Professor Laura M. Ilharco joins Pagliaro's Lab

Laura M. Ilharco and Mario Pagliaro scientific collaboration28-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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