Research Interest

Surfactants and Adsorption Calorimetry

• Adsorption of surfactants and organic pollutants at solid/liquid interfaces. 
• Adsorption (batch and HPLC methods) and isotherm microcalorimetry 

(immersion, titration and flow methods). 
• Solids: Graphitised carbon, silica gel, controlled pore glass, clay minerals.
• Solutes: cationic, anionic and nonionic surfactants; alcohol and phenol derivatives.
• Surface modifications and XRD measurements of smectite clays. Intercalation and adsolubilization. 
• Interfacial thermodynamics (Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy functions). 

Materials Science and Catalysis

• Preparation of tranistion metal nanoparticles in liquid media and on solid supports 

(control of size and shape).
• Metals: Pd, Pt, Pd/Pt, Rh.
• Supports: layer-structured materials. Graphite, cationic and anionic clays 

(montmorillonite, hydrotalcite-type materials).
• Characterization of transition metal catalysts (TEM, XRD, SAXS, PCS).
• Calorimetric investigations of metal/hydrogen interactions (gas sorption calorimetry). 
• Liquid-phase hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes (activity and selectivities).

Previous Research Experience

• Stability of Stöber silica particles in mixed solvent media (TEM, SAXS, PCS, low-shear rheology).
• High-vacuum anionic polymerization. Diblock copolymers in organic solvents and in polymer melts 

(IR, NMR, PFGSE NMR).