Prof. Marco Bandini - Coordinator
E-mail: marco.bandini@unibo.it
at Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician"
Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna
via P. Gobetti, 85 - 40120 Bologna. Italy
Welcome to the home page of the Organometallic Chemistry Thematic Group
The Organometallic Chemistry Thematic Group (GICO) of the Italian Chemical Society aims to bring together researchers working in both organic and inorganic chemistry whose research focuses on the preparation, study of properties, structure, and reactivity of organometallic derivatives.
A bit of history: The Organometallic Chemistry Thematic Group was founded in the early 1990s on the initiative of a group of inorganic chemists led by Luciano Milone (Turin), on the occasion of the Interdivisional Congress of the Italian Chemical Society held in Chianciano (CISCI 91). The assembly of members of the Inorganic Chemistry Division, which promoted the initiative, elected Luigi Busetto (Bologna) as National Coordinator.
Formal recognition as a Thematic Group of the Italian Chemical Society took place in 1992, and the first National Coordinator served for the three-year period 1992–94. GICO soon attracted the participation of leading researchers from the organic chemistry community as well, as demonstrated by the succession of National Coordinators: Stefano Maiorana (Milan), Achille Panunzi (Naples), Sandro Cacchi (Rome), Pierluigi Rigo (Udine), Francesco Sannicolò (Milan), Marino Basato (Padua), Antonella Dalla Cort (Rome), Fabio Ragaini (Milan), Gianna Reginato (Florence), Andrea Biffis (Padua), and currently Marco Bandini (Bologna).
Activities: The Group is very active and organizes a biennial conference, CoGICO, which consistently attracts high attendance. The next edition is scheduled for 2026 in Bologna (https://www.cogico2026.it/
).
During the conference, two awards (the GICO Senior Award and the Bonati Award) are presented to researchers who have distinguished themselves through their work in the field. Starting from the CoGICO 2026 edition, the winners of the GICO 2025 Best PhD Thesis Awards will also be honored.
The GICO conference alternates with the prestigious International School of Organometallic Chemistry (ISOC – Camerino), which has a well-established international reputation and will reach its 15th edition in September 2025. The school is recognized by EuChemS as its official school of organometallic chemistry. The Group also collaborates in organizing the National School for PhD Students in Inorganic Chemistry, which every three years is dedicated to organometallic chemistry.
There is no doubt that organometallic chemistry represents a very important area of chemistry, as also demonstrated by the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to leading scientists in this field, such as Grubbs, Schrock, and Chauvin (2005), and Heck, Negishi, and Suzuki (2010).
The expertise in organic synthesis and in the chemical behavior of metals, which form the foundation of this discipline, has also enabled its expansion into new areas ranging from materials science to nanotechnology, biochemistry, and energy.
GICO was established to enhance the potential of organometallic chemistry in Italy by promoting the exchange of information among the various groups operating in the country and by fostering joint projects that make use of and further develop the interdisciplinary skills widespread among researchers in the field.
GICO is one of the largest interdivisional groups of the Italian Chemical Society and, from an administrative point of view, is affiliated with the Inorganic Chemistry Division.
Direttivo
Prof. Marco BANDINI - Coordinator
Dipartimento di Chimica "G. Ciamician"
Università di Bologna
via Gobetti 85, 40129 - Bologna
E-mail: marco.bandini@unibo.it
Prof. Vito CAPRIATI
Dip. di Farmacia/Scienza del Farmaco
Università di Bari "Aldo Moro"
via Orabona 4 - 70125 Bari
E-mail: vito.capriati@uniba.it
Prof. Emma GALLO - Vice coordinator
Dipartimento di Chimica
Università degli Studi di Milano
via Golgi 19 - 20133 Milano
E-mail: emma.gallo@unimi.it
Prof. Matteo MAURO
Dipartimento di Scienze Chimica - DISC
Università degli Studi di Padova
via Marzolo 1 - Padova
E-mail: matteo.mauro@unipd.it
Prof. Mina MAZZEO
Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia "Aldo Zambelli"/DCB - Università di Salerno
via G. Paolo II, 132, 84084 - Fisciano (Sa)
E-mail: mmazzeo@unisa.it
Prof. Elena PETRICCI
Dip. di Biotecnologia/Chimica/Farmacia
Università di Siena
via A. Moro, 53100 - Siena
E-mail: petricci@unisi.it
Prof. Francesco RUFFO - Delegato for the President of the Inorgani Chemistry Division
Dipartimento Scienze Chimiche
Università di Napoli Federico II
via Cintia, 80126 - Napoli
E-mail: ruffo@unina.it
Sostenitori
Notizie
Congressi
Scuole e Corsi
Premi e medaglie
Premi e medaglie
GICO Senior Award
Since 1992, the GICO Senior Award has been presented on a biennial basis to a distinguished Italian scientist who has made particularly significant scientific, innovative, or applied contributions in the field of organometallic chemistry, mainly at national research institutions.
The award consists of a personalized silver plaque and a certificate bearing the motivation for the award. As customary, the presentation of the prize takes place during the CoGICO Thematic Group conference.
GICO Junior Award (Bonati)
Since 1992, the GICO Junior–Bonati Award has been presented biennially to a young researcher who has distinguished themselves through original contributions of outstanding interest, including applied research, in the field of organometallic chemistry.
The award consists of a certificate stating the motivation for the award. As customary, the presentation of the prize takes place during the CoGICO Thematic Group conference.
Vincitori
Roll of Honour
1991 – GICO Award (sponsored by Bruker S.p.A.):
Roberto Gobetto, “High-resolution solid-state phosphorus-31 NMR in organometallic chemistry” (Chianciano, 6–11 October).
GICO Senior Award
1992 – Gian Paolo Chiusoli, “Metal-catalyzed organic syntheses involving metals in different oxidation states” (Camerino, 9–12 September);
1994 – Fausto Calderazzo, “Organometallic chemistry as a science of innovation in the scientific and technological fields: properties of the metal–carbon bond at the boundary between main-group and transition elements” (Marina di Ascea, 18–21 September);
1996 – Fernando Montanari, “Synthetic metalloporphyrins as biomimetic catalysts for oxidation reactions: dreams and facts” (Siena, 3–6 July);
1998 – Paolo Corradini, “Regio- and stereoselectivity in Ziegler–Natta catalyzed polymerizations” (Udine, 16–19 September);
2000 – Giorgio Modena, “From organic chemistry to organometallic chemistry: the experience of an organic chemist” (Rimini, 4–9 June);
2002 – Achille Panunzi, “A contribution to the chemistry of olefin metal complexes” (Venice, 1–3 July);
2004 – Stefano Maiorana, “Carbonyl complexes of transition metals: from organic synthesis to bio-organometallic chemistry” (Cetraro, 1–3 October);
2006 – Claudio Bianchini, “Is a background in organometallic chemistry required to boost innovation and sustainability in applied chemistry?” (Parma, 9–12 July);
2008 – Serafino Gladiali, “Metal–ligand interplay in metal-promoted asymmetric reactions: a never-ending story” (Perugia, 25–28 June);
2010 – Rinaldo Poli, “Interplay of associative and dissociative one-electron processes in organometallic chemistry: access to precision polymers with controlled functionality” (Florence, 8–11 June);
2012 – Claudio Trombini, “Organometallic process design for the solution of synthetic challenges” (Padua, 5–8 June);
2014 – Marta Catellani, “Palladium/norbornene catalysis in organic synthesis” (Milan, 24–27 June);
2016 – Enrico Marcantoni, “The cerium–carbon bond in useful organometallic reagents for the synthesis of biologically relevant small molecules” (Genoa, 5–8 June);
2018 – Roberto Gobetto, “Applications of polypyridyl metal complexes in biology and catalysis” (Florence, 18–20 July);
2020 – Emanuela Licandro, “An organic chemist’s journey into the wonderful world of metals” (online);
2022 – Dominique Roberto, “Cyclometallated complexes: versatile actors in photonics” (Rimini, 28 August–2 September);
2024 – Bartolo Gabriele, “Organometallic catalysis applied to the synthesis of high value-added compounds: the contribution of the Industrial and Synthetic Organic Chemistry Research Group of the University of Calabria” (Milan, 24–28 August).
Bonati Award
1992 – Valerio Zanotti, “Fischer-type carbene ligands in iron dinuclear complexes” (Camerino, 9–12 September);
1994 – Claudio Pellecchia, “Novel cationic zirconium benzyl complexes: unusual structural features and reactivity with olefins” (Marina di Ascea, 18–21 September);
1996 – Dominique Roberto, “The silica surface: an unusual reaction medium for high-yield and selective syntheses of carbonyl clusters and related metal carbonyl compounds” (Siena, 3–6 July);
1998 – Claudio Pettinari, “Organometallic compounds of tetravalent tin with P-, S-, O-, and N-donor ligands: a playground for X-ray, IR, NMR, and Mössbauer studies” (Udine, 16–19 September);
2000 – Francesco Ruffo, “Recent achievements in the synthesis and reactivity of Pt⁰ and Pt²⁺ olefin complexes” (Rimini, 4–9 June);
2002 – Marco Bandini, “Asymmetric syntheses mediated by chiral organometallic catalysts” (Venice, 1–3 July);
2004 – Claudia Graiff, “Some synthetic and reactivity aspects of phosphane-substituted selenido metal complexes” (Cetraro, 1–3 October);
2006 – Cristiano Zuccaccia, “Interionic structure in solution of transition-metal complex ion pairs studied by NOE and PGSE NMR methods” (Parma, 9–12 July);
2008 – Andrea Rossin, “A combined experimental and DFT approach to the analysis of dihydrogen activation by water-soluble ruthenium complexes” (Perugia, 25–28 June);
2010 – Miriam Mba, “C₃-symmetric amine triphenolate complexes: effective oxidation catalysts” (Florence, 8–11 June);
2012 – Daniele Zuccaccia, “Determination of the solution supramolecular structure of organometallic catalysts through NMR spectroscopy” (Padua, 5–8 June);
2014 – Silvia Cauteruccio, “From direct C–H arylation of azoles to the synthesis of chiral helical phosphorus ligands: a journey through the eclectic world of organometallic catalysis” (Milan, 24–27 June);
2016 – Gabriele Manca, “Electron transfer in organometallic chemistry and catalysis: integrated computational and experimental studies” (Genoa, 5–8 June);
2018 – Alessio Dessì, “Tailored synthesis of organic photosensitizers: the study of thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole-based molecules” (Florence, 18–20 July);
2020 – Marco Baron, “A tale of gold complexes with di(N-heterocyclic carbene) (diNHC) ligands” (online);
2022 – Gianluigi Albano, “Infrared irradiation-assisted palladium-catalyzed direct and cross-dehydrogenative coupling for the formation of (hetero)aryl–aryl bonds” (Rimini, 28 August–2 September);
2024 – Francesco Zaccaria, “Aluminum cocatalysts for olefin polymerization: methylaluminoxane and its ‘molecular cousins’” (Milan, 24–28 August).