Education

Luca Porcarelli received his BS/MS in Chemistry from the University of Bologna (Italy). He obtained his PhD in Material Science at Politecnico di Torino in the area of polymer electrolytes for solid-state lithium batteries. Since April 2016, he joined POLYMAT as a post-doctoral researcher in the Innovative Polymer Group of Prof. David Mecerreyes, continuing his work on polymeric materials for energy storage and conversion technologies. In 2018, he secured a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellowship to work in the group of Prof. Maria Forsyth at Deakin University (Australia). He will return to his position at POLYMAT in January 2021.

Honors and awards

PhD thesis Award (Associazione Italiana Chimica per Ingegneria)
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellowship (eJUMP - Organic Ionic Plastic Crystals Nanocomposites for Safer Batteries, Grant agreement ID: 797295)

Research

Nowadays, severe safety concerns limit large-scale use of lithium batteries for electric vehicles and stationary storage. Despite their high ionic conductivity, conventional liquid electrolytes for lithium batteries are highly flammable and can leak out of the battery case. Safer electrolyte based on polymers are promising candidates to enable the next-generation of lithium batteries. The aim of this reseach is to develop innovative nanocomposites electrolytes based on Organic Ionic Plastic Cristals (OICPs), a novel class of solid state electrolytes with intrinsic safety and high ionic conductivity, and polymer nanoparticles which can act both as reinforcement but also add function via a purposely designed nanoparticle interfaces. The knowledge generated by this research will set the basis for the development of a new class of solid electrolytes providing competitive performance with respect to traditional electrolytes and improved safety standards.

Innovative Polymers Group

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