Sergio BATTIATO

Education

• 02/2016 - PhD in Science and Technology of Materials. Thesis title: ''Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition of multifunctional fluoride phases''

Professional experience

• 08/2019 – in progress: Researcher of Physics of matter at Physics department, University of Catania
• 02/2018 – 08/2019: Post-doc at Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Grenoble
• 04/2016 - 10/2017: Post-doc at National Enterprise for nanoScience and nanoTechnology (Laboratorio NEST), Pisa
• 09/2014 - 05/2015: Visiting PhD student at Laboratoire des Matériaux et du Génie Physique (LMGP), Grenoble

Grants and awards

• 2019 - RTD-A PON ''AIM Attrazione e mobilità internazionale'' 2014-2020
• 2018 - Marie-Curie cofund grant. Project title: ''Innovative anticorrosion coatings for bipolar plates''
• 2016 - Best scientific poster at conferenceElectroceramics XV, Limoges, France
• 2016 - Oral presentation selected for the session NanoInnovation's Got Talent at conference Nanoinnovation 2016, Roma
• 2012 - awarded the project PON 01_00239/L Matreco (advanced materials for eco-sustainable transports)

Dated January 2023

The main activity concerns the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials to be used as electrocatalysts for the water splitting process aiming at the hydrogen production from solar energy. Particularly, the interest is focused on the research of nanostructured materials based on non noble metals, alternatives to the noble metals presenting major concerns such as high cost and scarcity. The research activity is carried out employing low cost synthesis techniques such as electroless deposition, chemical vapor deposition, hydrothermal synthesis and so on to produce novel nanomaterials in mono and multimetallic form, which should possess a catalytic activity comparable and possibly superior to the one shown by noble metals. The goal is to realize efficient, low cost and earth abundant electrocatalysts to enhance the electrochemical performance of the water splitting process and rendering the hydrogen production from water electrolysis a cost-effective and industrially scalable technique.