Teaching and Laboratory Staff

Research Interests

Current research areas and interests focuse on:

• Design, development and characterization of nanostructured and nanocomposite materials, including:

• • Porous metal-oxide and metal-chalcogenide based nanostructures
  • Chemical and structural modification of nanocomposite materials
• Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications, including:
  • Adsorption
  • Heterogeneous photocatalysis
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Environmental remediation
  • Conversion of solar energy into chemical compounds and solar fuels

 

Short Curriculum Vitae

Ioannis Vamvasakis received his Diploma in Environmental Engineering from the School of Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Crete (TUC) in 2007. He obtained a Master's Degree in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the Chemistry Department of the University of Crete (UOC) in 2010. In 2020, he completed his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Technology at the Department of Materials Science and Technology, UOC, with work on the development of mesoporous networks of metal-chalcogenide nanocrystals for photocatalytic applications and hydrogen fuel production. From 2020 to 2023, he served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Advanced Materials Chemistry (Prof. G. S. Armatas’s group) in the same department (now the Department of Materials Science and Engineering), where he was appointed as a Laboratory Teaching Staff member in 2023, specializing in "Materials Engineering for Environment and Energy".

 

Selected Publications

• K. Andreou, I. Vamvasakis & G.S. Armatas. High-Performance Mesoporous Catalysts of Ultrasmall Hexagonal Thiospinel Nanocrystals for Visible-Light Hydrogen Evolution. Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 11, 2300994 (2024).
• T T.D.C. Ha, H. Lee, I. Vamvasakis, G.S. Armatas, Y. Oh & M.-G. Kim. Recent Developments in Porous Metal Chalcogenides for Environmental Remediation and Sustainable Energy. EcoMat, 5, e12419 (2023)
• Vamvasakis, E.K. Andreou & G.S. Armatas. Mesoporous Dual-Semiconductor ZnS/CdS Nanocomposites as Efficient Visible Light Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Generation. Nanomaterials, 13, 2426 (2023).
• Bra, I. Vamvasakis, E.K. Andreou, G. Vailakis, G. Kopidakis, G.S. Armatas. Modulating Interfacial Charge Redistribution of Ni₂P/CuCo₂S₄ p-n Nano-heterojunctions for Efficient Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting. J. Hydrogen Energy, 48, 25300-25314 (2023).
• Patriarchea, I. Vamvasakis, E.D. Koutsouroubi & G.S. Armatas. Enhancing Interfacial Charge Transfer in Mesoporous MoS₂/CdS Nanojunction Architectures for Highly Efficient Visible-Light Photocatalytic Water Splitting. Inorg. Chem. Front., 9, 625–636 (2022).
• D. Koutsouroubi, I. Vamvasakis, M.G. Minotaki, I.T. Papadas, Ch. Drivas, S.A. Choulis, G. Kopidakis, S. Kennou & G.S. Armatas. Ni-doped MoS₂ Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride Layered Hetero-nanostructures as Highly Efficient Photocatalysts for Environmental Remediation. Appl. Catal. B: Environ., 297, 120419 (2021)
• Vamvasakis, I.T. Papadas, Th. Tzanoudakis, Ch. Drivas, S.A. Choulis, S. Kennou & G.S. Armatas. Visible-Light Photocatalytic H₂ Production Activity of β-Ni(OH)₂ Modified CdS Mesoporous Nano-Heterojunction Networks. ACS Catal., 8, 8726–8738 (2018).
• Vamvasakis, B. Liu & G.S. Armatas. Size Effects of Platinum Nanoparticles in the Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production over 3D Mesoporous Networks of CdS and Pt Nanojunctions. Adv. Funct. Mater., 26, 8062–8071 (2016).
• Vamvasakis, K.S. Subrahmanyam, M.G. Kanatzidis & G.S Armatas. Template-Directed Assembly of Metal-Chalcogenide Nanocrystals into Ordered Mesoporous Networks. ACS Nano, 9, 4419–4426 (2015).
• Vamvasakis, I. Georgaki, D. Vernardou, G. Kenanakis, N. Katsarakis. Synthesis of WO₃ catalytic powders: evaluation of photocatalytic activity under NUV/visible light irradiation and alkaline reaction pH. J. Sol-Gel Sci. Technol., 76, 120-128 (2015).
• Aivalioti, I. Vamvasakis, E. Gidarakos. BTEX and MTBE adsorption onto raw and thermally modified diatomite. J. Hazard. Mater., 178, 136-143 (2010).