Reseach Group Leaders
Prof. Hermenegildo García Gómez
Research Group Leader, UPV, Valencia
Hermenegildo García Gómez is a full Professor of the Instituto de Tecnología Química at the Univeristat Politècnica de Valencia. His group has expertise in CO2 utilization developing catalysts for CO2 conversion to methanol and C2+ products. He has published more than 800 papers, has received over 75.000 citations, has an H index of 123 and his name is included continuously since 2015 in the annual list of the most cited Scientists published by the Shanghai-Tomson Reuters. He is the recipient of the Janssen-Cilag award of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (2011) and the Rey D. Jaime I award in New technologies (2016). He is doctor honoris causa by the University of Bucharest and Honorary Professor at the King Abdulaziz University since 2015. He was awarded by the Lee Hsun lecturership of the Chinese Academy of Science at Shenyang. He has participated in over 20 EU funded projects and is member of the panel of ERC Consolidator Grant as well as other Comissions and panels. He is President of the international advisory editorial board of ChemCatChem. Several of his publications have constituted research fronts in Chemistry (as defined by Essential Science Indicators) Database, such as Photocatalytic CO2 reduction by non TiO2 photocatalysis, catalysis by MOFs, etc.
Dra. Ana Primo Arnau
Research Group Leader, tenured Scientist. UPV, Valencia
Dr. Ana Primo earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (Spain) in 2006. Following her doctoral studies, she undertook a postdoctoral stint at the Institute Charles Gerhardt in Montpellier, France, from 2007 to 2009. Currently, she holds a tenured position as a scientist at the “Instituto de Tecnología Química” (UPV-CSIC). Together with Professor Hermenegildo García, she founded the HG Energy Group, which she currently leads alongside Professor García.
Her research focuses on the synthesis of 2D materials such as graphene and boron nitride, exploring their applications in catalytic and photocatalytic processes. Notable among her investigations are CO2 reduction for methanol production and water splitting for hydrogen generation. With over 100 publications, Dr. Primo’s work has garnered more than 7,000 citations, reflecting her significant contributions to the field of chemistry, and she has an h-index of 43.
Dr. Josep Albero
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Dr. Josep Albero graduated in Chemical Engineering in the Jaume I University in 2005. He obtained his Ph. D. about the study of photo-induced charge transfer reactions in quantum dots based solar cells under the supervision of Prof. Palomares at ICIQ in 2012. He has conducted his postdoctoral research in the Prof. Garcia group at ITQ and in Prof. Antonietti group at MPI-KG. His research interests include the preparation of advanced multifunctional materials and their application in the fields of energy conversion and storage. Dr. Albero is also interested in the study of the charge transfer reactions that limit the materials efficiency in these fields. Very recently he has been appointed as Ramón y Cajal Fellow (2022).
Dr. Abdessamad Grirrane
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Dr. Abdessamad Grirrane received his Ph.D. in chemistry at the Universidad de Sevilla (Spain) in 2005. His research interests includes homogeneous catalysis by Au (I) and Cu(I) complexes, single crystal XRD and cascade reactions.
Dra. Sara Goberna
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Dra. Sara Goberna obtained her PhD in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in 2013 from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili working at the Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ) under the supervision of Prof. J.R. Galán-Mascarós. Her PhD work focused on the development of molecular inorganic materials as catalysts for water oxidation.
She has conducted several postdoctoral stays; at Oregon State University (2014-2016, USA), at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (2016-2018, France), at the Institut des Sciences de la Terre (2018-2019, France), and at the Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (2020-2021, Barcelona).
She is currently a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Prof. Garcia group at ITQ. Her research project focuses on the development and optimization of atomically precise metal nanoclusters as catalysts for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction.
Sara has published more than 20 papers, received more than 980 citations, and has an h-index of 15.
Dra. María Cabrero Antonino
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Dra. María Cabrero Antonino graduated in chemistry in 2015 at Universitat de València. In 2016 she obtained a master´s degree in sustainable chemistry at the same university doing her final master’s thesis work in the group of Professor Avelino Corma in the Institute of Chemical Technology at the Universitat Politècnica de València.
In 2021 she obtained her PhD focusing her studies on the use of Metal-organic frameworks as photocatalysts for the production of solar fuels in the group of Dr. Sergio Navalón at the Department of Chemistry at UPV. His thesis was awarded the best doctoral thesis award in 2022 by the Real Sociedad Española de Química (RSEQ-STVAL).
She is currently a Juan de la Cierva Formación Fellowship under the supervision of Dr. Ana Primo in Prof. Hermenegildo García’s group at the Institute of Chemical Technology of the UPV. Her postdoctoral study is focused on the use of MXenes as photocatalysts for the production of solar fuels.
Dra. Aicha Anouar
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Dra. Aicha Anouar received her PhD in Sustainable Chemistry in 2021 from Universidad Politecnica de Valencia. Her PhD work focused on the synthesis and functionalization of graphene-based materials and their application in thermal catalysis.
From 2021 to 2023, she worked as a researcher at Euromed University of Fez in the Hybrid Functional Materials team.
She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Pr. Garcia’s group. Her research interests include the functionalization of 2D materials and their application in thermal catalysis.
Dr. Jonas Gosch
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Dr. Jonas Gosch received his bachelor’s (2016) and master’s (2019) degrees at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. In the following time as a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Norbert Stock, he worked in the synthesis and characterization of cerium-based MOFs and molecular cerium-oxo clusters. He received his Ph.D. in October 2023.
Jonas was granted a postdoctoral position in the group of Prof. Hermenegildo Garcia Gomez at the ITQ in August 2023. He is currently focusing on the use of MOFs as heterogeneous catalysts including the thermal and photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to sustainable fuels.
Dr. Alberto García Baldoví
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Alberto Garcia Baldovi is a PhD student in Prof. Hermenegildo Garcia’s group at the ITQ (Instituto de Tecnologia Química) since July 2020. His research is focused on the design of metallic catalysts for hydrogen storage, production and use. Moreover, another attractive application for which Alberto employs these metallic systems is CO2 reduction to valuable products, such as alcohols. After 3 years of studying general chemistry at Universitat de València, he widened his perspective by approaching a degree in Enviromental Science at the Universitat Politècnica de València (2018). Alberto obtained his Master’s degree at the same university in 2019. In the past, his research focused on the wet oxidation of secondary sludges from urban waste water (Bachelor’s) and the formation of alginic acid nanometric films and its conversion to graphene with infrared laser (Master’s).
Dr. Álvaro Raya Barón
Post doctoral researcher. UPV, Valencia
Dr. Álvaro Raya Barón obtained his PhD diploma from Universidad de Almería in 2019, supervised by Prof. Ignacio Fernández, working in organic synthesis, coordination chemistry and homogeneous catalysis, with special emphasis in the use of NMR techniques. Then he moved to INSA-Toulouse for a postdoctoral stay under the supervision of Prof. Bruno Chaudret. His research work consisted in the synthesis and surface functionalisation of magnetic nanoparticles for their use in catalytic hydrogenation of biomass-derived compounds. In 2022 he was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from Generalitat Valenciana and joined the team of Dr. Pascual Oña at ITQ, where he worked on the preparation of carbon-supported nanoparticles to use as catalysts for the transfer hydrogenolysis of lignin model molecules using magnetic induction. He finally joined the team of Prof. Hermenegildo García in 2024 where his research is focused on the use of MXenes as catalysts for the valorisation of lignocellulose derivatives into platform molecules and bio-monomers.
Esther Domínguez Torres
Technician. UPV, Valencia
Esther Domínguez Torres is a technician, her work delved into synthesis of materials for industry and their use for photocatalysis since 2008. She obtained her Master’s degree in Green Chemistry from Universitat de València, Universitat Politécnica de València, Universitat Jaume I and Universidad de Extremadura in 2011. During her study, he was working on removal of atmospheric pollutants (NOx). Futhermore, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biology from University of Valencia (2001).
Amparo Forneli Rubio
Technician. UPV, Valencia
Amparo Forneli Rubio is a member of the research staff of Prof. Hermenegildo García since 2010 as a laboratory engineer at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ-UPV). She has more than 20 years of professional experience, previously developed in research centers of international relevance such as the Instituto de Ciencia Molecular (ICMol) and the Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ). Amparo is specialized in synthesis and characterization of new materials, specially graphene-based ones.
Rubén Ramírez Grau
PhD, UPV, Valencia
Rubén Ramírez Grau is a PhD student in Prof. Hermenegildo García’s group at the ITQ (Instituto de Tecnología Química) since Octuber 2020. Rubén received his degree and Master degree in Chemical Engineering at UPV in 2018 and 2020, repectively. Now he is studying 2D materials called MXenes and their possible applications for his Ph.D. In the past, his research focused on pesticide removal by photoelectrocatalysis (Bachelor’s) and the application of MOF in order to obtain demanded industrial products (Mater’s).
Elena Romero Salicio
Technician. UPV, Valencia
Elena Romero Salicio is a PhD student in HG-energy group at the ITQ since October 2023. She is studying 2D materials called MXenes and their possible applications in thermal catalysis.
Graduated in Chemistry from Universitat de València in 2022. In 2023 she obtained his master’s degree in Sustainable Chemistry in the ITQ. In his previous research, She has been focused mainly on the subject of circular economy with the problem of recycling polymers.
Andrés Felipe Uscategui Linarez
Technician. UPV, Valencia
Andres Uscategui Linares is a doctoral student in the group of Professor Hermenegildo Garcia at the ITQ since October 2020. His study is based on the design of 2D MOFs based on porphyrins for the reduction of polluting CO2. Graduated in Chemistry from Universitat de València in 2016. In 2018 he obtained his master’s degree in Sustainable Chemistry. In his previous research, he has been focused mainly on the subject of catalysis with mesoporous materials.
Dawid Daniël Kruger
Technician. UPV, Valencia
Dawid Daniël Kruger obtained a bachelor’s degree (2016) and his master’s degree (2019) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town. His bachelor’s research thesis investigated the conversion of citronellal over sulphonated polystyrene resin catalysts. Under the supervision of Prof. Jack C.Q. Fletcher, his master’s project focused on the prevalence of mass and heat transport effects during reaction kinetics testing of heterogeneous catalysts for syngas processing. From 2019 to 2021 he worked as a researcher in Prof. Fletcher’s group, working on steam-reforming systems, catalytic combustion, and hydrogenation reactions. Currently, under the supervision of Prof. Hermenegildo García, he is studying MXenes modified with different terminal groups and metals, and their applications as energy materials, and photo- and electrocatalysts.
Sabine Éliane Midré
Technician. UPV, Valencia
Sabine obtained her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Process Engineering (2020) and her master’s degree in Energy Science and Engineering (2023) from the Technical University of Darmstadt. She did her master’s thesis project in Hermegildo’s group and examined gold particles on doped graphene for their ability to reduce CO2. In her PhD she is investigating MXene Nitrides for their ability as electrocatalysts and energy materials.
Pau Vidal Puyuelo
PhD. UPV, Valencia
Pau is a PhD student in Prof. Hermenegildo García’s group at the ITQ (Instituto de Tecnología Química) since Octuber 2024. Pau received his Chemistry degree at UV and his Green Chemistry master degree at UPV in 2022 and 2024, repectively. Now he is studying photo and phototermal reactions catalyzed with different advanced multifunctional materials for his Ph.D. In the past, his research focused on biofuels (Bachelor’s) and synthetic methodologies for the selective hydrodeoxygenation of N-heterocyclic imides to the corresponding lactams using bimetalic catalysts (Mater’s)
SPAIN
Dra. Sara Iborra_Full Professor UPV, Valencia
Dra. María José Climent_Full Professor UPV, Valencia
Dra. Mercedes Álvaro_Full Professor UPV, Valencia
Dra. Vicenta Baldoví_Full Professor Secondary School, Valencia
Dr. Sergio Navalón_Associate Professor UPV, Valencia
Dr. Emilio José Palomares_Director of ICIC, Tarragona
Dr. José Raul Herance_Researcher, Hospital Vall d´Hebron, Barcelona
Dra. Belén Ferrer_Associate Professor UPV, Valencia
Dr. Antonio Leyva_Tenured scientist(CSIC)_ITQ, Valencia
Dr. Francesc X. Llabrés y Xamena_Tenured scientist (CSIC)_ITQ, Valencia
Dr. Pedro Atienzar_Tenured scientist (CSIC)_ITQ, Valencia
Dr. Iván Esteve_Associate researcher ITE, Valencia
Dr. Marcos Latorre_R&D project manager at IMECAL, Valencia
Dra. Mireia Buaki_Group leader in ITE, Valencia
Dra. Raquel Juarez_R&D staff SPB, Valencia
Dr. Roberto Martin_ Associate Researcher, University of Salamanca
Dra. Laura Teruel_Research Technician_UPV, Valencia
Dr. Pedro Manuel Montes_Secondary School teacher, Valencia
Dr. José Francisco Cabeza_Research staff, Servyeco, Valencia
Dra. María Isabel Soriano_R&D responsible, AITEX, Valencia
Dr. Alberto Abad_R&D staff, Valencia
Dra. Miriam Benitez_Researcher, Castellón
Dra. María de Sales Galletero_Responsible of Mass Spectrometry, UV, Valencia
Dra. Pilar Formentín_Staff technician, Universidad Tarragona
Dr. Juan Francisco Blández_Associated researcher_UPV, Valencia
Dra. Ana Sanjuan_Secondary school teacher, Valencia
Dra. Elvira Armengol_Secondary school teacher, Valencia
Dra. María Luz Cano_Secondary school teacher, Valencia
Dra. Sara García_Secondary school teacher, Valencia
Dr. Vicente Martí_Company Manager, Valencia
Dra. Encarna Peris_Secondary school teacher, Valencia
Dra. Sonia Remiro_Associated Researcher_ITQ, Valencia
Dr. Maykel de Miguel_Researcher Salamanca
Dra. María Gonzalez Bejar_Researcher ICMOL, Valencia
Dra. Ana García Mulero_Associate researcher ITE, Valencia
Dr. Carlos Baleizao_Professor Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Lisboa, Portugal
Dra. Claudia Gómez_Associate Professor_University Oporto, Portugal
Dra. Barbara Gigante_University of Lisboa, Portugal
CZECH REPUBLIC
Dr. Marco Serra_Researcher Sofer group, University of Chemistry and Technology of Praga, Czech Republic
Dr. Sana Frindy_Researcher at Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
BELGIUM
Dra. Carmela Aprile_Full profesor University of Namur, Belgium
Dra. Esther Carbonell_Associate researcher, University of Namur, Belgium
Dr. David Fabuel_R&D staff Artificial vision, Belgium
Dra. Karen Lews_Shent University, Belgium
Dr. Francisco Cirujano_Researcher Leuven, Belgium
ITALY
Dra. Cristina Lavorato_Associate profesor, University of Catania, Italy
Dra. Tiziana Marino_Researcher staff, CNRI, Rende, Italy
Dr. Manfredi Caruso_Researcher Politecnico de Milan, Italy
Dr. Luca Maretti_Researcher Milan, Italy
NETHERLANDS
Dr. Francesc Sastre_Research staff, NTO, Eindhoven, Netherlands
INDIA
Dr. Amarajothi Dhakshinamoorthy_UGC Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Products Chemistry, Madurai Kamaraj University, India
CHINA
Dr. Ji-Nan Niu_Associated Professor in School of Materials Science and Physics, University of Mining and Technology, China
Dr. Jinbao He_Lecturer in Jiangxi Agriculture University_Nanchang, China
Dr. Chuanzhi Sun_Associate Professor in Shandong Normal University, China
Dr. Zhaohui Li_Full professor University of Fuzhou, China
Xiangze Du_ PhD student Sichuan University
SAUDI ARABIA
Dr. Diego Mateo_Post doc Kaust, Saudi Arabia
Dra. Alejandra Rendón-Patiño_ Post doc Kaust, Saudi Arabia
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
Dr. Stephan Neatu_Associate Professor, Technical University of Bucharest, Romania
Dr. Bogdan Cojocaru_Associate Professor, University of Bucharest, Romania
CANADA
Dr. Fran Lozens_Full Professor Halifax, Canada
Dra. Lourdes Hurtado_Associate researcher, University of Toronto, Canada
Dr. Emilio I. Alarcón_Researcher University of Ottawa, Canada
Dra. Marie Laferriere_Researcher University of Ottawa, Canada
Dra. Michele N. Chretien_Researcher Conestogac Inc., Ontorio, Canada.
Dr. Gonzalo Cosa_Full Professor McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Dra. Sonia Corrent_Researcher University of Ottawa, Canada
Dr. Jeffrey Banks_Researcher Acadia University, Saint John, Canada
UNITED KINGDOM
Dra. Isabel Inés Casades_Central Hospital London, United Kingdom
SANTIAGO DE CHILE
Dr. Patricio Cancino_Researcher, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
USA
Dr. Heinz Roth_Full Professor Rutgers University, USA
Dr. Roberto Galiaso_Full Professor Minnesota University, USA
Dr. Ignacio Luz_Researcher, Virginia, USA
MÉXICO
Dra. Natividad Reyna_Researcher Toluca, Mexico
Dr. Edilso Reguera_Researcher Instituto Politécnico Nacional Mexico
Dra. Alma García Ortiz_Researcher Instituto Politécnico Nacional México
ARGENTINA
Dra. Liliana Beatriz Gimenez_Researcher Buenos Aires, Argentina
BRASIL
Dra. Nancy de Lucas_Full Professor Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Dr. Jose Carlos Netto Ferrera_Researcher Universidad Federal de Sao Paulo, Brasil
IRAN
Dra. Saba Daliran_Associate Professor Bu-Ali Sina University, Tehran, Iran
Dr. Ali Morsali_Professor Tarbiat Modares University, Iran
MOROCCO
Dr. Ahmed Moussaif_Staff researcher, Rabat, Morocco
Dr. Mostafa El Gohul_Professor Fes University, Morocco
Dra. Aicha Anouar_Euro Mediterranean University of Fes_Marroco
TURKEY
Gr. Tugce Gunay_PhD Student Kirklareli University, Turkey
GERMANY
Dra. Lu Peng_ Post doc Institute Max Planck of Colloids and interphases_Germany
Dr. Yong Peng_ Post doc Leibniz Institute for Catalysis, Rostock, Germany; y Dr. Horatiu Szalad_ Post doc Institute Max Planck of Colloids and interphases, Germany.
Dr. Jiajun Hu Max Planck, Germany
