Dr Sergio Vernuccio

Research groups

Research interests

• Complex reaction kinetics
• Microkinetic modelling
• Heterogeneous catalysis
• Photocatalysis and electrocatalysis
• Process intensification

Current research

My research activity spans from catalysis to chemical reaction engineering and aims at unravelling the intrinsic kinetics of complex reacting systems.

We combine advanced theoretical and experimental approaches to model the links between fundamental phenomena and macroscopic observations, aiming to deepen our understanding of reacting systems and develop novel engineering strategies. 

Our current focus is on reacting systems to address sustainability challenges in the chemical industries in the field of:

• Heterogeneous Catalysis: The systems that we investigate demand quantification of the interaction energies between the catalytic environments and the molecular species and intermediates. We develop strategies to quantitatively analyse molecular-level events and facilitate the description of the systems at the macroscopic level.
• Photo- and Electrocatalysis: We develop mechanistic models from first principles to design efficient photo- and electrocatalysts for sustainable applications, including H₂ evolution and CO₂ reduction.
• Thermal Decomposition Processes: We develop mechanistic models of free-radical processes to elucidate the phenomena of thermal runaway in Li-ion batteries and design safer electrolytes.