Combining solid-state NMR and computational methods: from inorganic to biomaterials

Recent breakthroughs in instrumentation and methodology have positioned solid-state NMR spectroscopy to the forefront of atomic-level characterization of increasingly complex solid substrates across diverse research areas. However, such state-of-the-art methods rely on the use of sophisticated and costly equipment that is only available in a handful of national/international facilities, such as the Portuguese NMR Center in Aveiro.

Mariana Sardo received a BSc in Physics and Chemistry (2005) and a PhD in Chemistry (2009), both from the University of Aveiro, followed by postdoctoral training at ETH - Zurich (2010). Soon after, she joined the NMR group at CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials, Chemistry Department where she is currently an assistant researcher. Her work is focused on the use of solid-state NMR methods for the characterization of pharmaceutical systems and porous materials (in particular, gas-solid interactions in modified porous solid sorbents with potential for gas sorption and micro and mesoporous systems relevant to heterogeneous catalysis).

Luís Mafra, Principal Researcher at CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, is an expert in solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In 2006, he obtained his PhD, from the University of Aveiro & University of Caen, specializing in the development of high-resolution NMR methods to observe 1H and quadrupolar nuclei in hybrid materials. His present research interests revolve around the synergetic application of solid-state NMR techniques in tandem with other spectroscopies, diffraction and computational methods, with a primary focus on unraveling the structure of acid sites in heterogeneous porous catalysts, and probing CO2-sorption mechanisms at the surface of porous adsorbents.

Ildefonso Marín-Montesinos received his BSc from University of Sevilla (2001), and his PhD from University of Southampton (2007). He then moved to the University of Birmingham for a postdoctoral position. In 2010, he received a “Juan de la Cierva” grant to work with Prof. M. Pons at the Universitat de Barcelona. He then moved to IRIG at CEA Grenoble to work with Dr. S. Hediger and Dr. G. De Paëpe. Currently, he is a researcher at CICECO-University of Aveiro. His research focuses on the characterization of biomolecular systems and porous solid materials for environmental applications by magnetic resonance techniques.