Keynotes


Prof.Dr. Ilenia ROSSETTI
University of Milan, Italy

Biography: Ilenia ROSSETTI was born in 1974 and graduated with honors in Industrial Chemistry in 1998 at the University of Milan, where she also obtained a PhD in 2001. She earned a second degree in Chemical Engineering from the Polytechnic of Milan in 2016. Currently, she is Full Professor of Chemical Plants at the University of Milan, head of the Analysis Laboratory in the Department of Chemistry, and a member of various organizational committees. She is the Principal Investigator of several peer-reviewed projects and also serves as a consultant for various companies and evaluation bodies, regularly acting as a project and research entity evaluator for many international agencies. She is Editor or Guest Editor for several international journals with impact factor. The research activity includes the design, simulation, and optimization of chemical processes, the development of heterogeneous catalytic and photocatalytic processes, as well as economic evaluation of chemical plants. In 2016, she was awarded the Chiusoli Medal by the Division of Industrial Chemistry and the Interdivisional Catalysis Group of the Italian Chemical Society. This award is given to an Italian scientist under the age of 45, working in academic or industrial research centers, who has made significant scientific, innovative, or applicative contributions in the field of catalysis, for her research efforts in H2 production and use.

Title: Solar fuels from the photocatalytic reduction of CO2

Abstract: The possibility to reduce CO2 by means of solar light is attractive as a powerful tool to reconvert a harmful greenhouse gas into renovated fuels and it is also a straightforward method to store solar energy. The basic principles for the process will be recalled, together with the more recent advancements on materials design for this application, with particular reference to inorganic semiconductors. The attention will be then focused on photoreactors and process design and on the available examples of direct solar light conversion. The coupling of smart materials with tailor made devices is indeed the route to enhance the solar storage efficiency of these processes, which is currently still too low for exploitation. The main open challenges will be discussed from both the points of view of materials requirements and reactors. An attractive opportunity will be also discussed, consisting in the coupling of solar concentrators with photoreactors to amplify solar light utilization and explore unconventional operating conditions.


Prof.Dr. Claudia BIANCHI
University of Milan, Italy

Biography: Claudia BIANCHI serves as full professor of industrial chemistry at the University of Milan (IT), where she teaches course on industrial chemistry for all degree levels, as well as the course on “Life cycle assessment of materials and processes” for the master’s degree in industrial chemistry, which is held in English. Claudia is leader of the Innovative Sustainable Materials for Environmental Remediation (ISMER) laboratory at the Department of Chemistry. She holds several relevant responsibilities, as coordinator of national and international research projects, as quality assurance representative of the master's degree course in Industrial Chemistry, as well as member of the Editorial Board of Ultrasonics-Sonochemistry (Elsevier), and consultant for Italian companies in the field of Innovation Technology. Her skills include expertise in the synthesis of inorganic materials, especially photocatalytically active ones; the management of micro reactors in gas and liquid phase; the characterization of surfaces of solid materials. She is also certified life cycle assessment (LCA) expert.

Title: Driving sustainability: integrating hydrogen production and wastewater treatment via advanced noble metals-free electrodes

Abstract: Currently, the transition toward clean energy systems that do not emit carbon dioxide is an urgent task for the creation of a sustainable energy society, in line with Goal 7 of the 2030 Agenda. In this context, hydrogen (H2) emerges as a promising energy storage medium. Unfortunately, approximately 96% of its production relies on non-renewable sources, while only 4% originates from water splitting. In this latter, a considerable electrochemical overpotential is needed to trigger the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on the electrode surface. Moreover, highly efficient working electrode requires the use of electrocatalysts to minimize the energy barrier associated with HER. For these reasons, this method is costly. In the last decades, it has been demonstrated that organic pollutants in wastewaters containing high level of chemical energy are excellent electron donor and suitable candidates for H2 production. This promising approach could also help in solving the issues related to the environmental pollution. Based on these premises, this research focuses on the use of a noble metal-free cathode, for efficient hydrogen generation from simulated wastewater through water splitting, with this innovative approach, the double goal of clean energy system and wastewater treatment can be matched.


Prof.Dr. Filippo De Angelis
University of Perugia, Italy

Biography: Filippo De Angelis is the founder and leader of the Computational Laboratory for Hybrid/Organic Photovoltaics at the University of Perugia, Italy. He is professor of general and inorganic chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Biology and biotechnology at the same University. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Perugia in 1996 and 1999, respectively. He was a post-doc at Princeton University, USA, from 2001 to 2002. He worked as CNR researcher from 2001 to 2018, before joining the University of Perugia as full professor. His research interest are the development and application of quantum mechanical methods to simulation of energy materials and processes. He is a highly cited scientist in Clarivate Analytics in 2018-2024, Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, and Nasini Medal and Malatesta Medal of the Inorganic Chemistry division of the Italian Chemical Society. He is Executive Editor of ACS Energy Letters. He has published over 440 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 7 book chapters, has 3 patent applications, and he is editor of 1 book. His h-index is 113 with >58000 citations on Google Scholar.

Title: Metal-Halide Perovskites: A wonder semiconductor class for solar cells and optoelectronic applications

Abstract: Metal-halide perovskites (MHPs) have been long-time known, but the interest in this class of compounds was revitalized in 2012 by the first breakthrough reports of efficient solid-state solar cells. An unprecedented “gold rush” led to currently certified >25% efficient single-junction solar cells, bringing the technology to rival with established PV technologies. Key to such efficiency records are the perovskite tuneable bandgap and the long lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers, whose origin is still debated. The latter property is likely due to a combination of defect tolerance, relativistic band structure and unusual electron-phonon coupling. In addition ionic and spin-orbital degrees of freedom can be manipulated by material and structure selection. These characteristics can be exploited in a variety of innovative devices, beyond solar cells. The high-performance compositions for solar cells, mainly relying on Pb-based compounds, but there is huge scope for device-oriented material design for new technology with tailored opto-electro-ion-spin-tronic properties. These include multifunctional energy conversion technologies and electronic devices exploiting ion and spin channels. Theoretical and computational modeling are complementary tools for rationalizing experimental results, on the one hand, and to direct experiments and device fabrication towards innovative concepts, on the other hand. These combined ingredients constitute the basis for development of new materials with similar target characteristics, possibly avoiding the environmental risks posed by lead, and opening the way towards tailored device-oriented materials selection with a range of unique properties to support to future technology breakthroughs.