Our theoretical and computational researchis mainly focused onnovel (nano)materialsfor energy production & harvesting, nanoelectronics, biomedical applications, and metrology. We are as well interested in developing/applying new computational methods and algorithms forlarge-scale atomistic simulations.
Current research interests:
- Nanoscale thermal transportin nanostructured semiconductors (SiGe nanocomposites and porous/nanocrystalline silicon) for thermoelectric applications and thermal devices.
- Thermal propertiesof 2-dimensional atomic sheets (graphene, BN, and transition-metal dichalcogenides) and organic glasses (TPD and toluene).
- Multiscale modeling of materials mechanical behavior.
- Hybrid organic/inorganic interfaces for efficient solar energy harvesting.
- Systems of discontinuous (granular and porous) matter: structure, elastic behavior, and conduction properties.
- Methods and algorithmsfor large-scale atomistic simulations in materials physics.
Ongoing scientific collaborations
- ICMAB-CSIC, Barcelona (Spain)
- Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona (Spain)
- Catalan Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), Barcelona (Spain)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)
- MPI for Polymer Physics, Mainz (Germany)
- University of California, Davis (USA)
- Università di Milano-Bicocca, Milano (Italy)
Ongoing projects
- A.S. 2013 ENAPSI project“Energy applications of porousSi”: a project devoted to investigating porous silicon for efficient harvesting/production of energy through photovoltaic and thermoelectric conversion of light and heat, respectively. The project is framed within a collaboration between University of Cagliari (Department of Physics) and Research National Council (CNR-IMM).
- CINECA-ISCRA 2017 project“Thermal transport and surface mobility in organic stable glasses”: a project devoted to investigating structural, thermal, and transport properties of ultra-stable organic glasses by means of large-scale atomistic simulations, adopting equilibrium as well as nonequilibrium molecular dynamics techniques.
- EU FLAG-ERA MECHANIC project“Modelling Charge and Heat transport in 2D-materials based Composites”: a project devoted to developing a multi-scale approach for (i) providing a design guide for graphene-based composites and (ii) providing meaningful insights on their transport physics. The ultimate goal is to accurately predict and control charge and heat transport in graphene oxides (GO) and reduced graphene oxides (rGO) samples and GO/rGO interfaces. This project is framed within the EU “Graphene” Flagship initiative.