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dr. M. Altomare (Marco)

Assistant Professor

About Me

Welcome to the personal webpage of Dr. Marco Altomare, tenure track assistant professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology (S&T) of the University of Twente (UT).


NEWS

  • Dr. Marco Altomare appointed Early Career Advisory Board member for ChemSusChem, from January 2023. Check out the editorial!
    • Dr. Marco Altomare appointed Organizing Committee member of the Dutch ElectroChemical Conversion and Materials ECCM graduate school. The next edition of the school will be held in Noordwijk,13-16 June 2023. Pre-registration will open on 1 Feb 2023. Check out the ECCM webpage for more information. 

     

    SHORT BIOGRAPHY

    I am tenure track assistant professor at the University of Twente (UT) since January 2021.

    I am passionate about education and research in the fields of materials science and photo-/electro-catalysis. My group’s research bridges materials science at the nanoscale to heterogeneous catalysis for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. We combine physical vapor deposition and solid-state methods – to design model nanostructured catalysts - with in-situ characterization techniques to elucidate structure-performance relationships and investigate catalyst stability in photo- and electrocatalytic reactions.

    I lead the Electro-Chemical Materials Science team (ECMS), which is hosted by the PhotoCatalytic Synthesis group (PCS) of Prof. G. Mul at the Faculty of Science and Technology of UT.


    ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

    • Tenure track assistant professor at Uni Twente, NL
    • Postdoc in materials science at Uni Erlangen-Nuremberg, DE, Schmuki lab
    • PhD in metal oxide photo-electrocatalysis at Uni Milano, IT, Selli lab
    • Master in Chemistry, Uni Milano, IT

     

    RESEARCH

    During my PhD at Uni Milan IT, I developed photocatalytic materials that drive chemical reactions powered by solar light. I focused on earth-abundant semiconductor materials, namely metal oxides, and investigated their synthesis by electrochemical anodization to produce one-dimensional nanostructures.

    I joined Uni Erlangen-Nuremberg DE as postdoc, where I worked on solid-state dewetting, i.e., the heat induced transformation of metal films into arrangements of defined metal particles, to design model photocatalytic materials.

    At Uni Twente, I am expanding further my work on dewetting in the fields of photo- and  electrocatalysis. With my team, we aim at investigating controlled dewetting processes to develop nanostructured metal catalysts and electrodes for photo- or electrochemical conversion processes of environmental relevance (e.g., water splitting and hydrogen evolution).

    For more information, see sections Research and Projects, or click here for the full publication record.


    Expertise

    Engineering & Materials Science
    # Gold Nanoparticles
    # Nanoparticles
    # Nanotubes
    # Photocatalysts
    # Precious Metals
    Chemistry
    # Anodizing
    # Co-Catalyst
    # Nanotube

    Organisations

    Research

    Electro-Chemical Materials Science (ECMS) - Altomare research group

    The research of my team focuses on materials science at the nanoscale and is diversified over four interlaced themes: solid-state dewetting, electro- and photo-catalysis, and X-ray spectroscopy. Besides, I also lead a responsible research and innovation project studying the societal impact of electrocatalytic technologies.


    I. Team members and research lines

    • Shreyas Harsha (PhD candidate, electrocatalysis) and Rakesh Sharma (Postdoc, electrocatalysis) team up to study the electrochemical performance of dewetted nanoparticles. They focus on the effect of catalyst structure, morphology and composition on the electrocatalytic performance of dewetted nanoparticles (e.g., Pt, Pd, Ni, or bimetallic systems such as PdCu, NiCu). Electrochemical processes of interest are water electrolysis, i.e., hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, selective hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds from bio-oil upgrade, and selective reduction of nitrates in waste water.
    • Tursun Abudukade (PhD candidate, photocatalysis) and Marco Pinna (PhD, photocatalysis, guest from Uni Como, Italy) join forces to investigate the stability and dynamic behavior of earth-abundant metal co-catalysts, such as Ni and Cu nanoparticles, on metal oxide semiconductors for photocatalytic reactions of environmental relevance such as solar water splitting and hydrogen generation. For this, they adopt operando synchrotron techniques such as X-ray absorption/emission spectroscopy.
    • Adam Vass (Postdoc, electrocatalysis) studies the electrochemical conversion of methane to valuable products (methanol, ethane, ethylene) developing a gas-phase electrolyzer based on earth-abundant anode materials (e.g., transition metal oxides such as W, Sn or Ti oxides). He explores mechanistic aspects of methane conversion by operando infrared spectroscopy.
    • Senna Middelveld (Postdoc, responsible research and innovation) Electrochemical conversion processes are expected to contribute in the near future to a transition towards more sustainable ("green") chemicals produced from surplus renewable electricity from wind and solar energy. Senna studies possible socio-technical configurations and pathways related to the electrochemical conversion in the chemical industry, spanning from established processes (water electrolysis and hydrogen generation) to perspective applications (e.g., upgrade of bio-oil, synthesis of hydrogen peroxide, or water treatment). She focuses on assessing the environmental and societal implications of materials (electrocatalysts and electrode materials) and produced chemical compounds.

     

    II. Running projects

    • NWO-ECCM Tenure Track project "Highly-defined nanostructured electrodes by solid state dewetting" 2021-2025
    • DFG project "Dewetted earth-abundant co-catalysts for photocatalysis" 2021-2025
    • NWO-ECCM MVI project "Electrifying the chemical production – Responsible pathways and material choices" 2022-2025; Uni Twente consortium with K. Konrad, L. Franco Garcia, and A. Weber
    • NWO-ECCM KICk start project "Gas-phase electrocatalysis for methane valorization (ELEVATION)" 2022-2023; Consortium with G. Katsoukis (Uni Twente, NL), M. Tsampas (DIFFER, NL), R. Palkovits (Uni RWTH Aachen, DE), T. Franken (Uni Erlangen-Nuremberg, DE), and industrial partners VSparticle (NL) and Fumatech (DE) 

     

    III. Research output 

    See below or click here for full publication record

     

    VI. Collaborators (by themes) 

      Solid-state dewetting

      • E. Spiecker and J. Will, CENEM, Uni Erlangen-Nuremberg, DE

      Photocatalysis

      • G. Mul, Uni Twente, NL
      • P. Schmuki, Uni Erlangen-Nuremberg, DE
      • G. Zoppellaro, RCPTM Uni Palacky Olomouc, CZ
      • A. Naldoni, Uni Torino, IT
      • L. Palmisano and M. Bellardita, Uni Palermo, IT
      • R. Marschall, Uni Bayreuth, DE
      • N.T. Nguyen, Uni Concordia, Canada
      • S. Recchia and D. Spanu, Uni Como Insubria, IT

      Electrocatalysis

      • G. Katsoukis, Uni Twente, NL
      • B.T. Mei, Uni Bochum, DE
      • A. Minguzzi, Uni Milano, IT
      • C. Baeumer, Uni Twente, NL
      • I. Makhotkin, Uni Twente, NL
      • M. Tsampas, DIFFER, NL
      • R. Palkovits, Uni RWTH Aachen, DE
      • T. Franken, Uni Erlangen-Nuremberg, DE

      X-ray spectroscopy

      • P. Ghigna, Uni Pavia, IT
      • V. Saveleva, ESRF Grenoble, FR
      • C. Atzori, ESRF Grenoble, FR

      Responsible research and innovation

      • K. Konrad, Uni Twente, NL
      • L. Franco Garcia, Uni Twente, NL
      • A. Weber, Uni Twente, NL

       

      V. Funding  

      • NWO Dutch Research Council
      • Uni Twente - MESA+
      • DFG German Research Foundation

       

      Publications

      Recent
      Altomare, M., Nguyen, N. T., Naldoni, A., & Marschall, R. (2023). Structure, materials, and preparation of photoelectrodes. In Photoelectrocatalysis: Fundamentals and Applications (pp. 83-174). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-823989-6.00005-9
      Pinna, M., Wei, A. W. W., Spanu, D., Will, J., Yokosawa, T., Spiecker, E., Recchia, S., Schmuki, P. , & Altomare, M. (2022). Amorphous NiCu Thin Films Sputtered on TiO2 Nanotube Arrays: A Noble-Metal Free Photocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution. ChemCatChem, 14(23), [e202201052]. https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202201052
      Wierzbicka, E. , Altomare, M., Wu, M., Liu, N., Yokosawa, T., Fehn, D., Qin, S., Meyer, K., Unruh, T., Spiecker, E., Palmisano, L., Bellardita, M., Will, J., & Schmuki, P. (2021). Reduced grey brookite for noble metal free photocatalytic H2 evolution. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 9(2), 1168-1179. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ta09066b
      Zdrazil, L., Kalytchuk, S., Langer, M., Ahmad, R., Pospisil, J., Zmeskal, O. , Altomare, M., Osvet, A., Zboril, R., Schmuki, P., Brabec, C. J., Otyepka, M., & Kment, S. (2021). Transparent and Low-Loss Luminescent Solar Concentrators Based on Self-Trapped Exciton Emission in Lead-Free Double Perovskite Nanocrystals. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 4(7), 6445-6453. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c00360
      Tesler, A. B., Sannomiya, T., Hejazi, S., Mohammadi, R., Vogel, N. , Altomare, M., & Schmuki, P. (2021). Metallic nanoparticle-on-mirror: Multiple-band light harvesting and efficient photocurrent generation under visible light irradiation. Nano Energy, 90(Part B), [106609]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106609
      Will, J., Wierzbicka, E., Wu, M., Goetz, K., Yokosawa, T., Liu, N., Tesler, A. B., Stiller, M., Unruh, T. , Altomare, M., Schmuki, P., & Spiecker, E. (2021). Hydrogenated anatase TiO2 single crystals: defects formation and structural changes as microscopic origin of co-catalyst free photocatalytic H2 evolution activity. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 9(44), 24932-24942. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ta04809k
      Pinna, M., Binda, G. , Altomare, M., Marelli, M., CARLO, DOSSI., DAMIANO, MONTICELLI., Spanu, D., & Recchia, S. (2021). Biochar Nanoparticles over TiO2 Nanotube Arrays: A Green Co-Catalyst to Boost the Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants. Catalysts, 11(9), [1048]. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal11091048
      Other Contributions

      Full publication record

      Selected publications:

      • M. Altomare*, N.T. Nguyen, A. Naldoni, R. Marschall. “Chapter 3. Structure, materials, and preparation of photoelectrodes” Textbook “Photoelectrocatalysis: Fundamentals and Applications” 2022 1st Edition, Elsevier; Editors: L. Palmisano, S. Yurdakal; eBook ISBN: 9780128242421, just accepted

      UT Research Information System

      See all research output of this employee

      Google Scholar Link

      View my profile

      Affiliated Study Programmes

      Bachelor

      Master

      Courses Academic Year  2022/2023

      Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.
       

      Courses Academic Year  2021/2022

      Projects

      Dewetted materials for photo- & electro-catalysis

      Solid-state dewetting, or simply dewetting, is based on the metastable nature of thin metal films, which when heated up to sufficiently high temperatures tend to agglomerate forming particles. This phenomenon occurs via surface diffusion of metal atoms due to the high surface-to-volume ratio of thin films.

      Dewetting received large attention in the past for causing failure of micro- and nano-electronic components. Thus, it has been regarded as detrimental for technology advancement and has been widely investigated to understand mechanistic aspects and prevent its occurrence. Our research takes a different perspective: controlled dewetting opens for unique design concepts for functional metal nanoparticles. 

      Since metal particles are crucial towards a variety of technologies and applications, for example heterogeneous catalysis, my team studies controlled dewetting phenomena to produce supported metal nanoparticles with defined properties, e.g., size, composition, morphology and structure, for application in photo- or electro-catalysis.

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Media

      2023


      2022

      • June 2022: Dr. Marco Altomare appointed Organizing Committee member of the Dutch ElectroChemical Conversion and Materials ECCM graduate school. The next edition of the school will be held in Noordwijk,13-16 June 2023. Pre-registration will open on 1 Feb 2023. Check out the ECCM webpage for more information.

      2021

        News on utwente.nl

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