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School of Physical and Chemical Sciences

Dr Cristina Giordano

Cristina

Reader in Chemistry

Email: c.giordano@qmul.ac.uk
Room Number: Room 1.02, Joseph Priestley Building
Website: https://www.giordanogroup.org

Profile

Cristina Giordano obtained her PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Palermo in 2006. After her PhD she won twice the “assegno di ricerca” in the same University (Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Department of Physical Chemistry) as teaching assistant and post-graduated researcher. Between 2008 and 2014 she led the group of Inorganic Nanostructures at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam (Germany) where she also did her Habilitation.

At the end of 2014 she joined the Technical University of Berlin as independent researcher, to intensify her teaching, also receiving the title of “Privatdozent” (July 2015) from the TU-Berlin.

Since September 2015 Dr Giordano is Reader in Chemistry at Queen Mary University of London.

Dr Giordano is the author of almost 60 publications in the field of colloids and nanomaterial chemistry, ranging from synthesis of advanced materials to characterization and wide ranging applications. For her research, 2011, Dr Giordano was awarded with the “Zsigmondy Stipendium” from the German Colloid Society, as best promising young researcher in the field of Colloids.

During her spare time Cristina enjoys Art and Literature, Cooking and Reading. She is also found of Culture heritage and History.

Undergraduate Teaching

  • Essential Skills for Chemists (Tutorials) (CHE100)
  • Foundations of Practical Chemistry (CHE101)
  • Advanced Practical Chemistry 1 (CHE301)
  • Fundamentals of Inorganic Chemistry (CHE113)
  • Advanced Topics in Inorganic Chemistry (CHE403U)
  • Practical Chemistry (CHE211)

Research

Research Interests:

Experimental Nanomaterial Chemistry Research, covering all relevant aspects from synthesis, characterization, processing and application.

Research in our group focuses on the design of novel/tailored pathways for the synthesis of advanced nanostructures based on metals, metal alloys and metallic ceramics. Metallic ceramics (namely transition metal nitrides and carbides) are a partially unexplored class of materials (e.g. compared to their corresponding oxides) and, as suggested by their name, they possess an intriguing combination of properties that place them between classical ceramics and pure metals. The number of envisaged applications is thus very broad and even broader going to the nanoscale (e.g. higher specific surface area, tailored properties via size- and shape- control, easier shaping and processing, etc). As “bulk” phase, metallic ceramics are mainly known for their superior mechanical properties but, due to their “dual” nature, the potentialities of these materials go far beyond. Formally produced by involving dangerous reactants coupled with needed high temperatures (up to 2000°C), these conditions were not enough appealing for a large scale production and unsuitable for nanoparticles synthesis. Our research work successfully aimed at designing novel pathways for the synthesis of metallic ceramics in order to expand their coverage in applied science.

The research performed up to now represents just the tip of an iceberg. Once the production of these materials can be made straightforward, any further modification, combination, manipulation, is in principle possible and unique systems can be designed.

Current research also focuses on multifunctional materials, colloidal dispersions and hybrids based on MN/MC nanoparticles. In particular on the design of tailored multifunctional materials (hybrids and nanocomposites) based on metallic ceramics, where solid state bridges soft matter to create unique materials for target applications.
Large part of our research is also performed through national and international collaborations.

Find out more about Dr Giordano's collaboration list [PDF 88KB] and Dr Giordano's Publications List [PDF 120KB]

Visit Dr Giordano's lab website

Research department

Research ID: H-4734-2013

Performance

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