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.
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
Last Publications
2023
Merino D., Athanassiou A.
Alkaline hydrolysis of biomass as an alternative green method for bioplastics preparation: In situ cellulose nanofibrillation
Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 454
2023
Benitez J.J., Ramirez-Pozo M.C., Duran-Barrantes M.M., Heredia A., Tedeschi G., Ceseracciu L., Guzman-Puyol S., Marrero-Lopez D., Becci A., Amato A., Heredia-Guerrero J.A.
Bio-based lacquers from industrially processed tomato pomace for sustainable metal food packaging
Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 386
2023
Forestier E., Najafi M., Dussoni S., Maggiali M., Athanassiou A., Bayer I.S.
Characterization and performance of silicone modified Polylactic acid (PLA)-graphene nanoplatelet ink coatings for flexible elastomeric substrates
Progress in Organic Coatings, vol. 174