Research
Research
Conventional mechanical and chemical recycling methods often yield low-quality products. For instance, pyrolysis can decompose polymers back into their original monomers for reuse in new plastics; however, this process suffers from low selectivity due to the extreme temperatures involved.
I joined the ICC as a postdoctoral researcher, involved in the ERC StG project IMPACT, which explores an innovative recycling approach that utilizes mechanochemical impact to break down polyolefins into their monomers and shorter-chain hydrocarbons. My responsibilities include operating and integrating key analytical techniques such as Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and high-temperature size exclusion chromatography (HT-SEC). Furthermore, I am actively engaged in ongoing research activities.
The proposed reaction mechanism for the polymer cleavage involves the formation of mechano-radicals, and their structural characterization is crucial for understanding the preferred cleavage points. To facilitate this, a new EPR setup was acquired, allowing for the study of these radicals at low, room, and high temperatures. This instrument also enables in-situ investigation of the thermal radical initiation process on sulfated and tungstated zirconia.
The cleavage of the polymer chains is analyzed using size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Since polyolefins are the target polymers, HT-SEC is employed and requires a specialized system that operates at 170 °C with trichlorobenzene, a solvent capable of dissolving these polymers while necessitating careful handling protocols.
CV
CV
2020 – 2024
Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biology, Polymers for the doping of semiconductors
University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy.
January – June 2018
Erasmus + ICM scholarship
University of Groningen, Netherlands.
2016 – 2018
MSc in Chemical Sciences
University of Antioquia, Colombia.
2007 – 2014
BSc in Chemistry
University of Antioquia, Colombia.
Publications
Exploiting β-amino ester chemistry to obtain methacrylate-based covalent adaptable networks Journal Article
In: Polymer, vol. 293, 2024, (Cited by: 7; All Open Access, Hybrid Gold Open Access).
Polystyrene Brush Evolution by Grafting to Reaction on Deglazed and Not-Deglazed Silicon Substrates Journal Article
In: Macromolecular Rapid Communications, vol. 45, no. 18, 2024, (Cited by: 2).
Phosphorus activation in silicon: To deglaze or not to deglaze, that is the question Journal Article
In: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, vol. 165, 2023, (Cited by: 3).
Brush Layers of Bioinspired Polypeptoids for Deterministic Doping of Semiconductors Journal Article
In: ACS Applied Electronic Materials, vol. 4, no. 12, pp. 6029 – 6037, 2022, (Cited by: 9).
In: Analyst, vol. 146, no. 20, pp. 6145 – 6155, 2021, (Cited by: 10).
On the way to greener furanic-aliphatic poly(ester amide)s: Enzymatic polymerization in ionic liquid Journal Article
In: Polymer, vol. 205, 2020, (Cited by: 34; All Open Access, Green Open Access, Hybrid Gold Open Access).
In: ACS Applied Bio Materials, vol. 2, no. 8, pp. 3380 – 3392, 2019, (Cited by: 9).