Who I am

I'm Matteo Arioli and I'm a 4 th year Ph.D. student at the Polytechnic University of Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. I graduated from the University of Milan with a Master's degree in Industrial Chemistry and my thesis was dedicated to the study of the degradation of polyamidoamines in different media. I then decided to move to Barcelona to enroll in the Ph.D. program in Polymers and Biopolymers. My research is now focused on the study of novel odd-even and even-odd linear polyamides. These "odd" nylons present the characteristic of having a peculiar crystalline structure, due to the development along multiple directions of hydrogen bonds between the different amides of the different chains. The first step of the study is the synthesis, that is an interfacial polymerization between the diamine and the dichloride derivative of the carboxylic acid corresponding to the different desired polymer. After the basic chemical characterization, I'm studying the thermal behavior of these polymers. In particular, I'm interested in the crystalline structures that these polyamides can form by crystallization from the melt or from the amorphous state. In order to follow these processes, there are a variety of characterization techniques that I'm generally using. From the simplest, I'm studying isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization both by differential scanning calorimetry and polarized light optical microscopy. These two analyses make it possible to monitor the different processes in real time, with the possibility of carrying out kinetic experiments. To study the different crystalline forms, I'm using X-ray and electron scattering techniques. The first, to which I'm most dedicated, is performed using a beamline of the Spanish synchrotron ALBA. There, I'm analyzing both crystallized and processed samples in various forms or performing in-situ crystallizations. Electron diffraction, on the other hand, is performed on nylon single crystals obtained by selective precipitation or solution crystallization, which are analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. I'm also interested in the material application of this polymer, and for this reason I characterize the tensile mechanical properties or the surface property with atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. During the 2024 edition of the Milan Polymer Days, I'll be presenting a recent work in which I'm making polymer blends by mixing an odd-even polyamide, nylon 5 6, with the natural rubber. Nylon 5 6 is an atypical polyamide that is now marketed in a partially bio-based version, while natural rubber is a common natural elastomer based on poly-cis-1,4-isoprene.