Month: February 2024

Cover JACS on supramolecular masks

The JACS journal features on its inside inner cover the recently published research article “Regioswitchable Bingel Bis-Functionalization of Fullerene C70 via Supramolecular Masks” by Valentina Iannace, Clara Sabrià and Prof. Xavi Ribas of the QBIS-CAT group and Dr. Ferran Feixas of the TCBioSys group at the Institute of Computational Chemistry and Catalysis (IQCC) of the University of Girona, also in collaboration with

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IQCC opened its doors to 95 high-school students from INS Narcís Monturiol, INS Montgrí, INS Celestí Bellera and INS Josep Brugulat

A few times a year, the IQCC opens its doors and gives the opportunity to high-school students to know our work through exciting lectures and computational and experimental workshops. This provides the secondary school pupils the possibility to get a feel for the research and have real-time chemistry in their hands. Last 8th February, it

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Controlling Monoterpene Isomerization by Guiding Challenging Carbocation Rearrangement Reactions in Engineered Squalene-Hopene Cyclases

The interconversion of monoterpenes is facilitated by a complex network of carbocation rearrangement pathways. Controlling these isomerization pathways is challenging when using common Brønsted and Lewis acid catalysts, which often produce product mixtures that are difficult to separate. In contrast, natural monoterpene cyclases exhibit high control over the carbocation rearrangement reactions but are reliant on

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Small-pore hydridic frameworks store densely packed hydrogen

Nanoporous materials have attracted great attention for gas storage, but achieving high volumetric storage capacity remains a challenge. Here, by using neutron powder diffraction, volumetric gas adsorption, inelastic neutron scattering and first-principles calculations, we investigate a magnesium borohydride framework that has small pores and a partially negatively charged non-flat interior for hydrogen and nitrogen uptake.

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Talking with: Cristina García-Simon

Cristina García-Simon was graduated in Chemistry at the University of Girona and she performed the PhD in the Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi (IQCC) under the supervision of Prof. Xavi Ribas and Prof. Miquel Costas in the field of synthesis of molecular nanocapsules for supramolecular host-guest chemistry and enzyme-like catalysis. Then, she worked as a postdoctoral investigator

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Regioswitchable Bingel Bis-Functionalization of Fullerene C70 via Supramolecular Masks

Isomer-pure functionalized fullerenes are required to boost the development of fullerene chemistry in any field, but their multiple functionalization renders a mixture of regioisomers that are very difficult to purify by chromatography. For the specific case of C70, its nonspherical geometry makes its regioselective functionalization more challenging than that of spherical C60. In this work,

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Former IQCC member Daniel E. Trujillo González appointed as associate professor at Santo Tomás University

Effective February 1st of this year, Daniel Eduardo Trujillo González, a former member of the IQCC, has been appointed as an Associate professor by the Environmental Engineering Faculty at Santo Tomás University in Villavicencio, Colombia. Under the supervision of Prof. Miquel Solà,  Dr. Oscar Jiménez and Dr. Gerardo González, Daniel completed his PhD thesis titled ‘Theoretical

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Miquel Costas receives Ciamician-González Lectureship award 2023

Yesterday the Italian Chemical Society (SCI) announced that Miquel Costas, full professor at the Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi (IQCC) of the UdG, received the Ciamician-González Lectureship 2023 award. This award recognizes his outstanding scientific contributions between Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Applied Catalysis. His studies improve the role and the potential of first-row transition metals in the

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International Day of Women and Girls in Science at IQCC 2024

This coming Sunday (11th of February) is the International day of Women and Girls in Science. The IQCC has currently a rather favourable balance in gender ratio of staff members, both at the Master level (54%), PhD level (47%), postdocs (17%) and permanent researchers staff (29%). Notably, out of the 4 most recent permanent members,

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IQCC Science Slam 2024, February 14, 10am

Since 2015 the IQCC is organizing a Science Slam. On Wednesday February 14th the IQCC organizes the VIII edition to show the most representative research projects of the Institute to a wide audience. The research carried out within each of the research teams of the IQCC will be briefly summarized by the PIs (2 minutes). Place:

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