• Encapsulation of active substances and incorporating them in construction materials.
• Developing new encapsulation routes of nanoparticles with polymers so they can be incorporated into materials as microcapsules.
• Materials with properties for the storage of thermal energy: making use of the material’s intrinsic properties and accumulating thermal energy in form of latent heat by incorporating microencapsulated materials with a phase change and how they respond in several designs (building enclosures, floor enclosures ……).
• Materials having self-cleaning properties: achieving application of photocatalytic agents as coatings that will give construction materials self-cleaning properties and develop novel photocatalytic agents for shady areas and interiors.
• Surface modification of construction materials: altering the surface of a material by disposition of specific chemical substances giving the material new properties, usually aimed at improving its durability, terminological properties, chemical resistance, and physical parameters, such as permeability.
• Construction materials with elastic properties: giving materials elastic properties, extending their characteristics and thus their scope by means of incorporating elastomeric nanoparticles.
• Fire resistant nanocomposites: to improve the behaviour of polymers to fire by means of nanoloads and flame retardants using different tests that comply with Spanish and international standards for determining resistance to fire.

This area will not carry out any activity that could lead to a conflict of interests with the Institute’s work as a Control Body, with regard to the products assessed, in accordance with ENAC requirements laid out in PE-ENAC-OC/01.