Vito di Noto

Vito Di Noto - Universita' Degli Studi di Padova, Italy

Prof. Vito Di Noto is Full Professor of Chemistry for Energy and Solid State Chemistry in the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padova, Italy, where he is the current head of the section “Chemistry for Technologies”. He is the founder and the team leader of the Chemistry of Materials for the Metamorphosis and the Storage of Energy group (CheMaMSE), whose research activities include the development of new materials for application in the electrochemical energy field. Currently, the research of Prof. Di Noto focuses on the synthesis and studies of the structure, relaxation phenomena and electrochemistry of ion-conducting, dielectric and electrode materials. He is currently involved in collaborations with several top-level universities, research institutions and companies worldwide. Prof. Di Noto is and was Chairman of the most important international conferences on his research topics; he is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Energy Technology Division of the Electrochemical Society (ECS). Prof. Di Noto has also been recently elected in the Advisory Board of Electrochimica Acta. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications on “peer-reviewed” journals and 21 patents.

Research stay at UC3M: DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING (SEPT 2018 - FEB 2018)

Prof. Vito Di Noto, holder of the “Catedra de Excelencia”, will carry out research activities in the field of functional materials for application in electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices. In particular, Prof. Di Noto will focus his attention in the preparation of advanced electrolytes and electrode configurations for:

• Secondary batteries running on alkaline- (e.g., Li, Na) or alkaline-earth metals (e.g., Mg, Ca);
• Fuel cells mounting ion-exchange membranes (e.g., anion-exchange membrane fuel cells, AEMFCs; proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, PEMFCs; and high-temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, HT-PEMFCs);
• Redox flow batteries running on redox couples dissolved in either aqueous or non-aqueous media.

The functional materials will be prepared at the Carlos III University of Madrid; the samples will undergo a through physicochemical characterization, aimed at elucidating the chemical composition, structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance. This information will be used to select the most promising materials, which will be implemented in the fabrication of prototypes of energy conversion and storage devices. The latter will be tested for performance and durability in operating conditions.

The results obtained as described above will be rationalized with the aim to propose suitable mechanisms and models able to elucidate the complex interplay between the physicochemical properties and the electrochemical performance of the functional materials. Finally, particular efforts will be dedicated to identify the how to maximize the transfer of the electrochemical functionality of each functional material taken on its own to the prototype of the energy conversion device.