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Dr. Katherine Villa

Dr. Villa obtained her bachelor’s in Chemistry from Universidad del Quindío (Colombia) before moving to Spain to pursue her scientific career. Here, she received her Master’s in Science and Chemical Technology from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where she also developed her PhD thesis working on “Hydrogen generation from biomass by heterogeneous photocatalysis.” After obtaining her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and as Senior Scientist at the University of Chemistry and Technology (Czech Republic) in the fields of solar fuels and self-propelled micromotors.

Since June 2021, she is Principal Investigator of a project on the conversion of carbon dioxide into high-value chemicals and fuels at ICIQ, thanks to a la Caixa Junior Leader fellowship. Throughout her scientific career, she has worked in 8 research centers in three different countries: Colombia, Spain, the Czech Republic and Belgium. Over the last two years, she has been successful in highly competitive grants, including an MSCA-COFUND-University of Padova, Beatriu de Pinós, la Caixa Junior Leader, Ramón y Cajal and ERC-StG.

 

Her research interests include photocatalysis, nanomaterials, renewable energy, micro/nanomotors, and environmental remediation.

 

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Selected publications

 

Bubble-Propelled Micromotors for Ammonia GenerationR. Ferrer Campos, H. Bachimanchi, G. Volpe, K. VillaNanoscale 2023, (Accepted Manuscript). DOI: 10.1039/D3NR03804A.

 

Exploring innovative designs and heterojunctions in photocatalytic micromotorsK. VillaChem. Commun. 2023, 59, 8375-8383. DOI: 10.1039/D3CC01634J.

3D-Printed Organic Conjugated Trimer for Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic ApplicationsX. Yuan, N. Sunyer-Pons, A.Terrado, J.L. León, G. Hadziioannou, E. Cloutet, K. VillaChemSusChem 2023, 16, e202202228. DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202202228.

Molecular Imprinted BiVO4 Microswimmers for Selective Target Recognition and RemovalX. Yuan, R. Ferrer Campos, F. A. Garcés-Pineda, K. VillaSmall 2023, 19, 2207303. DOI: 10.1002/smll.202207303.

Photocatalytic water splitting: advantages and challengesK. Villa, J.R. Galán-Mascarós, N. López, E. Palomares.Sustainable Energy Fuels 2021, 5, 4560-4569. DOI: 10.1039/D1SE00808K.

 

 

About ICIQ

About the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ)

 

ICIQ is a public foundation dedicated to chemical research aimed at addressing global challenges such as the climate emergency and human health. Recognised with two Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence accreditations since 2014, the centre hosts 250 researchers distributed across 19 research groups focused on sustainable catalysis, renewable energies, and decarbonization, as well as molecular medicine. These groups drive frontier research using both computational and experimental tools. ICIQ scientists have secured a total of 26 projects funded by the European Research Council (ERC), and nine of them are ICREA professors (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies). Located in Tarragona, ICIQ works closely with industry to enhance its competitiveness, fostering the development of innovative applications and the training of qualified professionals. As a CERCA centre and a member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), ICIQ is committed to sustainable and equitable development, open science, and the social impact of research. More information at www.iciq.cat © 2025. All rights reserved.

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