Applied Nano-Materials

Research Group

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Meccanica

Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale

Specific mission

The research group firstly focuses its attention on the definition of synthesis strategies to prepare nanomaterials with tailored physico-chemical features. Porous, magnetic, ceramic or metal-ceramic nanomaterials are mostly obtained by the sol-gel technique, controlled co-precipitation, hydrothermal synthesis and by the thermal treatment of cation exchanged zeolites under oxidizing-inert-reducing atmosphere. The thermal consolidation can be carried out by conventional sintering cycle and by innovative flash sintering. The nanomaterials are subsequently characterized by means of several techniques, including thermal analysis, room temperature and high temperature X-ray powder diffraction, SEM and TEM microscopy, UV-visible-FTIR spectroscopy, N2 adsorption/desorption, TPR-TPO-TPD techniques, EIS. Finally, the prepared nanomaterials are used in catalysis, fuel cells, biological separations and water remediation.

Leader

Serena Esposito

Permanent staff

Michele Pansini

Gianfranco Dell’Agli

PhD, Post-docs and Grant researchers

Antonello Marocco

Luca Spiridigliozzi

Main research topics

● Sol-gel synthesis of catalysts →M-SiO2, M-ZrO2, M-TiO2 (M= Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Mo, Mn..).

● Preparation of thin film for gas sensors (CoOx-SiO2; P2O5-SiO2).

● Preparation of metal (Fe, Ni, Fe-Co) ceramic nanocomposites for DNA separation, and toxic organic/inorganic compounds removal.

● Preparation of Au and Ag doped metal ceramic nanocomposites with SERS effect.

● Synthesis of Alumino-silicate nanotubes (o Imogolite-like nanotubes).

● Ceramic electrolytes for SOFCs based on doped and co-doped ceria (Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95; Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.90; Gd0.2-xPrxCe0.8O2-y).


Main partnerships

  • Prof. Nigel J. Clayden University of East Anglia -member of Wolfson Materials & Catalysis Centre
  • Prof. Gianmario Martra, Prof. Rossella Arletti and Prof. Maela Manzoli, University of Turin (Italy).
  • Prof. Guido Saracco IIT – Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia - Torino
  • Prof. Bonelli Barbara, Politecnico di Torino – Surf-CheM group (Italy) Surf-CheM
  • Prof. Ilenia Rossetti, University of Milan (Italy)
  • Prof. Gianguido Ramis, University of Genova (Italy)
  • Prof. Piergiulio Cappelletti, University Federico II of Naples (Italy)
  • Prof. Girolamo Giordano, University of Calabria (Italy)
  • Dr. Franca Mannu from NUREX (Italy)
  • Società ALFED (Milan, Italy)
  • Dr. Claudia Cammarano from ENSCM (Montpellier, France)
  • Prof. Paola Tiberto and Dr. Gabriele Barrera - INRIM, Nanoscience and Materials Division, Torino, Italy.
  • Prof. Paolo Antonio Netti - Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Health Care@CRIB Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Napoli, Italy
  • Dr Filomena Sannino at University Federico II of Naples (Italy)
  • Prof. Antonio Aronne and Prof. Maria Turco , University Federico II of Naples (Italy)
  • Prof. Martino di Serio-NICL - University Federico II of Naples (Italy)
  • Prof. Vincenzo M. Sglavo - University of Trento (Italy)
  • Dr. Grazia Accardo - Korea Institute of Science and Technology (Seoul, South Korea)
  • Dr. Domenico Frattini - Seoul National University of Science and Technology (Seoul, South Korea)


Patents and publications

2015

Esposito S., Marocco A., Bonelli B., Pansini M (2015). Production of magnetic metal nanoparticles embedded in a silica-allumina matrix. WO 2015/145230 A1

2014

Esposito S., Marocco A., Bonelli B., Pansini M (2014). Produzione di Materiali Compositi Metallo-Ceramici Nano Strutturati da Precursori Zeolitici. MI 2014 A 000522

2008

PANSINI M, C. FERONE, S. ESPOSITO, A. MAROCCO (2008). Materiali Compositi Metallo-Ceramici Nanostrutturati e Procedimento per la loro Realizzazione. RM2008A000155


Selected recent publications

2018

Marocco Antonello, Dell’Agli Gianfranco, Spiridigliozzi Luca, Esposito Serena, Pansini Michele. The multifarious aspects of the thermal conversion of Ba-exchanged zeolite A to monoclinic celsian. REVIEW MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS, vol. 256, p. 235-250, ISSN: 1387-1811, doi: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2017.08.018

2017

Minieri Luciana, Esposito Serena, Russo Vincenzo, Bonelli Barbara, Di serio Martino, Silvestri Brigida, Vergara Alessandro, Aronne Antonio (2017). A Sol-Gel Ruthenium-Niobium-Silicon Mixed-Oxide Bifunctional Catalyst for the Hydrogenation of Levulinic Acid in the Aqueous Phase. CHEMCATCHEM, vol. 9, p. 1476-1486, ISSN: 1867-3880, doi: 10.1002/cctc.201601547

2017

Luca Spiridigliozzi, Gianfranco Dell’Agli, Antonello Marocco, Grazia Accardo, Michele Pansini, Sung Pil Yoon, H.C. Ham, Domenico Frattini. Engineered co-precipitation chemistry with ammonium carbonate for scalable synthesis and sintering of improved Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.90 and Gd0.16Pr0.04Ce0.8O1.90 electrolytes for IT-SOFCs. JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY, (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2017.10.001

2017

Bensaid Samir, Ottone Melis Carminna, Hernández Simelys, Armandi Marco, Esposito Serena, Saracco Guido, Bonelli Barbara (2017). A simple model for a complex system: Kinetics of water oxidation with the [Ru(bpy)3]2+/S2O82− photosystem as catalyzed by Mn2O3 under different illumination conditions. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, vol. 311, p. 143-152, ISSN: 1385-8947, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2016.11.087

2017

Pansini Michele, Dell’Agli Gianfranco, Marocco Antonello, Netti Paolo Antonio, Battista Edmondo, Lettera Vincenzo, Vergara Paola, Allia Paolo, Bonelli Barbara, Tiberto Paola, Barrera Gabriele, Alberto Gabriele, Martra Gianmario, Arletti Rossella, Esposito Serena (2017). Preparation and characterization of magnetic and porous metal-ceramic nanocomposites from a zeolite precursor and their application for DNA separation. JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL NANOTECHNOLOGY, vol. 13, p. 337-348, ISSN: 1550-7033, doi: 10.1166/jbn.2017.2345 http://biomedical-advances.org/newtech-20175-23/

2016

Shafia E., Esposito S., Armandi M., Manzoli M., Garrone E., Bonelli B. (2016). Isomorphic substitution of aluminium by iron into single-walled alumino-silicate nanotubes: A physico-chemical insight into the structural and adsorption properties of Fe-doped imogolite. MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS, vol. 224, p. 229-238, ISSN: 1387-1811, doi: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2015.11.044

2015

S. Esposito, B. Bonelli, M. Armandi, E. Garrone, G. Saracco (2015). Nanoparticles of CoAPO-5: synthesis and comparison with microcrystalline samples. PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS, vol. 2015, p. 10774-10780, ISSN: 1463-9076, doi: 10.1039/C5CP00191A

2015

S. Esposito, A. Marocco, G. Dell’Agli, B. De Gennaro, M. Pansini (2015). Relationships between the Water Content of Zeolites and their Cation Population. MICROPOROUS AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS, vol. 202, p. 36-43, ISSN: 1387-1811, doi: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2014.09.041

2015

Sannino Filomena, Pansini Michele, Marocco Antonello, Bonelli Barbara, Garrone Edoardo, Esposito Serena (2015). The role of outer surface/inner bulk Brønsted acidic sites in the adsorption of a large basic molecule (simazine) on H-Y zeolite. PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS, vol. 17, ISSN: 1463-9084, doi: 10.1039/c5cp05085e

2013

S. Esposito, F. Sannino, M. Pansini, B. Bonelli, E. Garrone (2013). Modes of Interaction of Simazine with the Surface of Model Amorphous Silicas in Water. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. C, vol. 2013, p. 11203-11210, ISSN: 1932-7447, doi: 10.1021/jp401997s

2013

Esposito S., Sannino F., Armandi M., Bonelli B., Garrone E. (2013). Modes of interaction of simazine with the surface of amorphous silica in water. Part II: Adsorption at temperatures higher than ambient. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. C, vol. 2013, p. 27047-27051, ISSN: 1932-7447

Contacts

Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Meccanica

via Di Biasio, 43

03043 Cassino (FR), Italy


Email:

s.esposito@unicas.it

g.dellagli@unicas.it

a.marocco@unicas.it

Phone: +39 0776 2993697