Angelo DI BERNARDO | PHYSICS OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES
Angelo DI BERNARDO PHYSICS OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES
cod. 0512900016
PHYSICS OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES
| 0512900016 | |
| DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS "E. R. CAIANIELLO" | |
| EQF6 | |
| SCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY | |
| 2025/2026 |
| OBBLIGATORIO | |
| YEAR OF COURSE 2 | |
| YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2022 | |
| FULL ACADEMIC YEAR |
| SSD | CFU | HOURS | ACTIVITY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FISICA DEI MATERIALI PER LE FONTI RINNOVABILI (MODULO DI FISICA DEI MATERIALI E DELLE NANOTECNOLOGIE SOSTENIBILI) | |||||
| FIS/03 | 3 | 24 | LESSONS | ||
| FIS/03 | 3 | 36 | EXERCISES | ||
| LABORATORIO DI NANOTECNOLOGIE (MODULO DI FISICA DEI MATERIALI E DELLE NANOTECNOLOGIE SOSTENIBILI) | |||||
| FIS/03 | 3 | 24 | LESSONS | ||
| FIS/03 | 3 | 36 | EXERCISES | ||
| Objectives | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE IN PHYSICS OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES IS TAUGHT IN THE FIRST AND SECOND SEMESTERS OF THE 2ND YEAR OF THE DEGREE PROGRAM IN SCIENCES AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY. THE COURSE CONSISTS OF TWO MODULES OF 6 UNIVERSITY FORMATIVE CREDITS (CFUS) EACH, TOTALLING UP TO 120 HOURS OF LECTURES. THE COURSE AIMS AT DEVELOPING PHYSICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHYSICS OF THE MATERIALS THAT ARE USED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES AS WELL AS OF THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA AND PROCESSES UNDERLYING THE SAME ENERGY PRODUCTION. IN ADDITION, THE STUDENT WILL DEVELOP KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAIN TECHNIQUES USED FOR THE FABRICATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF NANOMATERIALS. THE STUDENT WILL ALSO LEARN ABOUT THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES THAT ARE PECULIAR TO NANOMATERIALS AND IN GENERAL TO MATERIALS WITH REDUCED DIMENSIONALITY. FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. BY THE END OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL LEARN ABOUT: - BASIC CONCEPTS OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY AND OF THE BAND STRUCTURE OF MATERIALS. - ELECTRONIC TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF SEMICONDUCTORS AND P-N JUNCTIONS. - OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF A PHOTODIODE AND A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL. - BASIC CONCEPTS OF FLUID DYNAMICS. MAIN PARAMETERS AND COMPONENTS OF A WIND TURBINE. - NANOMATERIALS USED TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY OF A WIND TURBINE. - PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION OF A HYDROELECTRIC PLANT AND HYDROELECTRIC NANOGENERATORS, AND ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM WAVE MOTION. - MECHANISMS OF ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM GEOTHERMIC SOURCES. - COMPONENTS AND DIMENSION PRINCIPLES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC, WIND, GEOTHERMIC, HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS. - PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MAIN NANOMATERIALS INCLUDING GRAPHENE, CARBON NANOTUBES, NANOFLUIDS ETC. - PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES UNDERPINNING THE SELF-ASSEMBLY OF NANOSTRUCTURES AND MANUFACTURING ACCORDING TO THE BOTTOM-UP APPROACH, INCLUDING ASSEMBLY OF MICROFILES FROM ANOPHYLE, DNA ORIGAMI, ASSEMBLY OF MOLECULAR MONOLAYERS. - PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION OF THE MAIN NANOFABRICATION TECHNIQUES WITH TOP-DOWN APPROACH INCLUDING OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC PHASE LITROGRAPHY. - PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION OF CERTAIN NANOCARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES INCLUDING ELECTRONIC MICROSCOPY AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY. - PHYSICAL PROPERTIES CHARACTERISTICS OF NANOMATERIALS INCLUDING POTENTIAL ZETA AND ELECTRONIC DOUBLE LAYER FORMATION. - PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRONIC TRANSPORT IN NANOSTRUCTURES: LANDAUER RESISTANCE, COLOUMB BLOCKING, RESONANT TUNNELING, VARIATION OF DENSITY OF STATES AS A FUNCTION OF DIMENSIONALITY. APPLIED KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. BY THE END OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO: - MEASURE THE MAIN OPERATING PARAMETERS OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND QUANTIFY ITS EFFICIENCY. - DETERMINE THE OPERATING PARAMETERS OF A WIND TURBINE AND ASSESS THE BEST SITES FOR ITS INSTALLATION. - UNDERSTAND THE FUNCTIONING OF THE MAIN DEVICES USED FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY STORAGE, AND CHARACTERISE THEIR ENERGY EFFICIENCY. - EVALUATE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TYPE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE IN A SPECIFIC SITE. - DETERMINE THE NANOFABRICATION AND/OR NANOCHARACTERISATION TECHNIQUES MOST SUITABLE FOR A SPECIFIC APPLICATION. TRANSVERSAL SKILLS AND COMPETENCES. BY THE END OF THE COURSE, THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO: - APPLY THE KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED TO CONTEXTS DIFFERENT FROM SPEFIC TO THE COURSE, INCLUDING SMALL RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE FIELDS OF NANOTECHNOLOGIES AND NANOMATERIALS, AS WELL AS INTERNSHIP PROJECTS AT COMPANIES OPERATING IN THE FIELD OF ENERGY PRODUCTION FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES. - DELVE DEEPER INTO SOME OF THE TOPICS PRESENTED DURING THE COURSE USING DIFFERENT SOURCES, INCLUDING SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES REPORTING THE LATEST RESULTS ON THE APPLICATION OF NANOMATERIALS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ENERGY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES. |
| Prerequisites | |
|---|---|
| THE PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE INCLUDE A BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN GAINED BY THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE DEGREE PROGRAMME. IN ADDITION, BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF MATHEMATICS IS REQUIRED FOR THE EXERCISES THAT THE STUDENTS WILL HAVE TO SOLVE AS PART OF THE COURSE. |
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| THE TOPICS COVERED DURING THE LECTURE COURSE INCLUDE: • FUNDAMENTALS OF SOLID-STATE PHYSICS: BASICS OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, FREE-ELECTRON MODEL, FERMI-DIRAC DISTRIBUTION, FERMI LEVEL AND DENSITY OF STATES IN 3D, BAND STRUCTURE OF MATERIALS AND ORIGIN OF THE ENERGY GAP, ELECTRONIC TRANSPORT IN SOLIDS AND SEMICONDUCTORS, BAND STRUCTURE OF SI, CONCENTRATION OF (INTRINSIC) CHARGE CARRIERS AT EQUILIBRIUM, DOPING OF SEMICONDUCTORS, P-N JUNCTION, GENERATION AND RECOMBINATION OF CHARGES IN A P-N JUNCTION OUT OF EQUILIBRIUM (15 HRS LECTURE + 6 HRS TUTORIAL). • MATERIALS, PROCESSES AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY: PHOTODIODES AND PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS, PARAMETERS OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL UNDER SOLAR IRRADIATION, QUANTUM EFFICIENCY OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL, EFFICIENCY LIMIT OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL, MAIN TYPES AND GENERATIONS OF PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS INCLUDING SILICON CELLS, THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS, SENSITIVE PIGMENT SOLAR CELLS AND PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELLS, NANOTECHNOLOGIES AND NANOMATERIALS FOR EFFICIENCY ENHANCEMENT OF PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS, NANOTECHNOLOGIES FOR THERMAL PHOTOVOLTAICS, PHASE-SHIFTING NANOMATERIALS, SI PRODUCTION METHODS FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS (SIEMENS PROCESS, CZOCHRALSKI METHOD), STRUCTURE OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC PANEL, TYPES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS, CONNECTION OF MODULES IN A PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM, BLOCKING AND BYPASS DIODES, EVALUATION OF PHOTOVOLTAICS ACCORDING TO ENERGY PAYBACK TIME (15 HRS LECTURE + 8 HRS LAB ACTIVITIES + 3 HRS TUTORIAL). • FUNDAMENTALS OF FLUID DYNAMICS: BERNOULLI EQUATION, LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM, VISCOSITY AND LAMINAR MOTION (2 HRS LECTURE + 3 HRS TUTORIAL). • MATERIALS, PROCESSES AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES FOR WIND ENERGY: ENERGY EXTRACTION FROM A WIND TURBINE, CALCULATION OF THE POWER COEFFICIENT OF A WIND TURBINE, AXIAL MOMENT THEORY AND BETZ LIMIT, CALCULATION OF AXIAL (THRUST) FORCE AND TORQUE, THEORY OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM APPLIED TO A WIND TURBINE, DRAG AND LIFT FORCES, CALCULATION OF OPTIMAL ROTATIONAL SPEED, TYPES OF WIND TURBINES, ECONOMIC AND POWER CONSIDERATIONS ON WIND TURBINES, WIND SPEED AND BEAUFORT SCALE, SYSTEMS FOR MEASURING WIND SPEED AND ITS HEIGHT DEPENDENCE, WEIBULL AND RAYLEIGH DISTRIBUTIONS, COMPONENTS AND MAIN MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES OF A WIND TURBINE BLADE, NANOMATERIALS WITH THIXOTROPIC PROPERTIES USED AS SUPERLUBRICANTS (17 HRS LECTURE + 3 HRS TUTORIAL). • NANOTECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND MATERIALS PHYSICS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGIES: CHARACTERISATION OF NANOMATERIALS WITH A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (SEM), MAIN COMPONENTS AND OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF A SEM, ELECTRON-MATTER INTERACTION MECHANISMS, IMAGE RECONSTRUCTIONS FROM SECONDARY AND BACKSCATTERED ELECTRONS, X-RAY SCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY (EDX) TECHNIQUE, RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY, MAIN ELECTRONIC, THERMAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF GRAPHENE AND CARBON NANOTUBES (10 HRS LECTURE + 6 HRS LAB ACTIVITIES). • MATERIALS, PROCESSES AND NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR HYDROPOWER: FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF HYDROSTATICS, PRINCIPLES OF HYDROPOWER GENERATION, PELTON PULSE TURBINES AND DETERMINATION OF THEIR PARAMETERS, REACTION TURBINES, SIZING OF HYDROPOWER SYSTEMS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF HYDROPOWER SYSTEMS, HYDROPOWER NANOGENERATORS, ELECTRIC DOUBLE LAYER AND ZETA POTENTIAL, ELECTROKINETIC POTENTIAL, POWER GENERATION FROM WAVE MOTION, WAVE-ASSOCIATED ENERGY IN DEEP WATER, EXTRACTION OF POWER FROM WAVES IN DEEP WATER AND MEASUREMENT OF WAVE PARAMETERS (13 HRS LECTURE). • MATERIALS, PROCESSES AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: BASICS OF THERMODYNAMICS, PHYSICAL PROCESSES FOR HEAT TRANSFER (CONDUCTION, CONVECTION, RADIATION), BASICS OF GEOPHYSICS, PROPERTIES OF ROCKS, GEOTHERMAL PLANTS, CALCULATION OF THE GEOTHERMAL POTENTIAL OF DRY ROCK, RATE OF HEAT EXTRACTION FROM DRY ROCK, IMPROVED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS, SIZING OF GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES, CASE STUDIES RELATED TO NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS (3 HRS LECTURE). - MAIN TECHNIQUES AND PHYSICS BEHIND NANOFABRICATION OF MATERIALS: BOTTOM-UP APPROACH AND SELF-ASSEMBLY, PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES AND THERMODYNAMICS OF SELF-ASSEMBLY, ASSEMBLY OF MICELLES FROM AMPHIPHILES AND CALCULATION OF THE CRITICAL MICELLAR CONCENTRATION, DNA ORIGAMI, SELF-ASSEMBLY OF MOLECULAR MONOLAYERS, NANOFABRICATION WITH A TOP-DOWN APPROACH BASED ON LITHOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES, OPTICAL LITHOGRAPHY AND PRINCIPLES OF LIGHT DIFFRACTION, ELECTRON BEAM LITHOGRAPHY (5 HRS LECTURE + 5 HRS LAB ACTIVITIES + 3 HRS TUTORIAL). - ELECTRONIC TRANSPORT PROPERTIES IN NANOSTRUCTURES: LANDAUER RESISTANCE AND ATOMIC QUANTUM CONTACT, COLOUMB BLOCKADE AND SINGLE-ELECTRON TRANSISTOR, RESONANT TUNNELLING, VARIATION OF DENSITY OF STATES WITH DIMENSIONALITY OF THE SYSTEM (3 HRS LECTURE). |
| Teaching Methods | |
|---|---|
| IF ALL STUDENTS AGREE, THE COURSE CAN BE TAUGHT BY THE LECTURER IN ENGLISH. SHOULD THIS BE A PROBLEM FOR ANYONE, THE LECTURES WILL BE GIVEN IN ITALIAN. THE COURSE IS MADE OF ABOUT 80 HOURS OF IN-CLASS LECTURES (8 CFU), ABOUT 20 HOURS OF TUTORIALS (2 CFU) AND ABOUT 20 HOURS OF LAB ACTIVITIES (2 CFU). THE ATTENDANCE OF THE COURSE IS NOT MANDATORY, ALTHOUGH IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED BECAUSE IT WOULD PROVE USEFUL FOR THE EXERCISES AND LAB ACTIVITIES -- THESE CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE FINAL GRADE. DURING THE EXERCISE AND LAB SESSIONS, THE STUDENTS WILL BE ASKED TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND CARRY OUT EXPERIMENTS RELATED TO THE TOPICS COVERED DURING THE IN-CLASS LECTURES WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE LECTURER. |
| Verification of learning | |
|---|---|
| THE EXAMINATION INVOLVES PASSING BOTH A WRITTEN AND AN ORAL EXAM, BOTH GRADED IN THIRTIETHS. STUDENTS WILL ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A MID-TERM EXAM AT THE END OF THE FIRST MODULE (I.E., AT THE END OF THE FIRST SEMESTER) OF THE COURSE. IF THE STUDENT PASSES THE MID-TERM EXAM WITH A MARK ABOVE 18/30, THE STUDENT WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO TAKE A FINAL WRITTEN TEST, FOLLOWED BY AN ORAL TEST, FOCUSING ONLY ON THE TOPICS OF THE SECOND MODULE OF THE COURSE. THE EXAMS WILL EVALUATE THE STUDENT'S ABILITY TO IDENTIFY THE CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC STRUCTURES OF MATERIALS, TO SOLVE PROBLEMS ON CHARGE TRANSPORT IN P-N JUNCTIONS AND SEMICONDUCTORS, TO DESCRIBE AND CALCULATE THE FUNDAMENTAL PARAMETERS OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL AND OF A WIND TURBINE, TO IDENTIFY THE MAIN ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE, TO DESCRIBE THE MAIN APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ENERGY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES, TO IDENTIFY THE MOST SUITABLE PROCESSES FOR THE FABRICATION OF SPECIFIC NANOSTRUCTURES, AND TO DESCRIBE THE MAIN PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF NANOSTRUCTURES AND NANOMATERIALS. FOR THE FINAL GRADE, WHICH IS OBTAINED BY AVERAGING THE MARKS OF THE WRITTEN AND ORAL EXAMS, THE MINIMUM GRADE LEVEL (18/30) IS AWARDED WHEN THE STUDENT DEMONSTRATES BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAIN CONCEPTS RELATED TO THE PHYSICS OF MATERIALS AND TO THE PROCESSES AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES USED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGIES. THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ASSESSMENT (30/30) IS AWARDED WHEN THE STUDENT SHOWS AN IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF ALL THE CONCEPTS, METHODS AND TECHNIQUES DISCUSSED DURING THE LECTURE COURSE. THE DISTINCTION CUM LAUDE IS AWARDED WHEN THE CANDIDATE SHOWS AN IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF THE COURSE CONTENT, EVEN BEYOND THE LEVEL OF PRESENTATION OF THE SAME CONTENT DURING THE LECTURES, AND DEMONSTRATES THE ABILITY TO PRESENT THE TOPICS COVERED WITH A SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY. |
| Texts | |
|---|---|
| J. TWIDELL AND T. WEIR, "RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES" (2ND ED., TAYLOR AND FRANCIS GROUP), R. L. JAFFE AND W. TAYLOR, "THE PHYSICS OF ENERGY" (CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS). THE SLIDES OF THE LECTURES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE BY THE LECTURER AND UPLOADED BOTH ON ZOOM AND CLOUD PLATFORMS. |
| More Information | |
|---|---|
| FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE CONTACT THE LECTURER AT THE FOLLOWING EMAIL ADDRESS: ADIBERNARDO@UNISA.IT |
BETA VERSION Data source ESSE3 [Ultima Sincronizzazione: 2025-09-14]
