Vittorio Morandi

Italian National Research Council | CNR · Institute of nanostructured materials (ISMN)

Correlation spectroscopy is a powerful analytical tool for gaseous species detection, with improved sensitivity and enhanced selectivity. The application in the field of this spectroscopic technique, for remote sensing purposes, has long been prevented due to the necessity to equip the instrument with a reference ‘cell’ containing an actual sample...

A new photonic chip, based on LNOI (Lithium Niobate on Insulator) substrates, has been developed and tested, applying MEOS (Micro Electro Optical System) micromachining techniques. The device allows to dynamically generate synthetic spectra of in principle any chemical species detectable in the base material transparency range (350 nm – 5500 nm wav...

Inorganic black materials possessing hydrophilicity are scarce but can be of great importance in areas such as solar water evaporation and solar steam generation. Herein, for the first time, transition‐metal selenite hydrates (specifically, Earth‐abundant metals Ni and Co) not only possess high solar absorbance (>96 %) in the solar spectral range (...

The combination of the ability to absorb most of the solar radiation and simultaneously suppress infrared re-radiation allows selective solar absorbers (SSAs) to maximize solar energy to heat conversion, which is critical to several advanced applications. The intrinsic spectral selective materials are rare in nature and only a few demonstrated comp...

In response to the increasing availability of hydrogen energy and renewable energy sources, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)-based electrocatalysts are becoming increasingly important for efficient electrochemical water splitting. This study involves the incorporation of palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) into hydrothermally grown MoS2via a UV light assist...

The development of polymeric fabrics with photoinduced antibacterial activity is important for different emerging applications, ranging from materials for medical and clinical practices to disinfection of objects for public use. In this work we prepared a series of cellulose acetate membranes, by means of phase inversion technique, introducing diff...

Over the years, FIB-SEM tomography has become an extremely important technique for the three-dimensional reconstruction of microscopic structures with nanometric resolution. This paper describes in detail the steps required to perform this analysis, from the experimental setup to the data analysis and final reconstruction. To demonstrate the versat...

The assembly of supramolecular structures within living systems is an innovative approach for introducing artificial constructs and developing bio‐materials capable of influencing and/or regulating the biological responses of living organisms. By integrating chemical, photophysical, morphological, and structural characterizations, we show that the...

Photocatalytic H2 generation holds promise in the green production of alternative fuels and valuable chemicals. Seeking alternative, cost-effective, stable, and possibly reusable catalysts represents a timeless challenge for scientists working in the field. Herein, commercial RuO2 nanostructures were found to be a robust, versatile, and competitive...

h i g h l i g h t s Hydrothermally non-stoichiometric CrO 0.87 and Co 3 O 4 hybrid system was prepared. CrO 0.87 and Co 3 O 4 hybrid system showed an enhanced OER activity. A low overpotential for OER reaction was about 255 mV at 20 mA/cm 2. The CrO 0.87 and Co 3 O 4 hybrid system was highly durable for 45 h. a b s t r a c t The development of elec...

In membrane-based water purification technology, control of the membrane pore structure is fundamental to defining its performance. The present study investigates the effect of the preparation conditions on the final pore size distribution and on the dye removal efficiency of cellulose acetate membranes. The membranes were fabricated by means of ph...

The sluggish kinetics associated with the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) limits the sustainability of fuel production and chemical synthesis. Developing catalysts based on Earth abundant elements with a reasonable strategy could solve the challenge. Here, we present a heterostructure built from CrOx and CuS whose interface gives rise to the advent...

This CWA, developed as part of the research outcomes produced within the EU H2020 project “Oyster”, aims to propose a widely agreed and common basic architecture for materials characterization data (CHADA), which can be used as a building block for the most complex characterization case studies, also comprising interactions with modelling and proce...

Hierarchical nanostructures have attracted considerable research attention due to their applications in the catalysis field. Herein, we design a versatile hierarchical nanostructure composed of NiMoO4 nanorods surrounded by active MoS2 nanosheets on an interconnected nickel foam substrate. The as‐prepared nanostructure exhibits excellent oxygen evo...

We present a new approach to the fabrication of fully relaxed Ge1-ySny layers on Ge with Sn concentration y up to 13 at. % The incorporation of Sn in Ge was obtained by sputtering of thin Sn films (< 20 nm) directly on Ge wafers followed by pulsed laser melting in air. Microstructural analyses combining high-resolution transmission electron microsc...

The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility of engineering desired molecular sp2 structures in graphene oxide, via controlled oxidation of graphite powder, in order to achieve tunable chemical and microstructural properties useful for optoelectronics or sensing applications. In particular, GO powder is obtained by a modified Hummers meth...

The authors have included all the figures of the main text and of the supplementary information in high resolution along with Table 1 properly aligned here. Figs. 1-7 and Fig. S1–S5.

The possible use of nanostructured silicon carbide for the manufacturing of chemiresistive gas sensors with high selectivity towards sulfur dioxide has been recently explored. In this work, we take this topic a step further with an in-depth investigation on the role played by the oxidation process occurring on the surface of silicon carbide nanopar...

A novel Cu(I) cluster compound has been synthesized by reacting CuI with the 2,2'-dithiobis(5-nitropyridine) ligand under solvothermal conditions. During the reaction, the original ligand breaks into the 5-nitropyridine-2-thiolate moiety, which acts as the coordinating ligand with both N- and S-sites, leading to a distorted octahedral Cu6S6 cluster...

In this work keratin/polylactic acid (PLA) 50/50 wt blend nanofibers with different loadings of graphene-oxide (GO) were prepared by electrospinning and tested as delivery systems of Rhodamine Blue (RhB), selected as a model of a drug. The effect of GO on the electrospinnability and drug release mechanism and kinetics was investigated. Rheological...

Photogeneration of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) finds applications in fields as different as nanomedicine, art preservation, air and water depollution and surface decontamination. Here we present photocatalytic nanoparticles (NP) that are active only at acidic pH while they do not show relevant ROS photo‐generation at neutral pH. This dual respons...

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is known as bottleneck problem during the water splitting process due to high energy barrier and non-availability of efficient nonprecious electrocatalysts. The cobalt oxide (Co3O4) in the spinel phase has limited OER activity and stability in the alkaline media. For this purpose, we have carried out the synthesis of...

Strong demand for renewable energy resources and clean environments have inspired scientists and researchers across the globe to carry out research activities on energy provision and conversion, as well as storage devices. In this context, development of outperform, stable, and durable electrocatalysts has been identified as one of the major object...

The precursors have significant influence on the catalytic activity of nonprecious electrocatalysts for effective water splitting. Herein, we report active electrocatalysts based on cobalt oxide (Co3O4) hierarchical nanostructures derived from four different precursors of cobalt (acetate, nitrate, chloride, and sulfate salts) using the low‐temperat...

Energy‐storage materials can be assembled directly on the electrodes of a battery using electrochemical methods, this allowing sequential deposition, high structural control, and low cost. Here, a two‐step approach combining electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and cathodic electrodeposition (CED) is demonstrated to fabricate multilayer hierarchical el...

Excitation of pyrene chromophores attached at the periphery of copper indium sulfide (CIS) QDs results in efficiently sensitized red-emission of the nanocrystals.

Plasma-assisted supersonic jet deposition (PA-SJD) is a precise technique for the fabrication of thin films with a desired nanostructured morphology. In this work, we used quadrupole mass spectrometry of the neutral species in the jet and the extensive characterization of TiO2 films to improve our understanding of the relationship between jet chemi...

The development and the characterization of a nanostructured binder-free anode for lithium-ion batteries exploiting the germanium high theoretical specific capacity (1624 mAh g⁻¹ for Li22Ge5 alloy) is herein presented. This anode secures remarkable performances in different working conditions attaining a 95% capacity retention at 1C (i.e., 1624 mA...

h i g h l i g h t s Metal oxide nanostructures were decorated on graphite rod electrodes. MgO and SiO 2 played a dynamic role towards efficient oxygen evolution reaction. The deactivation of electrode was prevented due to the porosity. The NiCo 2 O 4 /PGR exhibits an overpotential of 234 mV at 100 mAcm À2. The fabricate electrodes were found durabl...

Driving oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at extremely low overpotential and the blockage of oxygen gas inside the catalytic material leads to the deactivation of catalytic activity, therefore it is an essential step in electrochemical energy conversion systems, but still very challenging task. The clay minerals including bentonite and kaolinite are...

Significant progress has been made in recent time to design and synthesize highly efficient and cost effective electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the electrocatalytic activity of most recently reported materials is limited by the large onset potential, poor electrical conductivity and low density of catalytic centers. In...

A new type of ligand-free Ni-nanoparticles supported on rGO (size distribution average d = 9 ± 3 nm) is prepared and fully characterized via morphological (Fe-SEM), structural (P-XRD, HR-TEM) and spectroscopic (ICP-EOS, XPS) analysis tools. The metal composite was effectively employed in the unprecedented heterogeneously Ni-assisted cross-coupling...

Designing an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media is highly needed but very challenging task. Herein, we used organic polyelectrolytes such as (carboxymethyl cellulose) CMC and polyacrylamide polymers for the growth of Co3O4 nanostructures by aqueous chemical growth method. The morphology and compositi...

Oxygen Evolution Reaction Most transition metal oxides undergo in situ catalyst reconstruction during the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media. The reconstruction results in a positive or a negative effect on the catalyst performance. In article number 2101324, Alberto Vomiero and co-workers report the in situ electrochemical transformations...

Wood is a hygroscopic, multi-scale and anisotropic natural material composed of pores with different size and differently oriented. In particular, archaeologically excavated wood generally is waterlogged wood with very high moisture content (400%–800%) that need to have a rapid investigation at the microstructural level to obtain the best treatment...

The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the bottleneck for the practical exploitation of water splitting. Here, the potential of a core–shell structure of hydrous NiMoO4 microrods conformally covered by Co3O4 nanoparticles via atomic layer depositions is demonstrated. In situ Raman and synchrotron‐based photoemission spectro...

The reversible and fatigue-resistant photoswitching of azobenzene chromophores is preserved at the surface of silicon nanocrystals; a photosensitized Z → E photoisomerization of azobenzene is observed upon selective excitation of the silicon core.

This work presents the design and validation of a measuring instrumentation for an easy, complete, and tunable characterization of chemiresistive gas sensors based on metal-oxide semiconductors. The equipment, described in depth both as hardware and as software, was designed to monitor the electrical behavior of gas sensors in controlled thermodyna...

The design of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts based on Earth-abundant materials holds great promise for realizing practically viable water-splitting systems. In this regard, two-dimensional (2D) nonlayered materials have received considerable attention in recent years owing to their intrinsic dangling bonds which give rise to the e...

The development of semiconductor polymers for electronic applications requires tailored synthetic strategies to obtain materials with tunable electronic properties and morphology to enhance their properties. Towards this goal, here is reported the expedient synthesis of a novel class of thiophene‐based electrochromic polymers, processable in organi...

Spurred by controversial literature findings, we enwrapped reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in ZnO hierarchical microstructures (rGO loadings spanning from 0.01 to 2 wt%) using an in situ synthetic procedure. The obtained hybrid composites were carefully characterized, aiming at shining light on the possible role of rGO on the claimed increased perform...

For an active hydrogen gas generation through water dissociation, the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics due to large overpotential is a main hindrance. Herein, a simple approach is used to produce composite material based on TiO2/Co3O4 for efficient OER and overpotential is linearly reduced with increasing amount of TiO2. The scanni...

Mixed-metal olivine cathode materials are one of the most promising systems in the field of lithium batteries. Their main drawback is their low electronic conductivity, which limits the current rate at which they can be cycled. Herein, the effect on electrochemical properties of vicariant high-valence transition metals (HVTMs) inserted in the olivi...

In article number 2007458, Meganne Christian, Raffaello Mazzaro, and Vittorio Morandi analyze the bioinspired design of graphene‐based materials. The molecular structure of graphene resembles a natural honeycomb; moreover, thanks to the versatility of this amazing 2D material, it can also be shaped into honeycomb‐like microstructures with wide‐rang...

Thin films of Al, and Co or Ni based Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) have been electrochemically deposited on four different supports (Grafoil, Toray Carbon Paper, Carbon Cloth and Nickel Foam) through a potentiostatic or a potentiodynamic approach. The obtained films have been fully characterized to compare their properties in dependence on the di...

Catalysts capable of improving the performance of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) are essential for the advancement of renewable energy technologies. Herein, Ag-decorated vertically aligned MoS2 nanoflakes are developed via magnetron co-sputtering and investigated as electrocatalyst towards OER and ORR. Due to t...

The water oxidation in alkaline media is a kinetically sluggish process and it requires an active electrocatalyst for overall water splitting which is a challenging task to date. Herein, we formulate a platform for the design of efficient NiCo2S4/C nanocomposite using earth abundant and nonprecious materials. The nanocomposites are prepared by scal...

Molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) has emerged as a promising catalyst for hydrogen evolution applications. The synthesis method mainly employed is a conventional hydrothermal method. This method requires a longer time compared to other methods such as microwave synthesis methods. There is a lack of comparison of the two synthesis methods in terms of crysta...

An electrochemical synthesis which has been optimized to produce layered double hydroxides (LDHs) intercalated with carbon nanomaterials is proposed for the first time. It is based on a one-step procedure which contemporaneously allows for the Ni/Al-LDH synthesis, the reduction of graphene oxide (ERGO) and its intercalation inside the structure. Th...

It can be difficult to know where to begin when considering the research opportunities of a material with such outstanding potential as graphene. When searching for a “killer application,” the researcher often neglects to query the world around them, forgetting that nature has been evolving for billions of years to elegantly solve every day problem...

Humidity sensors have been gaining increasing attention because of their relevance for well-being. To meet the ever-growing demand for new cost-efficient materials with superior performances, graphene oxide (GO)-based relative humidity sensors have emerged recently as low-cost and highly sensitive devices. However, current GO-based sensors suffer f...

Zinc Oxide nanostructured thin films were grown by a novel plasma assisted vapour deposition method, which aims to combine the versatility of deposition processes that are mediated by plasma with the capability to control particles diffusion and nucleation. For this purpose, the proposed approach spatially separates into two different vacuum chambe...

We investigated the photocatalytic behavior of gold nanoparticles supported on CeO2-TiO2 nanostructured matrices in the CO preferential oxidation in H2-rich stream (photo CO-PROX), by modifying the electronic band structure of ceria through addition of titania and making it more suitable for interacting with free electrons excited in gold nanoparti...

Hydrogen production via light-driven water splitting is a key process in the context of solar energy conversion. In this respect the choice of suitable light-harvesting units appears as a major challenge, particularly as far as stability issues are concerned. In this work we report on the use of CdTe/CdS QDs as photosensitizers for light-assisted h...

There are many challenges associated with the fabrication of efficient, inexpensive, durable and very stable nonprecious metal catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).

In this paper we report about the synthesis and characterization of graphene oxide (GO). We monitor the effects of the different synthetic processes on the morphological and structural properties of the materials. A modified Hummers' method is adopted to obtain GO powder; H2SO4 is employed as intercalating agent, to increase the distance between gr...

Rechargeable batteries based on magnesium virtually provide high volumetric capacity, safety, and cost savings thanks to the abundance, dendrite-free electrodeposition, and environmentally green properties of Mg metal anode. The lack of cathodes that can deliver high currents at high potential is one of the principal bottlenecks that limit the entr...

Luminescence based imaging is a powerful tool in biological research and for clinical applications. Optical probes based on silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) have many advantages compared to more conventional quantum dots based on heavy metals: abundancy of silicon combined with its biocompatibility; tunability of SiNCs emission color in the red and NIR...

The use of Mg as hydrogen storage material is hampered by slow sorption kinetics and high thermodynamic stability. This work reports on biphasic Mg-Ti-H nanoparticles outperform known Mg-based materials in both respects. By exploiting gas-phase condensation of Mg and Ti vapors under He/H2 atmosphere, < 20 nm nanoparticles are grown, in which the bu...

We present an overview of the main techniques for production and processing of graphene and related materials (GRMs), as well as the key characterization procedures. We adopt a ‘hands-on’ approach, providing practical details and procedures as derived from literature as well as from the authors’ experience, in order to enable the reader to reproduc...