A Plenty of Room at the Semiconductor’s Surface: Unveiling the Active Sites

Palestrante: Profa. Dra.  Amanda Fernandes Gouveia – Universitat Jaume I – Espanha

Abstract: The crystal structure and morphology of semiconductor materials play a crucial role in defining and dictating their surface properties. In photocatalytic activity, the surface acts as the primary interface, where the coordination number of surface atoms is crucial, as it relates to the production of reactive oxygen species responsible for the degradation of effluents, determining the nature of the mechanism of action. Therefore, surface and morphology modification of semiconductor materials are well-known strategies to enhance their performance. In this presentation, a detailed investigation of exposed surfaces and their terminations on various morphologies will be provided, along with a comprehensive discussion of the atomic-level correlation among coordination number, structural defects/disorder, active sites, and electronic properties.

Amanda Fernandes Gouveia: She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Universidade Estadual Paulista, Bauru campus (2011), and a Master’s degree in Chemistry (2014) with a focus on Inorganic Chemistry from the Universidade Federal de São Carlos. She completed a sandwich Ph.D. program at Universitat Jaume I (Castellón, Spain – 2014/2015) under the Sandwich Ph.D. Program Abroad (PDSE/CAPES). She earned her Ph.D. in Science (07/2018) with a focus on Inorganic Chemistry from the Graduate Program in Chemistry at the Universidade Federal de São Carlos. She worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Universidade Estadual do Piauí (08/2018-07/2019 – PDJ/CNPq fellowship), at the Universidade Federal de São Carlos (08/2019 – 10/2019), and at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (11/2019-08/2020 – PD/FAPESP fellowship). Since September 2020, she has been a post-doctoral researcher at Universitat Jaume I, where she develops a project aimed at researching multifunctional semiconductors through synthesis, characterization, and computational simulation with a focus on their morphologies. She has experience in Inorganic Chemistry, with an emphasis on Materials Chemistry, Nanotechnology, and Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, working mainly on the following topics: semiconductors, tungstates, molybdates, phosphates, luminescence, photocatalytic activity, antimicrobial activity, and quantum mechanical calculations. Starting in October 2024, for the next two years, she will be undertaking an approved Marie Curie Fellowship project, financially supported by the European Commission. This research will be conducted at the “Laboratoire de Chimie Théorique” at Sorbonne Université in Paris, France. The project is titled “Theory-Driven Engineering of Photocatalysts for Microplastics Degradation”.

Prof. Responsável:  Miguel Angel San Miguel Barrera