MATERIALS FOR ENERGY PART A

Degree course: 
Corso di Second cycle degree in CHEMISTRY
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2023/2024
Year: 
2
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2024/2025
Course type: 
Supplementary compulsory subjects
Credits: 
4
Period: 
Second semester
Standard lectures hours: 
32
Detail of lecture’s hours: 
Lesson (32 hours)
Requirements: 

Physical and Inorganic Chemistry are a standard prerequisite for this course.

The exam will consist of two parts. Production of a written essay in Italian or in English on one of the topics covered by the course, of a length between 20000 and 25000 characters (including spaces) to be delivered no later than 5 days before the date of the exam session in electronic format (e.g. as a Word file).
Outline of the essay: thematic introduction, excursus of various implementation methodologies, problems and possible solutions, and materials representing the state of the art in the field.
Bibliography: each entry must show: authors, title, journal, volume, year, and pages. Each bibliography entry must be cited in the text.
The oral exam will consist of the exposition through an oral presentation of the paper with slides of a maximum of 15 min followed by two questions of clarification and discussion on the same, which may also involve topics covered in the course and not the direct object of the research itself.
The evaluation criteria will consider:
1) the completeness of the knowledge acquired.
2) the ability to describe in a critical way the issues related to the topic of energy.
3) the ability to indicate the most appropriate materials and science-based strategies in various proposed scenarios.
4) ownership of the language used.
5) originality of the presentation compared to the course material.

Assessment: 
Voto Finale

• Knowledge and understanding
o the sustainable development goals
o the main energy issues
o the use of chemistry and material science to develop a sustainable development model
• Skills aims.
o Bottom-up approach to energetic problems
o Extraction of the information from an experiment using a coherent physical model
o Selection of the most suitable process(es) according to the desired outcome
o Critical analysis of experimental results
• Communicative aims
o This lesson aims at helping learners become better able to explain the logic process that brings to the identification of sustainability issues in processes.
o This lesson includes guidelines on presenting in an engaging and effective way in chemistry
• Autonomous assessment
o Selection of the approach
o Discussion of results

1. Classes of energy relevant materials (12 h).
1.1. Materials: Oxides, Zeolites, Polymers, Carbons, Ionic liquids, MOFs. Composition, fundamental characteristics, structural features.
1.2. Important properties for energy applications. Brief summary of the various characterization techniques to more appropriately determine these properties.
1.3. Strategies used to modify these properties to suit different classes of materials for solving the energy problems covered in the course.
2. UN Sustainable Development Goals (10 h)
2.1. 17 SDGs and present status.
2.2. Life cycle analysis. Circular Economy. Basic concepts. Beyond circular economy.
Mobility. The 3 economies: hydrogen, ethanol and methanol. Combustion engine and fuel cells.
2.4. Global warming. CO2 = energy. CO2 capture, separation and storage. CO2 utilization.
3. Store and Transport energy -part 1 (10 h)
3.1. Energy vectors and fuels. Renewable energies: solar, wind, hydroelectric energy. Nuclear fusion.
3.2. Gas storage. Hydrogen, methane.

1. Classes of energy relevant materials (12 h).
1.1. Materials: Oxides, Zeolites, Polymers, Carbons, Ionic liquids, MOFs. Composition, fundamental characteristics, structural features.
1.2. Important properties for energy applications. Brief summary of the various characterization techniques to more appropriately determine these properties.
1.3. Strategies used to modify these properties to suit different classes of materials for solving the energy problems covered in the course.
2. UN Sustainable Development Goals (10 h)
2.1. 17 SDGs and present status.
2.2. Life cycle analysis. Circular Economy. Basic concepts. Beyond circular economy.
Mobility. The 3 economies: hydrogen, ethanol, and methanol. Combustion engine and fuel cells.
2.4. Global warming. CO2 = energy. CO2 capture, separation and storage. CO2 utilization.
3. Store and Transport energy -part 1 (10 h)
3.1. Energy vectors and fuels. Renewable energies: solar, wind, hydroelectric energy. Nuclear fusion.
3.2. Gas storage. Hydrogen, methane.

Frontal lessons (64 hours): introduction and theoretical development of the topics, exemplified by means of typical cases. During the lessons, students are often engaged by means of questions in order to make them more involved according to the basic principles of active learning in its most elementary form.

Contacts/Info: Every day by email appointment.

Parent course