Maria Margarida Feitor Pintão Moreno Antunes

Degree: PhD in Chemistry 

Institution: University of Aveiro

Conclusion date: December 19th, 2012

Title: Catalytic routes to convert saccharides into furanic aldehydes

Degree: MASTER OF SCIENCES in Chemistry of Natural Products

Institution: University of Aveiro

Conclusion date: July 24 th, 2008

Title: Synthesis of new compounds of the type of 1,5-benzodiazepines

Degree: LICENTIATE in Industrial Chemistry, branch of Chemical Control of Quality

Institution: Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra

Date of conclusion: September 23 th, 2004

Title: " Study of the polymorphism of Erythritol and Threitol using Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Thermomicroscopy".

31th January 2019 until present:

Researcher

Research work-

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro.

Title of the ongoing project : “ Appropriated catalytic routes from biomass-raw materials into valuable bioproducts”.

May, 1st, 2013 until  January, 30th, 2019:

Post-doctoral fellow (FCT-SFRH/BPD/89068/2012)

Supervisors: Doctor Anabela Valente and Doctor Martyn Pillinger

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro.

Research work plan entitled: “Bifunctional acid-oxidation catalysts for synthesizing bio-derived 2,5-diformylfuran”.

January, 14th 2013 until April 30th, 2013

Research fellow ( BI(M) Grant from CICECO: BI/UI89/4213/2009 in the scope of project 600/02).

Supervisors: Doctor Anabela Valente and Doctor Martyn Pillinger

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro.

Research work plan entitled: “Valorisation of saccharides via catalytic routes”.

January 1st, 2010 until December 19th, 2012

PhD fellow (FCT-SFRH/BD/61648/2009)

Supervisors: Doctor Anabela Valente and Doctor Martyn Pillinger

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro.

Research work plan entitled: “Catalytic routes to convert saccharides to furanic aldehydes”.

January 1st, 2010 until August 31th, 2010

Collaboration with the company Merck KGaA, in Darmstadt, Germany

Supervisor: Doctor Anabela Valente

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro and Merck KGaA.

Research work plan entitled : “ Synthesis and application of ionic liquids for the chemical valorisation of biomass derived products”.

October, 13th until December 31 th, 2009

Research fellow (BI grant from CICECO:BI/UI89/4123/2009).

Supervisors: Doctor Anabela Valente and Doctor Martyn Pillinger.

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro.

Research work plan entitled: “Catalytic properties of hybrid polymers based on molybdenum oxides with organic ligands”.

October, 1st until September, 30 th, 2009

Research fellow (BI grant from FCT project: PTDC/QUI/71198/2006)

Supervisors: Doctor Anabela Valente and Doctor Martyn Pillinger.

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro.

Research work plan entitled: “Ansa-bridged Organo rhenium(VII)oxides and their application as homogeneou sand heterogeneous catalysts”.

October, 23th, 2005 until July, 24th, 2008

M. Sc. Student in Chemistry of Natural Products

Supervisors: Doctor Artur Silva and Doctor Diana Pinto

Institution: Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO), Chemistry Department, University

of Aveiro

Research work plan entitled: “Synthesis of new compounds of the type 1,5-benzodiazepines”

October, 19th, 2004 until January 19th, 2005

Internship volunteer:  Chemical Analyst.

Institution: CCDRC (Laboratory of the Comission of Coordination and Regional Development of the Center)

September, 2003 to September, 2004

Scientific apprenticeship, with the final classification of 17 (in a scale from 1 to 20).

Supervisor: Doctor Ermelinda Eusébio

Institution: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra

Research work plan entitled: “ Study of the polymorphism of erythritol and threitol using differential scanning calorimetry and thermomicroscopy”.

• Bimetallic catalysts with a nobel and a transition metal for converting Fur into the high valuable 2-methylfuran  by means of acid and reduction chemistry using with formic acid as an external H2 source and an alcohol as H-donor.
• Synthesis of mesoporous zeolites by desilication for converting biomass-derived angelica lactone and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into levulinate esters and alkyl furfuryl ethers.
• Preparation of tin or zirconium zeolites (by dealumination of the commercial zeolite beta and further solid state ion-exchange procedure for the incorporation of Sn or Zr), or incorporation of Zr into an amorphous silica (by hydrothermal synthesis) or incorporation of a Zr-nano-zeolite in inorganic matrix, for the one-pot conversion of furfural to GVL by acid and reduction catalytic transfer hydrogenation reactions.
• Carbon nanomaterials with sulfonic groups for the alcoholysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to biofuels (such as alkyl furan ethers and alkyl levulinates).
• Preparation and characterisation of porous inorganic materials possessing catalytic properties for application in the valorisation of renewable biomass. In particular, solid acids for the hydrolysis/dehydration of saccharides to furanic aldehydes.
• Application of ionic liquids as solvents and/or catalysts in liquid-phase catalytic processes.
• Solid state characterisation techniques such as, powder X-ray diffraction, MAS NMR, vibrational spectroscopy, electronic and transmission microscopy, measurements of gas adsorption isotherms for determining texture parameters, inductively coupled plasma for the identification and detection of metals content, thermal analyses for investigation the physico-chemical properties of heterogeneous catalysts, temperature programme reduction with hydrogen. Application of ionic liquids as solvents and/or catalysts in liquid-phase catalytic processes. Development and optimisation of analytical techniques such as, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC), for monitoring the evolution of catalytic reactions involving multicomponent mixtures of organic products. Employment of 2D gas chromatography (GCxGC) combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToFMS).

• Application of metal-organic complexes or polymers in the liquid-phase catalytic oxidation of olefins.
• Alcoholysis of aliphatic and aromatic epoxides into b-alkoxy alcohol products (intermediates used in organic and inorganic synthesis) and in the acetalisation of aldehydes or ketones (e.g. benzaldehyde, cyclohexanone or cyclohexanaldeyde) to useful products for manufacturing perfumes and flavours, pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, food additives and others, in the presence of organic coordination polymers or a metal-free cucurbit[7]uril.
• Synthesis and subsequent characterisation of natural organic compounds (by liquid ¹H, ¹³C NMR and 2D-NMR homo and heteronuclear correlated spectroscopy HSQC and HMBC.

• The resultant work in the publication http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201301149., was highlighted by J. Evans for the “ Technology news” with the title “ Graphene catalyst: Wonder material makes wonder biofuel catalyst”, and published in Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 8 (2014) 301. DOI: 10.1002/bbb.1492.
• Two SCI papers were selected to cover pages respectively: volume 54, issue 20, 19 October 2015, pages 9671-10104, https://pubs.acs.org/toc/inocaj/54/20 and volume 51, number 54, 11 July 2015, pages 10769-10974, https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/cc/c5cc90286j#!divAbstract

• Best Poster Prize: T. R. Amarante, M. Abrantes, M. M. Antunes, S. Gago, F. A. A. Paz, M. Pillinger, A. A. Valente, I. S. Gonçalves, “Molybdenum oxide/bipyridine hybrid materials: synthesis, structure and catalytic studies”; Organizing Committee of the XXII Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography, Madrid, Spain, 22-30 August 2011.

Grants obtained through FCT:

• Post-doctoral grant from FCT (SFRH/BPD/89068/2012).
• Doctoral Grant from FCT (SFRH/BD/61648/2009).

- Participation in the evaluation committee of the poster presentations in the 13^th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference (CHEMPOR) at Aveiro, from 2 to 4 of October of 2018.

 -  Participation as chair in the session “ Ramôa Ribeiro oral communications (in 14^th September 2018)“ at CICAT 50th Anniversary- XXVI Iberian-American Congress of Catalysis, Coimbra, 9-14th September, 2018.

 - Participation in the evaluation committee of abstracts submitted to the XXVI Iberian-American Congress of Catalysis (XXVI CICat) in Coimbra, Portugal, 9-14th September, 2018.

 - Reviewer of 16 SCI papers for top journals in her field, such as Applied Catalysis B and Journal of Catalysis.

- Guest Editor of a Special Issue entitled by  "Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Valorization of Biomass Derived Compounds" in Molecules: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules/special_issues/hetero_catalyst

• She has been invited assistant in the training of young researchers in Integrated Master´s in Chemical Engineering and PhD students) at the Univeristy of Aveiro, with special focus in the synthesis and characterisation of materials and/or catalytic studies of biomass conversion. As a result I was co-author with those students of SCI papers (indicated in the publication list) which made part of the students theses. Specifically, three students in the integrated master in chemical engineering and one PhD student: Joana P. Abrantes (publication 14-2013), Jacinto M. Veiga (publication 15-2014), Manuel T. Pereira (publication 22-2016),   Andreia F. Silva (publication 28-2017, 31-2018, 33-2019 and 34-2019).

• Contributed to other two PhD thesis in the scope of catalytic studies inherent to the investigation group based on MOFs; Ricardo F. Mendes (publications 21-2015 and 25-2016), and Ana D. F. Firmino (publication 27-2017). In these works, it was investigated the alcoholysis of epoxides into b-alkoxy alcohols and the acetalisation/ketalisation of aldehydes and ketones (for the production of flavours and drugs).