The Nanopowders Synthesis & Characterization sub-group at the Paul Scherrer Institut was established by AT when he joined the Institute in 2011. The scientific focus of the group is on fundamental aspects of nanoparticles formation and characterization. The applied synthetic approaches are selected among those that allow the collecting of time-resolved experimental data and might be scaled to larger quantities. The investigation method has been applied for the preparation on nanomaterials as metals (such as Ni, Ag, Au, Pt), simple and complex metal oxides (such as CexZr(1-x)O2, perovskites, spinels), doped-metal oxide (such as noble metal doped CeO2), and sparingly soluble salts such as calcium carbonate, doped calcium silicate, calcium phosphate, and calcium aluminum sulfate hydrate. The detailed studies of the formation mechanism are based on the accurate collection of experimental data combined with the population balance modeling, and synchrotron-based in-situ investigation. The synthesis method were extended to the continuous preparation using the Segmented Flow Tubular Reactor (SFTR). This outstanding technology was conceived at EPFL in 1997, specifically to overcome problems (i.e., loss of quality) associated with the production of large quantities of nanomaterials. Ceramic synthesis, processing, and characterization is carried out in other two laboratories, mainly dedicated to industrial collaboration in the field of catalysis, batteries, and biocompatible ceramics. He is MER-R and lecturer on Ceramics and Colloids at EPFL and PhD thesis director. The scientific activity is summarized in > 70 contributions (h-index 31, >4200 citations) and 14 patents, some of them worldwide granted.
Available Master projects topics:
1. Synthesis and characterization of metallic nanoparticles for catalysis and medical applications
2. Investigation on calcium aluminate sulfate formation and the influence of polymeric additives
3. Synthesis and characterization of new materials for Na-batteries