Federica Maria Camilla FerrutiResearcher

About me

Since April 2024, Federica has joined the sustainable material chemistry group (SUSMATCHEM) as Researcher under the supervision of Prof. Mika Sipponen and co-supervision of Dr. Ievgen Pylypchuk.

She is involved in the TREECURE project funded by the Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse under the Wallenberg Launch Pad (WALP) Proof-of-Concept initiative. The project aims at developing bio-based adhesives for eco-friendly materials, free from formaldehyde and phenol, and meeting industrial standards. This project aligns with the commitment of the group to industrial renewal and sustainability.

Education and Experience

Federica graduated in Chemistry at Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy) with a thesis on polymer chemistry.

She received her PhD in Materials Science and Nanothecnology at Università degli Studi di Milano - Bicocca (Italy) with a project in collaboration with Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. The research was focused on the chemical modification of natural compounds to be used as reinforcing fillers tailored to green-by-design rubber composites. During her PhD, in the frame of the Erasmus+ Traineeship programme, she completed a 6-month traineeship on functional materials based on colloidal lignin in Prof. Mika Sipponen’s SUSMATCHEM research group. 

In 2022, Federica joined the R&D department of Stahl, a multinational chemical company devoted to speciality coatings and treatments for flexible substrates. She studied and developed sustainable solutions for the wet-end treatment of leather, with a particular focus to retanning and waterproofing leather.

Thanks to her experience, she has developed a strong knowledge in polymer science with a particular focus on structural elucidation, chemical and mechanical characterisation techniques, including Infrared Spectroscopy (IR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Tensile Testing, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA).

List of selected publications

1) Ferruti, Federica; Pylypchuk, Ievgen; Zoia, Luca; Lange, Heiko; Orlandi, Marco; Moreno, Adrian; Sipponen,
Mika. “Recombinatorial approach for the formation of surface-functionalised alkaline-stable lignin nanoparticles
and adhesives.” Green Chem. 25, no. 2 (2023): 639-649. DOI: 10.1039/D2GC03406A.

2) Salanti, Anika; Orlandi, Marco; Lange, Heiko; Ferruti, Federica; Zoia, Luca. “Phenolic Group Distribution
as a Function of Molecular Weight in Lignins and Their Fractions.” ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 10, no. 35,
(August 2022): 11680- 11691. https://doi-org.unimib.idm.oclc.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c03774. 

3) Ferruti, Federica; Alongi, Jenny; Manfredi, Amedea; Ranucci, Elisabetta; Ferruti, Paolo. “Controlled
synthesis of linear polyamidoamino acids.” Polymers 11, no. 8 (August 2019): 1324-1334.
DOI:10.3390/polym11081324.