I did my PhD at Indiana University (USA, 1997-2003) followed by postdoctoral researchs at the Max Planck Institut für Bioanorganische Chemie (MPI, Germany, 2003-2005) and at Leiden University (The Netherlands, 2005-2007). In 2007 I started as ICREA Junior Researcher at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (UB) becoming ICREA Research Professor in September 2012 at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC). I am the head of the "Functional Nanomaterials and Surfaces" group since 2014 (FunNanoSurf, http://departments.icmab.es/funnanosurf/), which is part of the "Functional Surfaces and Interfaces" Research Unit at the ICMAB, and also there, deputy coordinator of the Research Line "Tuneable and Low Cost Molecular Electronics". My research focuses on molecular-based materials, their nanostructuring and applications in the bulk, solution, on surfaces and as active components in electronic devices and sensors.

My work focuses on the current need for molecular design in Nanoscience, where functional molecules would play a key role as they can provide tunable nanometer-sized homogeneous units and properties ready to be mined (as reliable sensors, switches, quantum computing materials or molecular electronics). My main objectives are the design of specific molecules together with their control and organization on substrates/surfaces/devices where their properties can be exploited. In my group, we synthesize different molecular systems (0D-3D, curcuminoid and pyrimidine nature and their respective coordination compounds), characterize and study them on substrates (e.g. graphene, gold, SWCNTs) and analyze their electronic behavior in micro-/nanodevices (e.g. nanoFETs). So far, my work has demonstrated the advantages of our systems as (i) biomarkers and/or sensors, (ii) active components in nanotransistors and as (iii) single molecule magnets.