Affiliation: Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ). Universidad Politécnica de Valencia

Fields or areas of research Catálisis Heterogénea aplicada a la Síntesis Orgánica

After completing my degree in chemistry at the Universitat de València, from October 2008 to December 2013, I started my PhD. studies at the ITQ (CSIC-Universitat Politécnica de València) funded by a FPU fellowship from the Spanish government and under the supervision of Prof. Avelino Corma and Dr. Antonio Leyva. I obtained the highest mark (cum laude) and my work was recognized with the extraordinary UPV thesis award and the prize from the Real Academia de Doctores de España 2014. My research was mainly focused in the development of novel iron-, gold- and copper-based catalysts and their application in multiple C-C bond activations towards hydroaddition reactions. Next, I performed my 1st postdoctoral stage in the same group until September 2014, working on the use of zeolites as catalysts for complex organic synthesis (this research was recognized at the XI edition of the scientific-technical award "Ciutat d'Algemesí") and the development of heterogeneous iron nanocatalysts for the selective hydrogenation of alkynes. Subsequently, from October 2014 to April 2017, I carried out a postdoctoral stay at the LIKAT (Rostock, Germany) in Prof. Matthias Beller's group with a competitive grant from the Ramón Areces foundation. My research in Germany was mainly focused on the design of new homogeneous metal catalysts and the study of their catalytic activity in hydrogenative functionalization processes of carboxylic acid derivatives. Next, I came back to Prof. Corma's group in May 2017 with a Juan de la Cierva Incorporación contract working on the design of new nanostructured materials and their application for redox-type organic reactions. After being granted with a Ramón y Cajal contract, since May 2019 I began to develop my independent research line at the ITQ focused on the rational design of solid metal nanocatalysts and their use in functionalization processes of carboxylic acid derivatives and CO2. Related with this line of work, in July of the same year I obtained a SEJI 2019 project of the Generalitat Valenciana and more recently a RETOS I+D+i project from the Spanish government, both as unique IP. This funding currently allows me to supervise up to four PhD. thesis.