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| Name |
Molinero, Valeria |
| Location
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University of Utah |
| Primary Field
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Applied Physical Sciences |
| Secondary Field
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Chemistry |
 Election Citation
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Molinero investigates the interplay between microscopic structure, dynamics, and phase transformations in materials. |
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Research Interests
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Valeria Molinero's fascination with change and the emergence of complex behavior from simple systems guides her interest on understanding the structure, dynamics and phase transformations of materials. To this end, she uses molecular simulations and theory, developing models and methods that have been widely adopted by the community. She is particularly interested in the behavior of water and other substances, such as silicon and silica that share with water the tetrahedral topology of their interactions. She has made pioneering contributions to understanding the properties of supercooled water and the mechanisms of formation of ice and clathrate hydrates, revealing the role of stacking disorder and amorphous phases in the pathway of nucleation of these crystals, and the role of organic and biological molecules and nanoconfinement on the outcome and rate of crystallization. She has extensively studied the phase behavior of water in confinement, uncovering new phases - including the first water quasicrystal, and new phenomena - including the oscillatory behavior that characterizes the end of the first order transition in small systems, and extending the study of confined solutions to complex systems such as ion exchange polymer membranes. Her interest in tetrahedral substances has led her to the investigation of the mechanisms of synthesis of silica zeolites, nanoporous crystals with extensive polymorphism that are formed through a series of phase transitions driven by chemical reactions. The coupling of chemical reactions and phase transitions is also at the core of her research on electrochemically-generated nanobubbles and other potential-driven processes at interfaces. |
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