28-Mar-2017
- Recognizing the excellence of their prolonged collaboration, Portugal's
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia has granted
Professor
Laura
M. Ilharco its support to spend part of her
sabbatical
at Italy's Research Council Institute of Nanostructured Materials premises
in Palermo.
So far the Groups of Ilharco in Portugal and
Pagliaro
in Italy have
published together
one book chapter and 16 research papers, 4 of which were awarded the
covers of journals such as
Chemistry of
Materials,
Nanoscale,
ChemCatChem
and
ChemistryOpen. Along with
the broad field of silica-based sol-gel materials developed for a variety
of applications (catalysis, sensing, curing, antifouling), the researches
of the two teams have lately extended to
bio-based
products.
Between early April and the end of May, Professor Ilharco will work in
Sicily sharing with
young researchers
her world's class expertise in the field of sol-gel
nanocomposite materials, as well as in the characterization of
all sort of materials through elegant techniques such as DRIFT
spectroscopy. "
Hosting one of Europe's
leading physical chemists", comments Pagliaro, "
will
strenghten scientific research and advanced
education in Sicily offering
young researchers a new learning and research opportunities in the key
sector of nanoscale science and technology".
Professor of Physical Chemistry and Spectroscopy at Instituto Superior
Técnico, University of Lisboa, Dr Ilharco also lectures regular
postgraduate
courses on sol-gel materials at Portuguese and Mexican universities. Her
research on functional silica-based
nanomaterials,
tailored for numerous specific purposes, is carried out at the Centro de
Química-Física Molecular and Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
She has contributed to more than 100 international scientific
publications. In 2003 she was awarded the Solvay Ideas Challenge prize.
Started in 2005, with the article "
Enhancing
Selectivity in Oxidation Catalysis with Sol-Gel Nanocomposites"
published by
Organic & Biomolecular
Chemistry, the collaboration has
smoothly
continued up to present day. Their joint article "High Quality Essential
Oils Extracted by an Eco-Friendly Process from Different Citrus and Fruit
Parts" is currently undergoing peer-review.
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