Karapanagiotis Ioannis

Ioannis Karapanagiotis is Professor at the Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Technology. He earned his diploma in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1995) and his PhD from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, USA (2000). He is the author or co-author of more than 100 articles and chapters published in international journals and books and participated in more than 200 conferences. He is member of Editorial Boards in scientific journals (e.g. Coatings, Heritage MDPI), co-editor of two collective volumes (Springer) and guest editor in five Special Issues of journals.

His research interests are divided into three Scientific Areas:

Ι. Coatings of extreme wetting properties

• Materials: superhydrophobic & water-repellent biomimetic coatings; oleophobic & oil-repellent coatings; multifunctional coatings.
• Research objective: development of methods for the production of coatings with extreme wetting properties; study of the interaction mechanisms of liquids with solid surfaces; improvement of the properties of advanced coatings. The applications of these coatings correspond to a wide range e.g. fabrics, buildings, glass, separation membranes, water harvesting, drop manipulation etc.

ΙΙ. Advanced materials for cultural heritage conservation

• Materials: advanced coatings and consolidants; self-cleaning; antimicrobial & nanocomposite materials; nanoparticles; gels; microemulsions.
• Research objective: production of the above materials with appropriate and controlled properties to become suitable for the protection and preservation of cultural heritage objects and monuments. Moreover, the same materials are used in several other applications.

ΙΙΙ. Chemistry and technology of materials and objects of the cultural heritage

• Materials-objects: stone; marble; paintings (portable & murals); textiles; manuscripts; metals; ceramics.
• Research objective: development of new chemical methods for the identification of materials and the study of objects of the cultural heritage; investigation of ageing mechanisms; application of integrated strategies for the study of heritage objects using microscopy, spectrometry and chromatography.