Smart Materials
We valorize waste and get inspired by nature to give solutions for a sustainable life and development.
We are based at the Center for Convergent Technologies of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (CCT@Morego), the central research facility of IIT in Genoa. Our research deals with the development of new composite materials combining various polymers and changing their properties by introducing nanofillers or organic molecules in the matrices. By controlling the chemistry and structure of the materials, we achieve precise properties adjusted to the needs of various application fields. Polymers are the main building blocks of the materials we fabricate, and our efforts focus on using natural polymers of plant or animal waste origin or biodegradable polymers, in order to develop new advanced composite materials with minimal environmental impact.
Laboratories
The Smart Materials Group has state of the art facilities for the development and characterization of composite materials. We have a fully equipped chemical laboratory, ns and ps pulsed laser sources, microscopes, equipment for the mechanical and thermal characterization of composite materials, optical spectroscopy instruments, probe station, Atomic force Microscopy, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Field Flow Fractionation, electromagnet, electrospinning, spray coating, rod coaters, thermal extruder, 3-D printer, micro-machining equipment.