Annual Scientific Report 2017

Cf

Scientific Core Facilities

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Area Manager:
Dr. Gisela Colet

Administrative Support:
Eva Casco.

The Research Support Area provides the scientific instrumentation needed to carry out the research at the ICIQ. The area is organized in different Units, each one comprising one or several related techniques, or, alternatively, comprising a group of techniques used by a particular research discipline.

In 2017, the area comprised the following 11 Units:

• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
• X-Ray Diffraction
• High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
• Chemical Reaction Technologies
• Chromatography, Thermal Analysis and Electrochemistry
• Heterogeneous Catalysis
• Photophysics
• Spectroscopy and Kinetics
• High Throughput Experimentation
• Glass Blowing Workshop
• Mechanical Workshop

Specialized technicians ensure the maintenance and correct use of the equipment, develop applications for the techniques available and train the researchers in preparing samples, using the equipment, understanding the applications and processing data.

To provide ICIQ researchers with information about the techniques available in the Area, the Research Support Area also organizes seminars and short courses with invited or in house speakers.

The courses, seminars and workshops organized during 2017 were as follows:

• H-Cube: continuous hydrogenation device workshop. Ildikó Kovács, from ThalesNano (17^th May, 3h)
• Thermoplastics in 3D Printing. EURECAT (5^th july, 8 h).
• Thermal analysis (DSC, TGA & DMTA) course. Francesc Català (Mettler Toledo) & Jordi Cerón (Crysforma), (18^th October, 6h).
• Fluorescence course. Dr. Fernando Bozoglián, Spectroscopy Unit manager (13^th November, 2h).
• Information session about NMR resources in the ICIQ intranet. Dr. Gabriel González. NMR Unit manager (26^th July, 45’).
• Periodical seminars to explain the basics of mass spectrometry. Dr. Noemí Cabello, MS Unit Manager.

The Research Support Area also plays a role advising researchers in the purchase of scientific instrumentation and setting up and managing the institute’s scientific infrastructures.

Finally, the Research Support Area also participates in some of the institute’s scientific outreach activities. In 2017 these activities were the following:

• Talk on analytical techniques (NMR, UV-Vis, MS & IR) to secondary school students from Lestonnac School, Tarragona (Gisela Colet).
• Participation in the programme “Crazy about Chemistry” various seminars given by Noemí Cabello, Jordi Benet, Mariona Urtasun, Simona Curreli and Gisela Colet.
• Talk to Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) students from INS Pere Martell (Tarragona) about chemical risk management in the Institute (Xavier Blanch & Gisela Colet).
• Talk on various analytical techniques (NMR, UV-Vis, MS & IR) to secondary school students from IES Comte de Rius, Tarragona (Gisela Colet).
• Training sessions for secondary school teachers from IES Comte de Rius (Tarragona): practical sessions in different RSA labs to learn about the following techniques: HPLC, GC, SFC, MS, fluorescence, UV-Vis, FT-IR, MS, TGA, DSC, NMR & High Pressure Systems (Simona Curreli, Fernando Bozoglian, Noemí Cabello, Gabriel González and Marta Giménez).
• Research Support Area tour as part of the BIST PhD Day (Gisela Colet).
• Talk entitled “Chocolate Crystals” within the programme The Science of Chocolate, in  Pau Delclòs primary school in Tarragona (Marta Martínez).

Competitive research projects awarded in 2017

Ongoing competitive research projects in 2017