European research centres, including ICMAB, and companies leading the development of supercomputing hardware and simulation software re-join forces in the third phase of the MaX European Centre of Excellence, funded by the European Union and supported by the Euro HPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) and its member states.
This cutting-edge facility will house two high-end electron microscopes: one to determine the structure of large protein complexes and another to study materials at atomic level.
Created thanks to the joint effort of several research institutes, the centre is located at the ALBA Synchrotron and will be open to the entire scientific community.
Catalan Research and Universities Minister Joaquim Nadal inaugurates the centre, which has received funding from the Catalan Government’s ERDF programme, on 24 February.
Epitaxial LaFeO3(LFO)-based photocells, of different thicknesses (50–200 nm) have been grown on cubic LSAT (001) [(LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2TaAlO6)0.7] single-crystal substrates, using a La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) bottom electrode and different top electrodes [Pt,Ba0.95La0.05SnO3 (BLSO)], to determine their photoresponse. The measured short-circuit photocurrent first increases with LFO thickness and then decreases, and it is larger or smaller, when Pt or BLSO electrodes are used, respectively.
Heyy! I'm Josep and i'm finishing my degree on Chemical Engineering. I will be working in the crystallography department as part of my Bachelor's Thesis. I really enjoy working out and doing any kind of sport basically, listening to music (classical music recently) and learning stuff about new random topics. I'm looking forward to working here and getting to know the facilities as well as all the people working around!
We report that the carborane-based metal–organic framework (MOF) mCB-MOF-1 can achieve high adsorptive selectivity for CO2:N2 mixtures. This hydrophobic MOF presenting open metal sites shows high CO2 adsorption capacity and remarkable selectivity values that are maintained even under extremely humid conditions. The comparison of mCB-MOF-1' with MOF-74(Ni) demonstrates the superior performance of the former under challenging moisture operation conditions.
In article published in Advanced Sensor Research, Anna Palau and co-workers study permalloy strips with substrate-induced uniaxial anisotropy, since they offer the possibility to produce fast in-plane magnetization reversals triggered by an out-of-plane magnetic field.
We are looking for a Science Communicator to be part of the Unit of Scientific Culture and Innovation (UCC+i) at the ICMAB. You will join a diverse and inclusive team working directly with the Head of Communication and Outreach.
The forum for Science, Technology and Innovation took place on 15-17 February 2023in Málaga.
Transifere is a professional, multisector forum aimed at knowledge transfer, with a focus on business opportunities and networking. It is one of the biggest events in the south of Europe.
Themed panels and conferences afford attendees the chance to get information from relevant sources in science, technology and business. The topic of this year's Transfiere is "Boosting Innovation".
The awards ceremony took place on Friday, 10 February 2023 at the Library of the University Campus in Manresa. Xavier Obradors made the speech presenting the awardee and highlighting the merits of her career.
Join our inclusive and diverse team at the ICMAB as Head Technician of our Scanning Probe Microscopy service. If you have proven experience in SPM, please get in touch.
The versatile hybrid perovskite nanocrystals are one of the most promising materials for optoelectronics in virtue of their tunable bandgaps and high photoluminescence quantum yields. However, their inherent crystalline chemical structure limits the chiroptical properties achievable with the material. The production of chiral perovskites has become an active field of research for its promising applications in optics, chemistry or biology. Typically, chiral halide perovskites are obtained by the incorporation of different chiral moieties in the material. Unfortunately, these chemically modified perovskites have demonstrated moderate values of chiral photoluminescence so far.
Huge success in our Severo Ochoa School on Angle Resolved Photoemision Spectroscopy (ARPES): from fundamentals to the heart of condensed matter (ARPES 2023) organized in collaboration between the MULFOX group at ICMAB and the LOREA beamline at ALBA Synchrotron.
Magnetism in SmBaMn2O5 was investigated on a single crystal by magnetic and neutron diffraction measurements. This is an oxygen deficient perovskite with a layered ordering of Sm and Ba cations. Mn atoms are coordinated with five oxygens forming a square pyramid and they are ordered in a checkerboard pattern of expanded-compressed pyramids in the ab-plane. The neutron diffraction study revealed a ferrimagnetic ordering of Mn moments below TN=134 K. Macroscopic measurements reveal a very anisotropic behavior.
PHOENIX-OITB’s mission is to offer a Single-Entry-Point for a consolidated network of facilities, technologies, services and expertise for all the technology transfer aspects:
The synthesis, spectroelectrochemical and structural characteristics of highly electron-accepting diketopyrrrolopyrrole (DPP) molecules with adjoining pyridinium rings is reported, along with an assessment of their toxicity, which is apparently low. The compounds show reversible electrochemistry and in one subfamily a massive increase in molar extinction coefficient upon electrochemical reduction.
Hi, I am a 22 years old Nanoscience and Nanotechnology student from UAB. During the following months, I will be doing my bachelor's thesis about electrical characterization of ferroelectric thin films at ICMAB. In my free time, I like studying music and doing sports. See you soon!
In the next conference of the IEC "Dijous de ciència" the talk will be by M. Rosa Palacín on batteries.
The Science and Technology Section of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans invites you to the conference of the 2023 Science and Technology Thursday cycle—research at the service of society—, which will be given by M. Rosa Palacín, research professor at the 'Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB) of the CSIC, and which will be entitled "Batteries and materials: where do we come from and where are we going".
Título : Boron clusters (ferrabisdicarbollides) shaping the future as radiosensitizers for multimodal (chemo/radio/PBFR) therapy of glioblastoma
Autores: Miquel Nuez-Martínez, María Queralt-Martín, Amanda Muñoz-Juan, Vicente M. Aguilella, Anna Laromaine, Francesc Teixidor, Clara Viñas, * Catarina G. Pinto, Teresa Pinheiro, Joana F. Guerreiro, Filipa Mendes, Catarina Roma-Rodrigues, Pedro V. Baptista, Alexandra R. Fernandes, Srecko Valic and Fernanda Marques *
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and fatal primary brain tumor, and is highly resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Therefore, the development of multidrug resistance and tumor recurrence are frequent. Given the poor survival with the current treatments, new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Radiotherapy (RT) is a common cancer treatment modality for GBM. However, there is still a need to improve RT efficiency, while reducing the severe side effects. Radiosensitizers can enhance the killing effect on tumor cells with less side effects on healthy tissues.
The February issue of the magazine "El Pou de la Gallina" from Manresa is devoted to "Doing research abroad". The number was presented at the Casino in Manresa in a round table with Xavier Obradors, who participated in the report.
#CientífiksenJoc is a program for 5th Primary School classes, where students will design a video game about an active Catalan researcher. This year the topic of energy is discussed from various research perspectives.
Título : Laminated Organic Photovoltaic Modules for Agrivoltaics and Beyond: An Outdoor Stability Study of All-Polymer and Polymer: Small Molecule Blends
Autores: Xabier Rodríguez-Martínez, Sergi Riera-Galindo, Luis Ever Aguirre, Mariano Campoy-Quiles, Hans Arwin, Olle Inganäs
The integration of organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules on greenhouses is an encouraging practice to offset the energy demands of crop growth and provide extra functionality to dedicated farmland. Nevertheless, such OPV devices must meet certain optical and stability requirements to turn net zero energy greenhouse systems a reality. Here a donor:acceptor polymer blend is optimized for its use in laminated devices while matching the optical needs of crops. Optical modeling is performed and a greenhouse figure-of-merit is introduced to benchmark the trade-off between photovoltaic performance and transparency for both chloroplasts and humans. Balanced donor:acceptor ratios result in better-performing and more thermally stable devices than acceptor-enriched counterparts.
Hello! I am Fer Piña, a Nanotechnology Engineer student at ITESO in Mexico. With the JAE Intro program I am in the nanostructured materials department until June. During my stay I will be working in the laser processing group to fabricate high performance supercapacitors. About me, I really like swimming and I enjoy going to the beach.
Hello everyone! My name is Marc and I'm currently enrolled in the Master's Programme in Modelling for Science and Engineering at UAB. During the first half of this year, I'll be doing my thesis research in the Soft Matter Theory group, under the supervision of Dr Jordi Faraudo. In my free time I like to keep active with sports and try out new recipes in the kitchen. Hope to see you all at ICMAB !
The PhD researcher Daniel Riba López from the Functional Nanomaterials & Surfaces (FunNanoSurf) group at ICMAB-CSIC, will defend his PhD thesis on Wednesday, 1 March 2023 at 11 am at ICMAB.
The project is funded within the "Strategic Lines Projects 2022" call of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation - Agencia Estatal de Investigación's State Program for the Promotion of Scientific-Technical Research and its Transfer.
Please register for the event designed and conceived from and for PhD candidates that will take place on the 7th and 8th of June 2023 at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Campus, at ICMAB.
Most of the spiral magnetoelectric multiferroics investigated in recent years are geometrically or exchange-frustrated magnets, where the presence of triangular or other frustrated spin networks produce low magnetic transition temperatures. This critically limits their potential uses. The exceptional stability of the spiral magnetic order (at TS) in the layered structure of the YBaCuFeO5 double perovskite involves a nonconventional mechanism: spiral order by disorder. The model has been theoretically developed by Scaramucci et al. [Phys. Rev. Res. 2, 013273 (2020)] after the discovery of a huge impact of cation disorder on TS [M. Morin et al., Nat. Commun. 7, 13758 (2016)].
Last September 2022, the International Meeting of Scientific Workers was held in Buenos Aires, organized by FESIDUAS, FedLatCi, the World Federation of Scientific Workers (FMTS-WFSW) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Argentina.
Over the last few years, research on silica nanoparticles has rapidly increased. Particularly on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), as nanocarriers for the treatment of various diseases because of their physicochemical properties and biocompatibility. The use of MSNs combined with therapeutic agents can provide better encapsulation and effective delivery. MSNs as nanocarriers might also be a promising tool to lower the therapeutic dosage levels and thereby to reduce undesired side effects. Researchers have explored several routes to conjugate both imaging and therapeutic agents onto MSNs, thus expanding their potential as theranostic platforms, in order to allow for the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
ICMAB researchers have participated in a study to create a versatile platform based on hierarchically nanostructured cell-adhesion peptides using quatsomes, which opens new possibilities for tissue engineering. The study, published in ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces is a collaboration of three CIBER-BBN groups at ICMAB, IQAC (both CSIC) and IBEC.
Título : Synchrotron radiation based operando characterization of battery materials
Autores: Ashley P. Black, Andrea Sorrentino, François Fauth, Ibraheem Yousef, Laura Simonelli, Carlos Frontera, Alexandre Ponrouch, Dino Tonti and M. Rosa Palacín *
Synchrotron radiation based techniques are powerful tools for battery research and allow probing a wide range of length scales, with different depth sensitivities and spatial/temporal resolutions. Operando experiments enable characterization during functioning of the cell and are thus a precious tool to elucidate the reaction mechanisms taking place. In this perspective, the current state of the art for the most relevant techniques (scattering, spectroscopy, and imaging) is discussed together with the bottlenecks to address, either specific for application in the battery field or more generic. The former includes the improvement of cell designs, multi-modal characterization and development of protocols for automated or at least semi-automated data analysis to quickly process the huge amount of data resulting from operando experiments. Given the recent evolution in these areas, accelerated progress is expected in the years to come, which should in turn foster battery performance improvements.
The project aims to engage talent young students for a Materials Science doctorate in the field of High Temperature Superconductors (HTS), by investigating the mechanisms of a novel high-throughput growth process, the material microstructure and physics of superconductors.