1) Design and synthesis of molecular and supramolecular structures with programmed functions
2) Studies of fundamental processes in complex systems of chemical, physical and biological interest
The main research themes have been addressed towards targets of high relevance, such as sustainable chemistry, radical processes of biological interest and for industrial applications, energy conversion, information storage and its transfer to a molecular level, cleaning-up photocatalysis, development of biocompatible materials and materials for photonics and electronics:
- Development of new Synthetic Methods
- Functional Organic Materials for High-Tech Applications
- Molecular photoscience
- Life Sciences
- Radiation Chemistry
- Polymer Chemistry

In 2005, following the Italian Law 127/2003, who brought to the reorganization of the activities of CNR Institutes, ISOF rearranged its activity in research lines, whose objectives are coherent within the strategy and guidelines given from our Molecular Design Department.

The strengths of ISOF can be summarized as follows:
- Synthesis of new products and development of innovative methodologies in organic synthesis
- Study of complex molecular systems, materials and bio-organic processes
- Spectroscopic characterization of instable species (radicals, excited states, reaction intermediates) created by photon or accelerated-electron excitations
- Studies and technologies about the interactions between ionizing radiations and substance (materials)