PhD Student+39 02 2399 3231 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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Matteo Di Virgilio (born in 1995 in Chieti) achieved his cum laude M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering in April 2020 at Politecnico di Milano. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in Materials Engineering, focusing on innovative non-fluorinated self-assembling materials mainly based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) and graphene oxide (GO) for a potential employment in electrochemical devices. He also contributes to the modelling of experimental adsorption-release data of innovative sorbent solids, applied to the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and to the performance investigation of copper-matrix composites (CuMCs) for the aerospace sector. In parallel, he is working as teaching assistant for two courses: Materials for Electrical Applications (M.Sc. program in Electrical / Materials Engineering and Nanotechnology) and Materials Towards Circular Economy (joint PoliMi-Bocconi M.Sc. program in Transformative Sustainability)
Research topics:
- FUEL CELLS
- WATER TREATMENT
- METALLIC COMPOSITES
Detailed topics:
Electrochemical devices (EDs), such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and water electrolyzers (PEMWEs), are gaining remarkable consideration thanks to their numerous advantages. However, innovative electrolytes are required to improve their competitiveness, especially at those temperatures that prevent the use of Nafion®. The research project of Matteo aspires to investigate the potentiality of combining polybenzimidazole (PBI) and functionalized graphene oxide (GO) to develop materials employable in EDs working at high temperature and low relative humidity, which would favor reaction kinetics and facilitate the overall water management.
Matteo has also interest in the mathematical modelling of experimental data concerning the adsorption and release behavior of innovative sorbent solids (activated carbon (AC) and its modified derivatives (MAC)) for the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), and in the analysis of the electrical and tribological properties of self-lubricating copper-matrix composites (CuMCs) for a potential application in helicopters.