People

Prof. Silvia Gross
Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche
Università degli Studi di Padova
Via Francesco Marzolo, 1
35131 - Padova (PD)
ITALY
Room: 00215 01079
Phone: +39 049 827 5736
E-Mail: silvia.gross@unipd.it
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1860-8711
Research ID: O-6692-2015
Scopus ID: 7202651101

Curriculum vitae

Silvia Gross is currently Full Professor of Inorganic Chemistry (SSD CHIM/03) at the University of Padova and has a second affiliation as a DFG Mercator Fellow at the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie within the DFG-funded SFB "Track-Act" project (2021-2024).
In 2021 she has been a TUM Visiting Professor at the Technische Universität München. In 2016-2020 she has been a DFG Mercator Fellow at the Justus-Liebig Universität Gießen, where she is regularly visiting professor every year since 2013.
She has been Project Technical Advisor (PTA) of the European Cluster on Catalysis for the European Commission (2014-2020) and since 2008 she regularly acts as evaluator or monitor for several research funding schemes of the European Commission, from FP6 to Horizon2020 (ERC Consolidator Grant, FET-RIA, FET-OPEN, MSCA IF, NMBP, CSA). She is member of the Committee "800 Anni" and member of several boards at the University of Padova. She is member of the Scientific Committee of INSTM and member of the Board (Consiglio Direttivo) of the Divisione di Chimica Inorganica as well as of “Commissione Internazionalizzazione” of the Società Chimica Italiana. Since 2021 she coordinates the international Master degree "Sustainable Chemistry and Technologies for Circular Economy", gathering together 12 Departments of the University of Padova. Her current research activity, documented by about 190 scientific publications in ISI journals (12 reviews, essays, feature articles), 5 books chapters, 1 book in print, 25 further papers in conference proceedings and technical reports (h-index is 37, Scopus, 2022) is mainly focused on the:

• synthesis and characterisation of organically modified transition metal oxoclusters and oxothioclusters and complexes (M=Zr, Hf, Ta, Ti-Hf, Hf-Ti-Zr, Ba-Ti, Cu, Zn) and of functional inorganic-organic hybrid materials prepared by covalent embedding of the mentioned functionalised oxoclusters into polymers by co-polymerisation reactions with suitable monomers;
• green synthesis of crystalline metal oxide, sulphide and halogenide colloids by wet chemistry and colloidal routes, mainly miniemulsions, solvo/hydrothermal and microfluidic synthesis at low or room temperature
• investigation of crystallization mechanisms of inorganic materials under not standard conditions (e.g., confined space)

This synthesis activity is complemented by the time- and temperature- in situ and ex situ investigation of nucleation and growth mechanisms of inorganic colloids by different spectroscopic (XPS, XAS, Raman, FT-IR) and diffraction/scattering (SAXS, XRD) methods, as well as by through characterisation of the synthetised inorganic and hybrid materials.
This work has been carried out in the framework of tight scientific cooperations with several groups in Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, UK. She is/has been coordinator of more than 60 research projects carried out at the DESY, ESRF, ANKA, Elettra, PSI, Soleil, Diamond synchrotron facilities.
She is Italian delegate in ESUO and member of the board (Giunta) of the Italian Synchrotron Light Society (SILS) for the terms 2014-2020. 55 invited lectures have been given at universities and research centres, as well as about 35 invited talks at international conferences and symposia.
She is coordinator of the Clocks European project (KIC Raw Materials) and UniPD coordinator for a further EU project on sustainable chemistry teaching (Digichem) and of italian projects.
Born in Padova in 1971, Silvia Gross studied Chemistry at the University of Padova, where she got her master degree (1996; mark: 110/110 cum laude). In 2000 she was awarded the Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences at the University of Padova. In 2001 she got a Lise Meitner Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Austrian Science Foundation (FWF) and spent 18 months at the Institut für Materialchemie at the Technische Universität Wien (AK Prof. Ulrich Schubert).
In 2002 she was appointed Research Scientist of the Institute of Molecular Science and Technology of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and from 2010 to 2017 she has been Senior Researcher (Primo Ricercatore) at the Institute ICMATE-CNR.
She spent several periods abroad as visiting scientist (TU Wien, 1999; University of Stuttgart, 2004 and 2005; University of Versailles 2007, 2008) and as visiting professor in Gießen (two months every year in from 2013 to 2023) and Salzburg (2013, 2014).
Teaching activity is mainly carried at University of Padova, with regard to the course of Chemistry of Nanosystems (2004-2008), Inorganic Chemistry for students of Materials Sciences (2009), General Chemistry for Biotechnologists (2010-2012), Inorganic Chemistry III (since 2012) for Chemistry Master students, Environmental Toxicology for Industrial Biotechnology Master Students (2014-2018), Colloid Chemistry (since 2016), Biomaterials for Industrial Biotechnology Master Students (since 2020), Materials Design and Selection for Circular Economy (since 2022). Since 2006, advanced PhD courses on hybrid materials and colloid science are held in the framework of the PhD School in Molecular Sciences and Materials Sciences and Engineering in Padova. Advanced courses for PhD and Master students have been given at the Universities of Versailles (France 2007), Trento (2006), Nova Gorica (Slovenia, 2007, 2008, 2016), Salzburg (2013, 2014), Gießen (every year 2013-2022), KIT (2022).
She is referee for several scientific journals (Nature Comm., Angew. Chemie, Inorg. Chem., Adv. Funct. Mater, Adv. Mater, Adv. Mater. Interf., Nanoscale, Chem. Mater., J. Mater. Chem, Chem. Comm., PCCP, Nanoletters, Dalton Trans., J. Phys. Chem. etc.) and evaluator of proposals for European Commission (FP7, H2020), COST, Suiss National Science Foundation (SNF), Austrian Science Foundation (FWF), Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS), Polish Research Agency, Czech Science Foundation, Research Grant Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, Ministero dell'Istruzione (MIUR), Flander Research Foundation (FWO).
She is member of the Editorial Boards of "Materials" and "Coatings" (www.mdpi.ch) and of the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics: Condensed Matter: Surfaces and Interfaces Section.
She has organized more than 15 scientific meetings and several training events for Ph.D. students.

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For detailed list of publications, click here.

12 most relevant publications

• I. Bretos, S. Diodati, , R. Jimenenz, F. Tajoli, J. Ricote, G. Bragaggia, M. Franca, M. L. Calzada and S. Gross
  Low-temperature solution crystallization of nanostructured oxides and thin films (invited review)
  Chemistry - A European Journal, 2020
• P. Dolcet, S. Diodati, F. Zorzi, P. Voepel, C. Seitz, B. Smarsly, S. Mascotto, F. Nestola and S. Gross
  Very fast crystallisation of MFe₂O₄ spinel ferrites (M=Co, Mn, Ni, Zn) under low temperature hydrothermal conditions: a time-resolved structural investigation
  Green Chemistry, 2018, 20, 2257-2268
  
• S. Diodati, P. Dolcet, M. Casarin and S. Gross
  Pursuing the Crystallization of Mono- and Polymetallic Nanosized Crystalline Inorganic Compounds by Low-Temperature Wet-Chemistry and Colloidal Routes
  Chemical Reviews, 2015, 115, 11449–11502
  
• M. Vigolo, S. Borsacchi, A. Sorarù, M. Geppi, B. Smarsly, P. Dolcet, S. Rizzato, M. Carraro and S. Gross
  Engineering of oxoclusters-reinforced polymeric materials with application as heterogeneous oxydesulfurization catalysts
  Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2016, 182, 636-644
  
• M. Carraro and S. Gross
  Hybrid Materials Based on the Embedding of Organically Modified Transition Metal Oxoclusters or Polyoxometalates into Polymers for Functional Applications: A Review (Invited review)
  Materials, 2014, 7, 3956-3989
  
• S. Diodati, L. Pandolfo, S. Gialanella, A. Caneschi and S. Gross
  Green and low temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline transition metal ferrites by simple wet chemistry routes
  Nano Research, 2014, 7, 1027-1042
  
• R. Muñoz-Espí, Y. Mastai, S. Gross and K. Landfester
  Colloidal systems for crystallization processes from liquid phase (Invited highlight)
  CrystEngComm, 2013, 15, 2175-2191
  
• V. Guillerm, F. Ragon, M. Dan-Hardi, T. Devic, M. Vishnuvarthan, B. Campo, A. Vimont, G. Clet, Q. Yang, G. Maurin, G. Ferey, A. Vittadini, S. Gross and C. Serre
  A Series of Isoreticular, Highly Stable, Porous Zirconium Oxide Based Metal-Organic Frameworks
  Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2012, 51, 9267-9271
  
• S. Gross
  Oxocluster-reinforced organic-inorganic hybrid materials: effect of transition metal oxoclusters on structural and functional properties (Invited highlight)
  Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2011, 21, 15853-15861
  
• S. Gross and M. Bauer
  EXAFS as Powerful Analytical Tool for the Investigation of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials (Invited feature article)
  Advanced Functional Materials, 2010, 20, 4026-4047
  
• V. Guillerm, S. Gross, C. Serre, T. Devic, M. Bauer and G. Ferey
  A zirconium methacrylate oxocluster as precursor for the low-temperature synthesis of porous zirconium(IV) dicarboxylates
  Chemical Communications, 2010, 46, 767-769
  
• V. Di Noto, A. B. Boeer, S. Lavina, C. A. Muryn, M. Bauer, G. A. Timco, E. Negro, M. Rancan, R. E. P. Winpenny and S. Gross
  Functional Chromium Wheel-Based Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Materials for Dielectric Applications
  Advanced Functional Materials, 2009, 19, 3226-3236