Polymeric porous materials
Materials employed for the fabrication of scaffolds have mainly relied on bioceramics and biodegradable polymer
In our group, we propose the use of scCO2for the preparation of composite scaffolds made from bioceramics and polymers such as hydroxyapatite (HA) and polycraprolactone (PCL) matrix.
The scaffolds are fabricated using scCO2technology and controlled pressurization/depressurization regimens, which help to display a highly interconnected network of pores with a multimodal pore size distribution. This architecture can mimic the extracellular matrix of natural tissue, in which the macropores can promote cell growth, proliferation and migration, and the microporous network allows the diffusion of the necessary oxygen, nutrients and waste.
Coordination Polymers and Metal organic frameworks
The SFFM research group pioneered the synthesis of coordination polymers in scCO2, showing that this fluid can act simultaneously as solvent and activation agent.
MOFs are hybrid network structures formed by self-assembly of metal ions or clusters and organic linking groups. These structures have a great variety of applications in catalysis, drug delivery, or gas separation and storage.
In this research topic, we propose an attractive synthetic method for the preparation of MOFs and coordination polymers. These hybrid materials can be obtained by using bidentate and tridentate N donor ligands, such as bipyridyl and triazine derivative organic linkers, respectively. Among the coordination polymers based on M2+ transition metals, there is a large variety of structural motifs when reacted with the different linkers, including simple and sinusoidal 1D chains, 2D double helices with simple and interpenetrating layers and even 3D frameworks.
BIO-MOFs
A promising field of application of MOFs is the biomedical one. In this case, it is a bioactive molecule, such a curcumine, the linker in the MOF network
Graphene oxide aerogels and composites
We own a patented technology for producing GO aerogels starting from an alcoholic dispersion of graphene oxide. The procedure is developed under isothermal and isobaric conditions, and it is readily reproducible, scalable and cost-effective, leading to a non-reduced end-product.
The aerogel obtained combines stability and robustness with a high functionalization capacity granted by the large number of functional groups maintained from the starting graphene oxide. Aerogels obtained have a high surface area, ca. 250 m2/g, and a high pore volume, between 0.9 and 1.5 mL/g.
The possibility of preparing multifunctional composites using graphene oxide as a basic unit for the controlled self-assembly of 3D carbon macrostructures by supercritical CO2 is enormous. Possible applications include adsorption material in membrane technologies, batteries, supercapacitors, metal catalyst supports, among others.
In particular, composites of metal nanoparticles and GO aerogels are promising for a myriad of applications. As an example, the development of an all-green synthesis approach allowed the preparation of hybrid materials shaped into aerogels with large mesoporosity, involving the loading of SPIONs onto a GO surface via a simple one-pot supercritical CO2 technique for MRI applications
