The Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR)
is one of the eleven Institutes within the Department of Chemical Sciences and Materials Technologies (DSCTM). Its main headquarters are located at the CNR Research Area in Bologna, and it includes a Secondary Branch at the University of Ferrara. Since its foundation, the Institute has had a strong vocation for chemistry and molecular design, as demonstrated by the fact that 81% of its researchers belong to the chemical sciences (ERC sectors PE4 and PE5), by its reagent collection containing over 5,500 newly synthesized chemical products and 14,000 commercially available chemical compounds—traceable through digital labeling and dedicated software—and by the extensive set of laboratories devoted to organic synthesis and molecular characterization.
ISOF was established in 2002 through the integration of four research units from CNR and the Universities of Bologna and Ferrara, united by complementary scientific goals in the fields of organic, organometallic, theoretical, and physical chemistry.
The objective was to create an advanced research center focused on the development of new products and processes, innovative methodologies in organic synthesis, spectroscopic characterization techniques, theoretical models and the study of chemical reactivity, as well as the investigation of complex molecular systems, including supramolecular assemblies, new materials, and bio‑organic processes.
A distinctive feature of ISOF, since its inception, is its ability to design, synthesize, and manipulate organic molecules and transform them into organic materials and complex systems with tailored and tunable optical, electronic, and biological functionalities through chemical functionalization.
Over the years, ISOF has developed thousands of synthetic molecules that have led to numerous patents and scientific publications, forming the basis for interdisciplinary and international projects and for the creation of spin‑offs. Thanks to this expertise in molecular design, the Institute has developed functional—and often complex—materials whose structural, optical, electrical, and self‑assembly properties can be controlled and modulated through targeted synthesis and functionalization strategies.
Due to this expertise, ISOF is a partner—together with three other Institutes of the DSCTM Department—of the European infrastructure NFFA – Nanoscience Foundries and Fine Analysis, dedicated to the synthesis, growth, and manipulation of nanostructures. The Institute is also one of the nodes of the future National Chemoteca and contributes to the development of the European Federation of Chemotheques (EU‑FNACC).
ISOF also boasts a long-standing tradition in photochemistry, particularly in the study of the interaction between organic molecules and materials and light, in processes involving the conversion of light energy into energy and matter (photocatalysis), and in the investigation of the fundamental mechanisms of photoinduced processes. These processes are explored on fast and ultrafast timescales (nanoseconds to femtoseconds), with the aim of developing devices capable of harnessing solar energy to produce electricity and fuels.
