Valentina Mameli earned her Bachelor's degree in Materials Science at the University of Cagliari in 2009 with a thesis titled “Characterization of geological samples of Sardinian obsidian” and graduated with full marks (110/110 with honors). At the same university, in 2012, she obtained her Master's degree in Chemical Sciences (specialization in Materials Chemistry) with a thesis titled “Obsidian from Monte Arci: provenance study using portable X-ray Fluorescence and structural and magnetic characterization,” also graduating with full marks and honors. These theses resulted from a collaboration between Professor Carla Cannas from the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences of the University of Cagliari and Professor Carlo Lugliè from the same university. In 2016, she earned a PhD in Chemical Sciences and Technologies at the University of Cagliari with a dissertation titled “Colloidal CoFe2O4-based nanoparticles for Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia”. Her research activity was carried out within the research group of Professors Carla Cannas and Anna Musinu in the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences at the University of Cagliari. During her studies, she spent two periods abroad: at Charles University of Prague (Czech Republic) in 2011 and at University College London (United Kingdom) between 2013 and 2014 (6 months), respectively under the supervision of Professor Daniel Niznansky and Professor Nguyen T. K. Thanh. During her PhD, she undertook several short research stays at the Institute of Structure of Matter (ISM) of the National Research Council (CNR) (Montelibretti site) and at the Molecular Magnetism Laboratory of the University of Florence, under the supervision of Professor Davide Peddis and PhD Claudio Sangregorio.

In addition to her academic degrees, she attended the Europroject Management Master 2014–2020 organized by EuropaCube Innovation Business School @EU Innovation srl and the Advanced Managerial Training Master in Integrated Management Systems for Quality, Environment, Energy, and Safety organized by ISTUM - Istituto di Studi di Management srl, obtaining the respective diplomas in 2017. She has attended several scientific schools on experimental design and multivariate analysis, powder diffraction, nanomedicine, neutron scattering, magnetic materials, cultural heritage and prehistoric obsidian production, as well as various training courses in European funding programs and project writing.

She has conducted research in the field of magnetic nanomaterials and studies on arsenic speciation and mobility in solid matrices, holding research grant positions at the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences at the University of Cagliari from May 2016 to July 2019. She then began working at the same department as a fixed-term Researcher - type A from August 2019 to July 2022 for the project named CULT-GEOCHIM, funded by resources from the PON AIM (National Operational Program Research and Innovation 2014 – 2020 - Action I.2 - Ministerial Decree No. 407 of 27 February 2018 “Attraction and International Mobility”), with activities related to archaeometric studies and characterization of raw materials used in the production of archaeological artifacts or items of historical-artistic interest. Since October 2, 2023, she has been a fixed-term Researcher - type B at the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences at the University of Cagliari and carries out her activities within the Solid State Chemistry and Nanomaterials research group in collaboration with Professor Carla Cannas and PhD Fausto Secci.

She has undertaken several research periods from 2020 to 2024 at Charles University of Prague (Czech Republic), also within the Young Researchers Mobility program, and at the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research (IPF) in Dresden (Germany). She is the author of 44 scientific articles published in international journals since 2015, with a total of 792 citations on Scopus and 829 on Web of Science, and an H-index of 15. She has also contributed to a book chapter and several conference proceedings. She has presented oral and poster contributions at various international and national conferences, including one invited talk and two selected contributions.

She has participated or currently participates in various projects in different roles:

• Principal Investigator (FdS - Advances in porous sorbents and catalysts for synthetic natural gas production by H2S removal and COx methanation (2025–2027))
• Operative referent (RAS - Hybrid Nanocarriers based on hydroxychloroquine as therapeutic agents for SARS-CoV-2 (2022–2023))
• Proposal member (PNRR - FITCATCO2: Hybrid Textile Filters with optimized porosity for CO2 capture (2025); Eni S.p.A. - Combination of highly porous materials with membranes based on polymerizable ionic liquids for selective CO2 capture from diluted CO2 flows (2023–2025); MASE - Production of green H2 from seawater via innovative high-temperature electrolyzer integrated into a power-to-methanol process (2022–2025); Sotacarbo S.p.A. - Consulting on development of innovative sorbent processes and materials for CO2 separation from air (2023–2025); Fluorsid S.p.A. - Consulting on synthesis and characterization of silica and fluorite produced from industrial waste (2022–2024); FdS - Smart supramolecular Materials for Anion sensing and Water Remediation (2021–2023))

• Research Participant (Research fellow within the activities of the RAS project - Center of Excellence for Environmental Sustainability (CESA) – Sulcis Plan (2016–2025))

She served as Guest Editor of the Special Issue titled “Nanostructured iron-based spinel oxides: synthesis, characterization, properties and applications” for the journal Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies (American Scientific Publishers) and is currently curating the Special Issue titled “Synthesis, Physicochemical Characterization and Application of Nanostructured Metals and Metal Oxides” for the journal Nanomaterials (MDPI).

She has been a member of the Order of Chemists and Physicists of the Province of Cagliari, Nuoro, and Oristano since 2019, affiliated with the National Interuniversity Consortium for Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), and a member of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI).

Her main scientific interests include:

• Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials for environmental applications, such as sorbents for the removal of contaminants or toxic substances from gas mixtures (H2S from syngas, CO2 from air) or aqueous solutions (metals and metalloids)
• Magnetic nanoparticles for heat release
• Study of magnetic properties of iron-based materials, including nanocomposites
• Chemical and physical characterization of materials found in historically and architecturally significant areas and archaeological sites, and reference geomaterials in archaeometric investigations
• Studies on arsenic and heavy metal speciation and mobility in soils from disused mining sites and surrounding areas through sequential extraction processes (a newly initiated research field)
• Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials for the conservation and restoration of Cultural Heritage and/or for use in diagnostic and characterization methodologies (newly initiated research field)

Over the years, she has developed knowledge and skills in synthesizing nanostructured materials through precipitation methods, surfactant-assisted thermal decomposition, solvothermal and hydrothermal methods, sol-gel methods, and their characterization using spectroscopic, diffractometric, and microscopic techniques: Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD) with structural refinement using the Rietveld method, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) in transmission and reflectance (ATR/DRIFT), Mössbauer Spectroscopy of 57Fe, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) also coupled with microanalysis (EDXS). Additionally, her research involves Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Dynamic and Electrophoretic Light Scattering (DLS/ELS), and magnetometric analyses (DC/AC).

(Updated on July 30, 2025)