In 2003, I completed my PhD at Indiana University (USA), followed by postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry (MPI, Germany, 2003-2005) and Leiden University (Netherlands, 2005-2007). In 2007, I started as an ICREA researcher in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Barcelona (UB), and in September 2012, I became an ICREA research professor at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC). Since 2014, I have been leading the “Nanomaterials and Functional Surfaces” group (FunNanoSurf, https://icmab.es/fsi/funnanosurf), which is part of the “Functional Surfaces and Interfaces” Research Unit at ICMAB. My research focuses on molecular-based materials and their nanostructuring, as well as their applications (in solid form, solution, or deposited on substrates) as active components in electronic devices and sensors.

My work focuses on the current need for molecular design in nanoscience, where functional molecules play a key role, as they can provide homogeneous units and adjustable nanometric properties ready to be exploited (such as reliable bio/chemo-sensors, switches, materials for quantum computing, or molecular electronics). My main goal is for my team, FunNanoSurf, to actively participate in all parts of this process: molecular synthesis, creation/use of deposition methodologies, and study of the properties of the final hybrids (molecule+substrate) for different applications. To this end, my group synthesizes different molecular systems (mainly curcuminoids, but also porphyrazine and pyrimidine derivatives, with their respective coordination compounds) and analyzes them on substrates (e.g., graphene, FETs). So far, my work has demonstrated the advantages of our systems as (i) biomarkers and/or sensors, (ii) active components in transistors, and (iii) single-molecule magnets.