Xavier Sala (Sant Feliu de Guíxols, 1979) graduated in chemistry at UdG and obtained his PhD degree in 2007. He then moved to the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) for post-doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. P. W. N. M. van Leeuwen and in 2008 was appointed scientific group coordinator in Prof. A. Llobet’s group at ICIQ. After a third post-doctoral stay at IRTA he was appointed lecturer in chemistry at UAB in 2010 where he became associate professor in 2018. Since 2011, he leads the Selective RedOx Catalysis (SelOxCat) research group. He obtained 4 consecutive projects from MINECO and MICINN in 2011, 2015 and 2019, 2021. He has co-authored over 90 research papers (h-index 33) and has been visiting professor at the University of California Berkeley and Invited Professor at the LCC-CNRS and University of Rome, Tor Vergata. He was awarded the ICREA Academia Prize 2020.

Research interests

Energy, catalyis and environment are related issues with important socio-economic output. My reserach in artificial photosynthesis is focused on the study, comprehension and development of the key reactions involved in the cost-efficient renewable production of H₂ and liquid carbon-neutral fuels from CO₂. The SelOxCat group tackles this major issue from two different perspectives:  

- Nanoscaled molecular-material hybrid (photo)electrocatalysts: tailored  design of tunable metal/metal-oxide based molecular-material hybrids to understand the fundamental principles that dictate selectivity, efficiency and durability.

- Molecular-based (photo)electrodes: novel catalyst-electrode interfaces to boost current densities and long-term stabilities enabling their inclusion in practical photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices. 

Keywords

Redox Catalysis, Energy, Artificial Photosynthesis, Water Splitting, Hydrogen, Nanocatalysis, Homogeneous Catalysis