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Introduction
Javier Pinto Sanz holds a degree in Physics and a Master of "Nanotechnology and Molecular Nanoscience" in 2010. He joined the Cellular Materials Group in 2008 and finished his PhD thesis on nanocellular foams in 2014. Then he work at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT, Genova) for 3 years focused in the development of absorbent materials and technologies for the remediation of oil spills.
Current institution
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June 2014 - July 2017
September 2008 - May 2014
Publications
Publications (85)
The structural characterization is an essential task in the study of porous materials. To achieve reliable results, it requires to evaluate images with hundreds of pores. Current methods require large time amounts and are subjected to human errors and subjectivity. A completely automatic tool would not only speed up the process but also enhance its...
In this study, a novel application of synchrotron X-ray nanotomography based on high-resolution full-field transmission X-ray microscopy for characterizing the structure and morphology of micrometric hollow polymeric fibers is presented. By employing postimage analysis using an open-source software such as Tomviz and ImageJ, various key parameters...
The growing popularity of silver nanoparticles in the field of nanotechnology has created the necessity of developing new sustainable synthesis methods. This study presents a new green in situ functionalization method of melamine foams with silver nanoparticles. The synthesis pathway and the influence of the processing parameters are optimized to p...
The production of open‐cell (OC) nanostructures in polymer foams without non‐foamed solid skins by gas dissolution foaming has been developed in this work. First, several grades of MAM block copolymer (methyl methacrylate‐ b ‐butyl acrylate‐ b ‐methyl methacrylate) at high content are employed as heterogeneous phase in poly(methyl methacrylate) for...
The excellent catalytic properties of copper nano-particles (CuNPs) for the degradation of the highly toxic and recalcitrant chlorpyrifos pesticide are widely known. However, CuNPs generally present low stability caused by their high sensitivity to oxidation, which leads to a change of the catalytic response over time. In the current work, the immo...
The use of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) nanoparticles as nucleating agents in gas dissolution foaming processes is presented. In this work, MOF nanoparticles with three different particle sizes were synthetized and introduced in film composites based on polystyrene at 1 wt.%. The addition of nanoparticles with high affinity to CO 2 , which is the...
An innovative approach to reduce and eliminate the non-foamed solid skins of the cellular polymers fabricated by gas dissolution foaming is presented in this work. The incorporation of a flexible gas diffusion barrier on the polymer surfaces during the saturation and foaming processes provided significant reduction or even hindered the appearance o...
Glass pieces were highly appreciated imported goods in the Protohistory of the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, these remainings could provide evidence about the commercial or political relationships among contemporary cultures. However, archaeometry studies of glass beads are scarce in the Iberian Peninsula, and their results are difficult to general...
The castle of Coca (Coca, Segovia, Spain) is one of the summits of the Gothic-Mudejar architecture on the Iberian Peninsula. Among other extraordinary features, this castle presents unique Mudejar decorative elements, which have been partially lost due to this abandonment. In addition, the remaining elements are in danger due to ongoing degradation...
Three independent analysis methods were developed to investigate the distribution of solid mass in foams analyzed by X-ray tomography with effective pixel sizes larger than the thickness of the solid network (sub-pixel conditions). Validation of the methods was achieved by a comparison with the results obtained employing high-resolution tomography...
The decoration of a togatus Roman sculpture found in Salamanca in 2015 has been examined to identify the applied pigments. The study was performed using environmental scanning electron microscopy –ESEM– with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyser –ESEM-EDX– and Raman spectroscopy –RS– in microscopic mode. The ESEM-EDX analyser allowed the elemental ch...
Blends of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and a triblock copolymer poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(butyl acrylate)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (MAM) have been obtained following both out-of-equilibrium (extrusion) and near-equilibrium (solvent casting) production routes. The self-assembly capability and the achievable nanostructures of these blen...
Nanocomposite polymers and, in particular, nanocomposite polymer foams have been proposed in the last years as efficient materials for wastewater remediation. The main advantage of this approach is that it prevents accidental liberation of the active nanoparticles to the environment and facilitates the handling during the remediation operations. Ho...
Nanocellular polymers (i.e., cellular polymers with cells and walls in the nanometric range) were first produced in the early 2000s, with the works of [...]
The physical behavior of polymethyl methacrylate-carbon dioxide (PMMA-CO2) system was studied in a wide range of temperatures (0 to 100 °C) and pressures (0.1 to 10 MPa). The glass transition temperature of the systems was determined by a new optical observation methodology. The developed procedure is based on the refraction index variations betwee...
Among the various mechanisms playing a role in the heat transfer through nanocellular polymers, the radiation contribution remains the most unknown, since there is a lack of experimental data about how infrared light interacts with such structures. In this work, we present the first experimental measurements of the transmittance in the infrared reg...
A new and straightforward route to produce polymeric hollow microfibers is proposed. Polycaprolactone (PCL) hollow fibers are obtained for the first time by an environmentally friendly gas dissolution foaming approach, overcoming its limitations to induce porosity on samples on the micrometric range. Different porous morphologies are achieved from...
The use of polymeric nanocomposites has arisen as a promising solution to take advantage of the properties of nanoparticles (NPs) in diverse applications (e.g., water treatment, catalysis), while overcoming the drawbacks of free-standing nanoparticles (e.g., aggregation or accidental release). In most of the cases, the amount and size of the NPs wi...
A versatile and straightforward route to produce polymer foams with functional surface through their decoration with gold and palladium nanoparticles is proposed. Melamine foams, used as polymeric porous substrates, are first covered with a uniform coating of polydimethylsiloxane, thin enough to assure the preservation of their original porous stru...
An important water pollution problem is caused by nitrogen containing compounds. Specifically, the toxicity of nitrates (NO3-) to humans is mainly attributable to a reduction of the oxygen transport to the tissues, called methemoglobinemia, which affects principally to infants under 3 months of age.
The main objective of this research is to develo...
Owing to their high strength and stiffness, thermal and environmental stability, lower shrinkage, and water resistance, epoxy resins have been the preferred matrix for the development of syntactic foams using hollow glass microspheres. Although these foams are exploited in multiple applications, one of their issues is the possibility of breakage of...
Low-density nanocellular polymers are required to take advantage of the full potential of these materials as high efficient thermal insulators. However, their production is still a challenging task. One promising approach is the use of nanostructured polymer blends of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and a block copolymer poly(methyl methacrylate)-...
Superhydrophobic and oleophilic polyurethane foams were obtained by spray-coating their surfaces with solutions of thermoplastic polyurethane and hydrophobic silicon oxide nanoparticles. The developed functionalized foams were exploited as reusable oil absorbents from stable water-in-oil emulsions. These foams were able to remove oil efficiently fr...
Nanocellular polymers are a new generation of materials with the potential of being used as very efficient thermal insulators. It has been proved experimentally that these materials present the Knudsen effect, which strongly reduces the conductivity of the gas phase. There are theoretical equations to predict the thermal conductivity due to this Kn...
Nanostructured polymer blends with CO2-philic domains can be used to produce nanocellular materials with controlled nucleation. It is well known that this nanostructuration can be induced by the addition of a block copolymer poly(methyl methacrylate)-poly(butyl acrylate)-poly(methyl methacrylate) (MAM) to a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix....
A comprehensive study about a new production route of structural polymer foams is presented. This methodology is based on the one hand on a free foaming process induced by a chemical blowing agent inside a closed mold, and on the other hand on the use of a solid polymer able to absorb gas in close contact with the molten foamed polymer, establishin...
A new and straightforward single-step route to decorate melamine foams with silver nanoparticles (ME/Ag) is proposed. Uniform coatings of silver nanoparticles with diameters less than 10 nm are formed in-situ directly on the struts surface of the foams, after their dipping in an AgNO3 solution. We prove that the nanoparticles are stably adhered on...
Fibrous mats with hydrophobic and oleophilic properties have been fabricated and used as absorbents of oil from stable water in oil emulsions. The mats were prepared by initially mixing two polymers, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polycaprolactone (PCL), in a common solvent. The subsequent electrospinning of the prepared solutions resulted in...
In the last decade, a continuous increasing research activity is focused on the surface functionalization of polymeric porous materials for the efficient removal of oil contaminants from water. This work reviews the most significant recent studies on the functionalization of polyurethane and melamine foams, materials commonly reported for oil-water...
Polymer foams with controlled and templated pore size have been obtained for the first time by CO2 gas dissolution foaming from poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films. This kind of materials, with a variable porous structure, mimic some high-performance natural materials and could present significant interest in many applications. However, up to no...
Cost-effective oil absorbents for the remediation of oil spills have been developed following a facile process involving the modification of polyurethane foam surfaces with mixtures of silicon oxide nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane. Polyurethane foams with different pore sizes and connectivity are tested, and it was found that the proposed tr...
In this work it is provided the first evidence of the polymer chains confinement within self-standing pore walls of nanoporous materials based on poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). This was made possible by producing a series of porous samples with a wide range of pore sizes between 90 nm and 3 μm using processes combining CO2 sorption, selective b...
Obtaining high-density polyethylene-based microcellular foams is a topic of interest due to the synergistic properties that can be obtained by the fact of achieving a microcellular structure using a polymer with a high number of interesting properties. However, due to the high crystallinity of this polymer, the production of low-density microcellul...
In recent years, there has been a significant interest of the scientific community on nanocellular polymeric foams as a possible next generation of materials with a low dielectric constant for microelectronics applications In this work, the dielectric behavior of microcellular and nanocellular poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) based foams has been...
Herein we present an interesting approach for the reutilization of coffee waste in water remediation. This is achieved by the development of bioelastomeric foams composed of 60 wt % of spent coffee powder and 40 wt % of silicone elastomer using the sugar leaching technique. In this study, we present the necessary characteristics of the developed "g...
A simple procedure to evaluate and improve the dispersion of carbon nanofibers is presented and validated, relating the observed dispersion of the nanofibers in an intermediate stage of the production process to the final macroscopic properties of the foams. Epoxy/carbon nanofiber foams with optimal nanofiber dispersion are produced taking advantag...
Herein we present the fabrication of hydrophobic and oleophilic poly(methyl methacrylate)-based nanocomposite fibrous mats with magnetic properties, and their utilization for oil removal from stable water–oil emulsions. The incorporation of ferromagnetic iron nanoparticles into the polymeric fibers increases the selectivity and oil removal performa...
The acoustic properties of closed cell nanoporous and microporous poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) foams have been well characterized, showing that nanoporous PMMA exhibit a different absorption coefficient and transmission loss behavior in comparison with microporous PMMA. Experimental differences may be explained by the different wave propagation...
Current approaches for the remediation of oil spills propose the utilization of functionalized polymeric foams as efficient oil absorbents. However, for the majority of the materials employed, the studies are focused on sophisticated surface treatments while the significant role of the morphological parameters of the porous structure of the pristin...
After finishing their scientific and technical degrees, the professional development of the students is mainly continued towards two different directions. On the one hand, an academic path by performing a PhD and on the other hand, the direct incorporation into the working world. In both options some experience in the development of scientific and...
Could the reduction of the cell size to the nanometer range yield better mechanical properties than those of microcellular and conventional foams? This study answers this question taking advantage of the unusual ability of the solid state poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-CO2 system to produce comparable bulk foams both in the micrometer and nanomet...
This study is focused on the analysis of the structure and physical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microcellular and nanocellular foams produced by a solid state foaming process using CO 2 as physical foaming agent. For this purpose, several microcellular and nanocellular foams have been produced, the cellular structure has been cha...
An own-designed pressure vessel with glass windows has been employed to perform an in-situ characterization of the temporal evolution of the crystallization process of an amorphous polylactic acid (PLA) under different controlled CO2 pressures and temperatures. It has been proven that crystallinity can be related to optical parameters such as trans...
This dissertation focuses on the production and study of nanocellular foams from PMMA based(poly(methyl methacrylate) materials by CO2 gas dissolution foaming.Due to the novelty of this research field several experimental techniques have been improved or adapted in order to provide valuable information from the systems understudy. Nanostructuration...
An environmentally friendly method to produce tunable bulk micro or nanoporous structures is presented. Nano- and micro-porous structures are obtained by gas dissolution foaming using CO2, following the pattern of polymer blends between poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and a triblock copolymer, namely poly(methylmethacrylate)-co-poly(butyl acrylate)...
This work addresses the development of a novel user-interactive image analysis computed technique to determine the main characteristics of the cellular structure of cellular materials with any density, morphology, and/or cell size from micrographs obtained from any source—scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, etc. The specific analyzed...
A new model for solid skin formation on submicrocellular foams based on PMMA is presented. Structural foams has been produced by the solid state foaming technique using as precursor material a blend of poly (methyl methacrylate) PMMA and a triblock copolymer [poly (methyl methacrylate)-block poly (butyl acrylate)-block poly (methyl methacrylate), M...
The behaviour in supercritical CO 2 of block copolymers containing styrenic, butadiene, and methacrylic or perfluroalkyl blocks is studied in view of a specific swelling and foaming by a gas dissolution process. These block copolymers are considered as neat materials or as additives in blends e.g in polystyrene (PS) or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)...
The behaviour in supercritical CO2 of block copolymers containing styrenic, butadiene, and methacrylic or perfuroalkyl blocks is studied in view of a specifc swelling and foaming by a gas dissolution process. These block copolymers are considered as neat materials or as additives in blends e.g in polystyrene (PS) or polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) ma...
In this paper foams with cells in the range of 200 nm and relative densities between 0.4 and 0.6 have been produced by the batch dissolution foaming technique using as precursor material a blend of poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA and a triblock copolymer [poly(methyl methacrylate)-block poly(butyl acrylate)- block poly(methyl methacrylate), MAM]. It...
A new type of nanocellular polymeric material based on PMMA and a MAM triblock copolymer is presented. The production avoids the use of physical additives and leads to completely homogeneous nanostructured polymers with a large number of CO2 nucleation sites. The foamed materials show average cell sizes <200nm and relative foam densities of 0.4, pr...
Structural foams are composed of two solid layers enclosing a foamed core. The application of structural foams has rapidly increased in the last decade. Injection molding is currently used to produce these foams. In this paper an alternative route to produce structural foams has been used. The new technology is based on the free foaming of a precur...
The development of optimum formulations and the selection of proper foaming conditions to produce foams is not a simple task. Therefore, techniques capable to provide reliable technical information about the "foamability" of a given system and information about the mechanisms taking place during foaming could be very helpful. This work presents two...
