Profile: Giacomo Filippini grew up in Fossombrone, Italy. In 2011, he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Chemistry with highest honors (110 cum laude) from the University of Bologna. During his time in Professor Alfredo Ricci's research laboratory, under the supervision of Professor Luca Bernardi, he worked on developing enantioselective catalytic strategies promoted by small chiral organic molecules. He subsequently earned his Master’s Degree in Industrial Chemistry (110 cum laude, 2012–2013 academic year) from the same institution. Specifically, in Professor Paolo Righi's laboratory, supervised by Professor Giorgio Bencivenni, he investigated the reactivity of α,β-unsaturated ketones using aminocatalytic strategies. In November 2013, he joined Professor Paolo Melchiorre's group at ICIQ in Tarragona, Spain, to pursue his doctoral studies. The primary objective of his PhD research was combining photochemistry and organocatalysis—two powerful activation modes—to efficiently develop sustainable carbon-carbon bond-forming transformations. In 2015, he completed a research stay in Professor Oliver Kappe's group at the University of Graz, Austria, focusing on photo-organocatalytic transformations under flow conditions. This collaboration allowed him to master flow chemistry, a versatile synthetic methodology widely applied in industrial processes. At the end of 2017, he successfully defended his PhD thesis (cum laude, 2017–2018 academic year) and subsequently took up a postdoctoral position in the Carbon Nanotechnology Group, led by Professor Maurizio Prato at the University of Trieste. There, he worked on developing new catalytic organic transformations, focusing on the design, synthesis, and characterization of carbon-based nano-organocatalytic systems such as carbon nitrides and carbon dots. In April 2021, he became a Junior Assistant Professor (RTD-a) in the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DSCF) at the University of Trieste, later advancing to Senior Assistant Professor (RTD-b) within the same department in October 2023. At Trieste, his research centers on designing novel catalytic organic transformations to address open challenges in synthetic chemistry. As a lecturer, he has taught courses across all academic levels and supervised numerous Master's, PhD, and visiting students. He also brings extensive administrative and scientific management experience to the department, having served as the scientific supervisor for the NMR facility in 2021. Since 2024, he has acted as the Erasmus Coordinator in Chemistry for inter-institutional agreements with Austrian universities in Graz (University of Graz and Graz University of Technology). Engaged in several prominent scientific organizations, he joined the Scientific Committee of the "Luciano Fonda" University College of Merit in Trieste (recognized by the Italian Ministry of University and Research) in 2025 and was elected to the Executive Board of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI) Friuli Venezia Giulia Section for the 2026–2028 term. Additionally, he has been a member of the SCI Organic Chemistry Division since 2015, a fellow of the Accademia Marchigiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti since 2023, and affiliated with the National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM) since 2025. Between 2021 and 2025, he actively contributed to numerous national and international research projects as Principal Investigator, participant, or external collaborator.

Awards and Recognitions: In 2014, he was the recipient of the "XXIV Award Guido Paolucci" as the best student of the School of Sciences at the Università di Bologna in the school year 2012-2013. In 2014, he could secure a highly competitive PhD fellowship awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, connected with the Severo Ochoa Excellence Accreditation program. Moreover, in 2022 he was selected as a "Young Researcher to Watch" by the international journal EurJOC, and in 2024 as "2024 Nanoscale Emerging Investigator" by the international journal Nanoscale. In 2023, he was selected as a Member of the European Cultural Institute "Accademia Marchigiana di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti". In 2024, he has been the recipient of the “Giacomo Ciamician Medal" of the Italian Chemical Society. In 2024, he received the national scientific habilitation to Associate Professorship of Organic Chemistry. In 2025, he was selected as member of the Editorial Board of the international journal Chemistry-Methods (Publisher: John Wiley & Sons). In 2025, he received the national scientific habilitation to Full Professorship of Organic Chemistry. In 2026, he has been selected as a “Thieme Journals Awardee 2026” by the international journals SYNTHESIS, SYNLETT, SYNFACTS, SynOpen, and Sustainability & Circularity NOW.

Areas of Expertise

● Organic Chemistry ● Photochemistry ● Asymmetric Catalysis ● Organocatalysis ● Radical Chemistry

● Materials Science ● Flow Chemistry

Research Overview: ​Our research activity aims at designing and developing novel catalytic organic transformations which address unsolved problems in synthetic chemistry. The final goal is therefore the production of effective, inexpensive and safe catalytic systems that will find widespread use in modern organic synthesis. Research work focuses on:

1. Photocatalysis with Aromatic Compounds: Recently, aromatic compounds have emerged as a reliable class of metal-free photoredox catalysts. Indeed, the great structural variety of these compounds combined with the easy fine-tuning of their electronic properties has unlocked new possibilities for the generation of reactive intermediates under mild operative conditions.

 2. Carbon Dots as Nano-Organocatalysts: Carbon nanodots (CDs) are photo-active carbon-based nanoparticles with sizes below 10 nm. Generally, CDs consist of carbon cores that are surrounded by shells containing numerous polar groups such as carboxylic acids, alcohols, and amines. Our research is focused on the study of CDs synthesis, characterization and modification for their use as (photo)catalysts in organic chemistry.

 3. Catalysis Based on 2D-Materials: Metal-free 2D nanomaterials possess high appeal due to their improved cost-effectiveness and lower toxicity with respect to many inorganic structures. The outstanding electronic characteristics of some metal-free 2D semiconductors have projected them into the world of organic synthesis, where they can function as catalysts to drive the sustainable synthesis of high-value organic molecules.

Selected Publications:

1. G. Filippini, M. Silvi, P. Melchiorre*, “Enantioselective Formal α-Methylation and α-Benzylation of Aldehydes by Means of Photo-Organocatalysis”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2017, 56, 4447-4451. 

2. C. Rosso, G. Filippini*, M. Prato*, “Carbon Dots as Nano-Organocatalysts for Synthetic Applications”, ACS Catalysis, 2020, 10, 8090-8105.

3. G. Filippini*, F. Amato, C. Rosso, G. Ragazzon*, A. Vega-Peñaloza, X. Companyó*, L. Dell’Amico, M. Bonchio, M. Prato*, “Mapping the Surface Groups of Amine-Rich Carbon Dots Enables Covalent Catalysis in Aqueous Media”, Chem, 2020, 6, 3022-3037.

4. G. Filippini, F. Longobardo, L. Forster, A. Criado, G. Di Carmine, L. Nasi, C. D’Agostino, M. Melchionna*, P. Fornasiero*, M. Prato*, “Light-Driven, Heterogeneous Organocatalysts for C-C-Bond Formation Towards Valuable Perfluoroalkylated Intermediates”, Sci. Adv., 2020, 6, eabc9923.

5. C. Rosso, G. Filippini, A. Criado, M. Melchionna*, P. Fornasiero, M. Prato*, “Metal-Free Photocatalysis: Two-Dimensional Nanomaterial Connection toward Advanced Organic Synthesis”, ACS  Nano, 2021, 15, 3621-3630.

6. C. Rosso, S. Cuadros, G. Barison, P. Costa, M. Kurbasic, M. Bonchio, M. Prato, L. Dell’Amico*, G. Filippini*, “Unveiling the Synthetic Potential of Substituted Phenols as Fully Recyclable Organophotoredox Catalysts for the Iodosulfonylation of Olefins”, ACS Catalysis, 2022, 12, 4290-4295.

7. M. Marchi, E. Raciti, S. M. Gali, F. Piccirilli, H. Vondracek, A. Actis, E. Salvadori, C. Rosso, A. Criado, C. D’Agostino, L. Forster, D. Lee, A. C. Foucher, R. K. Rai, D. Beljonne, E. A. Stach, M. Chiesa, R. Lazzaroni, G. Filippini*, M. Prato, M. Melchionna*, P. Fornasiero*, “Carbon Vacancies Steer the Activity in Dual Ni Carbon Nitride Photocatalysis”, Adv. Sci. 2023, 10, 2303781.

8. G. Gentile, M. Morant-Giner, L. Cardo, M. Melchionna, P. Fornasiero, M. Prato, G. Filippini*, “DoE-Assisted Development of a 2H-MoS₂-Catalyzed Approach for the Production of Indole Derivatives”, ChemSusChem, 2023, e202300831.

9. A. Carioscia, E. Cocco, M. E. Casacchia, G. Giuseppe, M. Mamone, G. Giorgianni, E. Incerto, M. Prato*, F. Pesciaioli*, G. Filippini*, A. Carlone*, “Nitrogen-Rich Carbon Dots as Effective Catalysts in the 1,4-Reduction of α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes via Ion pair Asymmetric Nano-Organocatalysis”, ACS Catalysis, 2024, 14, 13429−13438.

10. L. Morbiato, L. Cardo, E. Sturabotti, P. Gobbo*, G. Filippini*, M. Prato*, “Structure Matters: Tailored Graphitization of Carbon Dots Enhances Photocatalytic Performance”, ACS Nano, 2025, 19, 4887−4900.

11. M. Mamone, G. Gentile, M. Prato*, G. Filippini*, “Phenol-Rich Carbon Dots as Metal-Free Nano-Photocatalysts for [3+2] Cycloaddition Reactions”, ChemSusChem, 2025, e202500521.

12. L. Morbiato, M. Sbacchi, J. Dosso, P. Pengo, P. Gobbo*, G. Filippini*, M. Prato*, “Going Deep into the Surface Chemistry of Carbon Dot: Influence of Functional Groups on the Redox Abilities”, Small, 2026, DOI: 10.1002/smll.202514420.

For the full list of publications, please, refer to Google Scholar - link: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pMlMU8MAAAAJ&hl=it&oi=sra

He has also acted as a Reviewer for many reputed journals, including Accounts of Chemical Research, Chem, ACS Nano, Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Small, ACS Catalysis and Chemical Science. 

Positions:
- Post-doc positions: We are always looking for passionate researchers. The preferred way to join the group is to apply for external funding together. For instance, European fellowships are often available.
- PhD positions: If you are a talented and well-prepared student with experience in organic synthesis, catalysis and materials science, please contact us. Fellowships are available every year from the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DSCF) of the University of Trieste. 
- Master Students: Positions for experimental thesis are usually available over the year. Please contact us in advance (from 5 to 6 months).