MATERIALS SCIENCES

PHYSICS, EARTH AND MATERIALS SCIENCES

The Materials Science curriculum encompasses interdisciplinary research focused particularly on methodologies derived from the Physical Sciences, both from theoretical and experimental perspectives.

Theoretical methods include mathematical modeling of materials, including engineering approaches. Additionally, characteristics methods are used for the treatment of condensed matter in relation to the development of specific technological applications. An example is the use of topological surfaces in van der Waals solids for photonics and quantum technologies, such as the detection of single photons or polarization for qubit manipulation.

Another important characteristic is related to the experimental methodology, combined with chemical and physical tools, for the manipulation of materials such as nanoparticles, surface functionalization, or the study of functional materials, particularly in relation to energy accumulation and production. Furthermore, particular attention is given to the circular economy, waste management, and recycling of materials/devices in the context of the important topic of energy, namely the efficient use of resources for energy generation, conservation, and storage.

PHYSICS, EARTH AND MATERIALS SCIENCES

Andrea Di Cicco

short CV

bio

ANDREA DI CICCO graduated with honors (1987) and obtained a PhD (1991) in Physics at the University of Rome ”La Sapienza” with a thesis on the x-ray absorption spectroscopy. He then carries out his academic career mainly at the University of Camerino (Unicam) where he obtained first researcher (1990) and then professor (2000) positions, alternating periods of work near prestigious international institutions related to the activity to research at ”large scale facilities”. Over the years he has held various positions of representation and management both at the university headquarters, including the direction of the Physics section, both at national level, also acting as a member or president of many commissions for comparative assessments of INFM, CNR, and Universities competitions. He also hold others executive positions becoming president of the Italian Synchrotron Radiation Society (SILS).

The main research activity in the last 30 years was devoted to the development, interpretation and multi-disciplinary applications of x-ray techniques in studying materials of interest for basic and applied sciences. He published as main author or co-author more than 200 publications on international journals, cited more than 6000 times in the literature. Current h-index is 38 (ISI WoK) or 41 (Google Scholar). He is presently included in the ”top italian scientist” list of the Virtual Italian Academy. Invited speaker at several international conferences and referee for many scientific journals. Chairman of the XAFS14 and LAM14 international conferences, he is co-editor of 2 books of proceedings, one EPJ Special Topic issue and 1 book about GnXAS. He has been, several times, invited scientist at SSRL, ESRF, and invited professor at University of Paris-Sud (XI), UPMC (Paris VI, international chair), Rennes. Current president of the Italian Synchrotron Radiation Society and ex-officio chair of the International X-ray Absorption Society (IXAS). He has been awarded in August 2015 of the ”outstanding achievement award” (Stern prize) of the International X-ray Absorption Society IXAS. He is co-author of the advanced GnXAS multiple-scattering data-analysis method, available for the scientific community through the GnXAS website. He has been responsible of the TIMEX project for the exploitation of the free electron laser Fermi@Elettra source, and consultant (2007-2103) at the ELETTRA/FERMI synchrotron radiation and FEL facility (XAFS beamline and TIMEX). He has been responsible of the Italian unit within the European project SIRBATT for studying and developing new materials for Li-ion batteries. He is currently responsible of the Camerino research unit within the national PRIN project NEWLI (NEW LIght on transient states in condensed matter by advanced photon - electron spectroscopies). He is responsible of the Physics Division at the University of Camerino and coordinator of the PhD programs. He is currently engaged in research about matter under extreme conditions and on functional materials for energy applications. Both research lines have been financed at national and international level and scientific results have been published on highimpact journals.

research topics

Research interests in brief:

1 1 Condensed matter under extreme conditions: development of experimental techniques using synchrotron radiation for studying liquid metals and glasses; 2 Determination of the local two-body and three-body distribution in liquids, undercooled liquids and glasses; 3 Development of advanced data-analysis and simulation methods for x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS): multiple-scattering, many-body effects in absorption and photoemission with applications to simple systems (GnXAS and RMC-GnXAS); 4 Fine data-analysis techniques for systems of fundamental interest for ionic and superionic materials, superconductors, nanophase materials, catalysts and systems of biological interest; 5 Synchrotron radiation in-situ and ex-situ study of functional materials such as lithium battery electrodes, and of the evolution of the interface with the electrolyte (SEI); 6 Development of the upgrade of the XAFS@Elettra beamline for combined XAFS and XRD studies aimed to determine the local structure and phase transitions under extreme conditions; 7 Development of the Timex end-station at the Fermi @ Elettra free electron laser for measurements of condensed matter in extreme and non-equilibrium conditions

selected publications

1. S.J. Rezvani, Y. Mijiti, R. Gunnella, F. Nobili, A. Trapananti, M. Minicucci, M. Ciambezi, D. Bresser, S. Nannarone, S. Passerini, A. Di Cicco, Structure rearrangements induced by lithium insertion in metal alloying oxide mixed spinel structure studied by x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 136, 109172 (2020)

2. Kai Chen, Francois Baudelet, Yimin Mijiti, Lucie Nataf, Andrea Di Cicco, Zhiwei Hu, Stefano Agrestini, Alexander Christoph Komarek, M. Sougrati, Julien Haines, Jerome Rouquette, Qingyu Kong, T-C Weng, Revisiting the Phase Transition of Magnetite under Pressure, J. Phys. Chem. C 123, 21114-21119 (2019)

3. Chiara D'Amato, Rita Giovannetti, Marco Zannotti, Elena Rommozzi, Marco Minicucci, Roberto Gunnella, A. Di Cicco, Band Gap Implications on Nano-TiO2 Surface Modification with Ascorbic Acid for Visible Light-Active Polypropylene Coated Photocatalyst, Nanomaterials 8, 599 (2018)

4. Elena Rommozzi, Marco Zannotti, Rita Giovannetti, Chiara D'Amato, Stefano Ferraro, Marco Minicucci, Roberto Gunnella, A. Di Cicco, Reduced Graphene Oxide/TiO2 Nanocomposite: From Synthesis to Characterization for Efficient Visible Light Photocatalytic Applications, Catalysts 8, 598 (2018)

5. A. Di Cicco, F. Iesari, A. Trapananti, P. D'Angelo, A. Filipponi, "Structure and atomic correlations in molecular systems probed by XAS reverse Monte Carlo refinement", J. Chem. Phys. 148, 094307 (2018)

6. S. J. Rezvani, R. Gunnella, A. Witkowska, F. Mueller, M. Pasqualini, F. Nobili, S. Passerini, and A. Di Cicco, Is the Solid Electrolyte Interphase an Extra-Charge Reservoir in Li-Ion Batteries?, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 9, 4570-4576 (2017)

7. Valentina Migliorati, Adriano Filipponi, Andrea Di Cicco, Simone De Panfilis, Paola D'Angelo, Structure of Water in Zn2+ Aqueous Solutions from Ambient Conditions up to the Gigapascal Pressure Range: A XANES and Molecular Dynamics Study Inorganic chemistry 56, 14013-14022 (2017)

8. S. J. Rezvani, F. Nobili, R. Gunnella, M. Ali, R. Tossici, S. Passerini, and A. Di Cicco, SEI Dynamics in Metal Oxide Conversion Electrodes of Li-Ion Batteries, J. Phys. Chem. C, 121, 26379-26388 (2017)

9. L. Properzi, M. Santoro, M. Minicucci, F. Iesari, M. Ciambezi, L. Nataf, Y. Le Godec, T. Irifune, F. Baudelet, and A Di Cicco, Structural evolution mechanisms of amorphous and liquid As2Se3 at high pressures, Phys. Rev. B 93, 214205 (2016)

10. Andrea Di Cicco, Angelo Giglia, Roberto Gunnella, Stephan L KKai Chen, Francois Baudelet, Yimin Mijiti, Lucie Nataf, Andrea Di Cicco, Zhiwei Hu, Stefano Agrestini, Alexander Christoph Komarek, M. Sougrati, Julien Haines, Jerome Rouquette, Qingyu Kong, T-C Weng, Revisiting the Phase Transition of Magnetite under Pressure, J. Phys. Chem. C 123, 21114-21119 (2019)och, Franziska Mueller, Francesco Nobili, Marta Pasqualini, Stefano Passerini, Roberto Tossici, Agnieszka Witkowska, SEI Growth and Depth Profiling on ZFO Electrodes by Soft X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy, Advanced Energy Materials 5, 1500642 (2015)

DI CICCO ANDREA

e-mail:
andrea.dicicco@unicam.it
view more info at:
https://docenti.unicam.it/pdett.aspx?ids=N&tv=d&UteId=214

Roberto Gunnella

GUNNELLA ROBERTO

e-mail:
roberto.gunnella@unicam.it
view more info at:
https://docenti.unicam.it/pdett.aspx?ids=N&tv=d&UteId=402

Scientific Board - Physics, Earth and Materials Sciences