R&D Materials
Advanced Porous Materials
Multifunctional materials for energy, the environment and health
What we do?
The Advanced Porous Materials Unit focuses on the development of novel multifunctional materials, including hybrid materials such as MOFs (Metal–Organic Frameworks), COFs (Covalent Organic Frameworks), carbon materials, perovskites, oxides, metal nanoparticles and a wide range of composites, as well as their modification to address current technological and societal challenges.
Through comprehensive characterisation and optimisation, the Unit seeks to understand and improve the physicochemical properties of these materials for applications in areas of major socioeconomic relevance, including energy, the environment and health.
The Unit also works on the scale-up and shaping of these materials to ensure their viability in real-world applications.
Team members
Research Areas
- Fuel cells and electrolysers: novel ion-conducting materials.
- Energy production and storage: photo(electro)active materials.
- Environment: adsorbent and catalytic materials.
- Health: biomaterials.
Facilities
The Unit has extensive capabilities for organic and inorganic synthesis, including high-throughput solvothermal synthesis, microwave-assisted synthesis, sonochemistry, continuous-flow synthesis, spray drying, supercritical CO₂ processing, spin coating and pressing.
It also has access to comprehensive physicochemical characterisation techniques, including diffraction, spectroscopy, microscopy and textural analysis, with particular emphasis on nanomaterials through techniques such as Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), zeta potential measurements, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).
For therapeutic validation, the Unit has access to a cell culture laboratory, flow cytometry, ex vivo permeation chambers, facilities for handling cytostatic agents and/or pathogenic biological agents, and accredited animal experimentation facilities.
Its capabilities for catalytic and environmental assessment include pressure reactors, Xe UV lamps and LEDs, continuous-flow systems, and chromatography techniques including ion chromatography, GC-PID/TCD, HPLC-PDA/fluorescence and LC-MS, among others.
Together with an interdisciplinary team comprising chemists, engineers, physicists, pharmacists and biologists, these facilities enable the Unit to continuously advance its research objectives.
Projects
BioMOFtion
CMOFs4water-CM
HYDRAGON
HYLIOS
MAD VUELA SOSTENIBLE
NAPOLION
noPFAS
Publications
Proton conducting materials: fuel cells
1.P. Salcedo-Abraira, S.M.F. Vilela, N. Ureña, F. Salles, A. Várez, P. Horcajada, Ion-exchanged UPG-1 as a potential electrolyte for fuel cells, Inorg. Chem, 2021, 60, 16, 11803–11812
Semiconducting materials: photovoltaics
2. A. Babaryk, Y. Pérez, M. Martínez, M.E.G. Mosquera, M.H. Zehender, S.A. Svatek, E. Antolín, P. Horcajada, Reversible dehydration-hydration process in stable bismuth-based hybrid perovskites J. Mater. Chem. C 2021, 9, 11358-67
Photo/electroactive materials: energy storage and production
3. A Pendashteh, S. M. F. Vilela, I Krivtsov, D Ávila-Brande, J Palma, P. Horcajada*, R Marcilla*, Bimetal ZIF-9-Derived N-doped Porous Carbons as Efficient Oxygen Electrocatalysts for Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries, J Power Sources, 2019, 427, 299-308
4. P Salcedo-Abraira, A A. Babaryk, E Montero-Lanzuela, O R. Contreras-Almengor, M Cabrero-Antonio, T Willhammar, E Svensson Grape, A Kentaro, S Bals, S Navalón, E Elkäim, H García, P. Horcajada. A novel Ti-squarate IEF-11 as efficient photocatalyst for the overall water splitting under simulated sunlight irradiation in water splitting reaction Adv. Mater., 2021, 33(52), 2106627
Adsorbent and catalytic materials: biomedical applications
5. C. Fernández-Paz, S. Rojas, P. Salcedo-Abraira, C. Remuñán-López, P. Horcajada, Metal-Organic Framework microspheres formulation for pulmonary administration, ACS App. Mater. Inter. 2020, 12(23), 25676-25682
6. S Rojas, T Hidalgo, Z Luo, D. Avila, A Laromaine, P. Horcajada, Pushing the limits on the intestinal crossing of Metal Organic Frameworks: an ex vivo and in vivo detailed study, ACS Nano. 2022, DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c10942
Adsorbent and catalytic materials: environmental applications
7. A. Arenas-Vivo, S. Rojas, I. Ocaña, A. Torres, M. Liras, F. Salles, D. Arenas-Esteban, S. Bals, D. Ávila, P. Horcajada, Ultrafast reproducible synthesis of an Ag-nanocluster@MOF composite and its superior visible-photocatalytic activity in batch and continuous flow, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2021, 9, 15704 – 15713
8 Patent P201931095: Redes metal-orgánicas a base de pireno-fosfonato. Filed 11/12/2019 (OEPM). Owner: Fundación IMDEA Energía. Inventors: Horcajada, P.; Salcedo, P.; Rojas, S.; Felipe-Vilela, S.
