Research Groups and Areas

Prof. Matteo Bonomo (Ph.D.) has been Associate Professor of Chemical Foundations for Technologies since 2023. His research activities focus on the design, synthesis, and characterization of innovative and sustainable materials for application in devices for (photo)electrochemical energy harvesting, conversion, and storage.

The Prof. Isabella Chiarotto's research focuses on the development and characterization of novel materials through sustainable and circular chemical methodologies. The work integrates principles of green chemistry and circular economy to minimize resource consumption and environmental impact throughout the material lifecycle. Key objectives include the design of materials from renewable or waste-derived feedstocks, optimization of synthesis pathways for energy and atom efficiency, and comprehensive structural and functional characterization to evaluate performance, recyclability, and end-of-life recovery. The approach aims to establish scalable, sustainable frameworks for advanced material innovation within a circular economy context. 

The research activities performed by associate Prof. Alessandro Dell’Era (Associate Professor of Chemical Foundations for Technologies) include the study and characterization of electrochemical systems for energy production and storage: study of electrochemical production of hydrogen and electricity, characterization of rechargeable batteries, morphological-structural investigations of electrode materials for electrochemical devices, materials for hydrogen storage and sorbent materials for gases conditioning, finally. electrowinning and electrochemical  techniques  for metal recovery and recycling, from exhausted electrolytic solutions.

Prof. Marta Feroci (Ph.D.) is Full Professor of Chemical Foundations for Technologies and her research activities focus on the sustainable chemical and electrochemical syntheses of organic compounds and carbon dots (achiral and chiral) with applications in asymmetric synthesis and in sensors. It also deals with electrochemical syntheses in ionic liquids, used both as solvents and as reagents, with the anodic generation of Lewis acids and cathodic generation of N-heterocyclic carbenes.

Professor Leonardo Mattiello, Associate Professor of Chemistry, has research interests that cover chemical and electrochemical synthesis of new organic compounds and composite materials with applications in various fields: OLEDs, photovoltaics, plastic scintillators, fiber optics, drug delivery, and cultural heritage protection.
His scientific activity is documented by scientific publications and national and international patents. Most of his international patents have been assigned outright and are now owned by Merck Patent GmbH. He is a partner in the university start-up DARTS srl, which operates in the field of particle physics and ionizing radiation applications in the medical and industrial sectors, respectively.

The research activity of Dr. Rita Petrucci focuses on the use of Mass Spectrometry for the characterization of organic molecules. The main research line concerns the study of metabolites, i.e., the set of small organic molecules present in a biological system. This discipline is known as Metabolomics. In biological systems, the metabolic pattern of a given cellular system continuously changes, following both physiological and abnormal metabolic pathways. Metabolomics therefore finds applications in many fields, ranging from medicine (search for diagnostic biomarkers for the early detection of dysfunctions) to pharmacology (search for active molecules targeting new therapeutic sites), from phytochemistry (identification of plant metabolites with bioactivity) to the characterization of food products (for quality control or to assess their health effects), and to the valorization of by-products from large-scale production (tea, coffee, dairy products, wine, beer, fruit), to name a few. Additional research lines involve applications in the field of cultural heritage and the study of new materials obtained from renewable sources or food by-products, in the framework of green synthesis and circular economy.

Francesca Anna Scaramuzzo (PhD) has been Associate Professor of Chemical Foundations for Technologies since 2025. Her research interests, grown up over the years in various Italian and European groups and always developed with a well-defined personal imprint, range from molecular materials to micro- and nanostructured materials for molecular recognition and energy storage. She is currently working on the valorization of agricultural, industrial, and mining waste sources to obtain innovative materials for use as electrodes and separators for supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and beyond lithium ion batteries (e.g., sodium-ion and zinc-ion). 

Prof. Stefano Vecchio Ciprioti (Ph.D.) has been Associate Professor of Chemical Foundations for Technologies since 2019. He mainly works in Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis, with particular reference to the characterization of many classes of materials (hybrids, ceramics, glasses, polymers, and composites) and the determination of their thermal stability. His research activity has also focused on the determination of vapor pressure and the change of thermodynamic functions related to the vaporization and sublimation of pure molecular and ionic compounds, mainly through the use of a custom-made Quartz Crystal Microbalance.