Research Interest

SCIENTIFIC DOMAINS

Synthetic organic and main fields of Coordination Chemistry, Structural Chemistry, Crystal Engineering, Catalysis, and Electrochemistry. My research generally starts with the design, synthesis and structural characterization of novel coordination compounds (CCs), coordination polymers (CPs)  and/or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) then evolving to their eventual application as heterogeneous catalysts (towards added-value products), in wastewater treatment (removal of pollutants), or as potential pharmaceuticals or biocidal compounds and as functional materials for energy storage and conversion reactions.

• Energy storage and conversion reactions [oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)].

• The removal of organic pollutants for waster water treatment. 

• Catalysis under mild conditions and preferably in aqueous medium (cyanosilylation of aldehydes; cyanation of acetals; VOCs, alcohols, cyclohexane, styrene oxidation; nitroaldol coupling; Knoevenagel and tandem deacetalization–Knoevenagel reactions).

• The research interests include the utilisation/conversion of CO2 (e.g., catalytic coupling with epoxides to form organic carbonates)

EXPERTISE

• Reactions under hydro/solvothermal conditions.

• Reactions under inert atmosphere (Schlenk techniques)

• Handler of the following analytical characterization techniques: multinuclear magnetic resonance (1H, 13C, 31P, 119Sn, 195Pt NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), UV/Vis spectroscopy, Fluorescence, thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyzer, Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and gas chromatography (GC).

• Analyzer of data obtained with the previously indicated analytical techniques, plus: differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).