CNR is the largest public research organization in Italy.

Within CNR, Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IOM) carries out interdisciplinary research on the atomic scale physical properties of materials and systems of nanometric size. Within CNR, the Institute of Structure of Matter (ISM) covers the field of synthesis and characterization of materials with innovative technological applications.

Within CNR, the Department of Chemical Science & Materials Technology (DSCTM) is formed by 11 CNR Institutes that carry out both basic and applied research in all fields of the molecular sciences, chemical technologies and material sciences. Among these, the Institute of Science, Technology and Sustainability for Ceramics (ISSMC), the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), the Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB) and the Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Technologies for Energy (ICMATE).

The institutes CNR-IMM and CNR-NANOTEC participate in NFFA-Europe as Euronanolab nodes.