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Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, Faculty of Science
In 2006 after completing her PhD in molecular magnetism in Spain, Maria motivated by her strong interest in nano-chemistry came to Nottingham to join a new RCUK Basic Technology project entiltled "Supramolecular self-assembly of 1-10 nm templates for functional surfaces, quantum information processing and nanoelectronics". She worked within this project for almost three years as a postdoctoral research fellow under the supervision of Prof. Champness and Dr. Khlobystov and in close collaboration with Prof. Peter Beton's group at the Nottingham Nanoscience Center. During that time she was a key member responsible of the synthesis and functionalisation of novel molecular structures capable of formation of 2D arrays at the nanoscale.
In 2009 she was awarded a two-year Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship in the Carbon Nanomaterials group of Dr. Khlobystov at Nottingham University. In this project, she studied the interactions between molecules or nanoparticles and nanotubes and successfully developed a general methodology for confinement of complex molecular structures within nanotubes, forming unique novel types of hybrid nanomaterials with the potential for electronic applications. Despite the early stage of her research career, she has already made significant impact in magnetism, supramolecular chemistry and nanoscience.
Maria holds a five-year Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship titled "Nano-Magnets in Carbon Nanostructures" from the Royal Society. Her project is focused on a new area of technology called… read more
Maria holds a five-year Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship titled "Nano-Magnets in Carbon Nanostructures" from the Royal Society. Her project is focused on a new area of technology called spintronics, which is a branch of electronics that is aimed at exploiting the property of the spin of the electron in addition to its charge. It is important because of their potential advantages, such as: i) the increased data processing speed, ii) the decreased electric power consumption and iii) the possibility to create computer memories that can retain the stored information, even when not powered. However, many practical aspects in this area are hindered because of the lack of suitable materials.
Her fellowship is targeted at developing a totally new class of materials using two different components: i) Nanotubes made of carbon which can transport both properties of the electrons (charge and spin) over long distances. ii) Nano-sized magnets that can detect or create magnetic fields, and record and store information. One of the most exciting challenges of her project is to create nanoscale architectures using these tiny hollow wires (10,000 times thinner than a human hair) made of carbon. These will be "nano test tubes" to encapsulate and store nano-sized magnets.
University Park Nottingham, NG7 2RD
telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 3500 fax: +44 (0) 115 951 3555 email: chemistry-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk