Categoria / Category
Investigador FCT / FCT researcher

Indicador / Researcher indicator
Orcid: 0000-0003-0425-1029

Página pessoal / personal page

Palavras chave / Keywords
Coatings, thin films, nanocomposite, protection, magnetron sputtering, tribiology, friction, wear, characterization, amorphous carbon, DLC, polymer, rubber, elastomer

Currículo Resumido / Short resume

Scientifc Career

• 06/2001. University of Vigo, (Spain): Chemistry Degree (Fundamental chemistry - Physical chemistry).
• 01/02/2002-30/09/2007. Institute of Materials Science of Seville (C.S.I.C. – University of Seville, Spain): Ph.D. Thesis
• 01/10/2007-31/03/2009. Université Libre de Burxelles (ULB, Belgium): postdoctoral studies.
• 01/04/2009-30/06/2014. University of Groningen (RuG, The Netherlands): postdoctoral studies, including a Post-doctoral fellowship Marie Curie “Intra European Fellowship”
• 01/07/2014-present. Center of Physics of the University of Minho (Portugal): FCT investigator.

Research Expertise

• Deposition and characterization of coatings and thin films: In particular, by PVD (magnetron sputtering with different sources). Characterization by microscopies (TEM, SEM, AFM, etc.) spectroscopies (XPS, EELS, GD-OES, etc.) and diffraction techniques (XRD, GIXRD, ED, etc.).
• Protection of materials: materials with good mechanical properties (nanoindentation, hardness, fracture toughness, low stress), and tribology (friction at the nanoscale with LLF, macroscopic friction, and wear). Evaluation of adhesion of films to substrate (scratch test and stress tests). Solid and liquid lubrication.
• Nanostructures and their properties: nanoparticles (e.g. H2 storage in nanostructured metal hydrides) and nanostructured films (superhard and tough polycrystalline and nanocomposite structures).
• Simulation tools: films growth by kinetic Monte-Carlo, mechanical properties of materials via Molecular Dynamics and simulation of frictional performance of viscoelastic materials.