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Research projects

 

Research activity is mainly concentrated on:

1- Mechanism of growth and breakdown of anodic oxide films on valve-metals and valve-metals alloys.

This research theme is devoted to understand the mechanism of growth and breakdown of anodic oxide films which are currently used for the fabrication of electrolytic capacitors and as possible candidates for replacing SiO₂ oxide in thin film of metal/oxide/semiconductor (MOS and MOM) structures. The final aim is to optimize anodization process and develop dielectric film with tailored properties.

2 - Characterization of corrosion layers and passive films by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Photocurrent Spectroscopy (PCS).

Research in this subject is aimed to correlate the corrosion behaviour of metals and alloys to the nature of passivating film and corrosion layer by in situ analytical techniques. In the case of PCS technique a semiempirical correlation between the optical band gap of corrosion layer and film composition has been proposed and it is still under scrutiny for complex systems.

3 - Photoelectrochemical fabrication of hybrid inorganic/organic (conducting polymers) junctions

The expertise on the formation of anodic films and on their photoelectrochemical properties have been used to design the fabrication of metal/oxide/conducting polymers junctions to be used in electronic components. Photoelectrochemical processes were used to grow conducting polymers on semiconducting or insulating oxides.

4 - Electrochemical growth of nanostructure by template assisted method or by anodizing.

The aim of this research is the electrochemical production of nanostructured materials for possible applications in different technological fields (catalysis, photoelectrochemical energy conversion, etc) by using porous alumina membranes as template or by anodizing metals in properly selected conditions. A study of the influence of electrochemical parameters on the properties of nanowires or nanotubes and their characterization, by in situ and ex situ techniques, are carried out in order to tailor their properties.

5 - Preparation and functionalization of anodic alumina membranes for thin film fuel cells.

This research is devoted to the fabrication of porous alumina membranes with assigned porous structure, depending on the anodization conditions, as well as to the functionalization of such membranes with ionic conductors to be used in thin film fuel cells working in a rather wide range of temperatures.

 

Research projects

 

• “Nanostructured Materials Deposition for Energy Conversion Applications”, U.S. Army USAITC - A grant no W911NF-09-10461 (2009/2010)
•  "Electrochemical Fabrication of Nanostructured Materials for Energy Conversion Applications", U.S. Army USAITC-A contract N. W911NF-10-1-0465 (2010/2011)
•  "Crescita e caratterizzazione di ossidi su nastri di alluminio inciso", Convenzione di collaborazione scientifica con Becromal S.p.A.. (Milano) (2010/2011)
•  "Low Band Gap Materials and Structures for Solar Energy Conversion", U.S. Army USAITC-A contract N. USAITC-A W911NF-11-1-0386 (2011/2012)
•  "Sviluppo e caratterizzazione di componenti innovativi per fuel cell a basse temperature", Progetto TESEO – Tecnologie ad alta Efficienza per la Sostenibilità Energetica ed ambientale On-board (PON 2007-2013)