Welcome to Prof. Hernández-Maldonado’s Research Group Homepage!
Intro Video (In Spanish / En Español)
NSSAL’s work on the development of carbon/MOF hierarchical composites for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern from water has been highlighted in ACS Chemistry of Materials’ Virtual Issue on Multifunctional Nanoporous Materials in Latin America
The Nanoporous Sorbents and Adsorption Lab (NSSAL) at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez focuses on developing and tailoring new porous materials for chemical separation and recovery processes at ambient or mild conditions. The challenge is synthesizing new materials with specific framework topologies and novel compositions based on templated hydrothermal paths or surface functionalization.
Our synthesis efforts include metal-substituted aluminophosphates (MAPOs), flexible titanosilicates(TS), mesoporous silica, coordination polymers, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In terms of applications, we are interested in carbon dioxide removal in closed systems, ultrapurification of light gas mixtures, and removal of emerging organic contaminants from potable water sources, to mention a few.
03/18/2025: The NSSAL team welcomes our newest graduate student, Mrs. Maraliz Rivera.
02/05/2025: Our work on ammonia adsorption at high pressure and high temperature using aluminosilicates, using a first-of-its-kind volumetric adsorption equipment, has been published in ACS Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. (Link). Adsorption presents a promising energy-efficient alternative to cryogenic condensation for separating components in the Haber-Bosch ammonia production process. Our experimental data address a significant gap in ammonia adsorption studies on major classes of zeolites.
11-03-2024: Gabriela del Valle, NSSAL PhD candidate, has been selected for the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) Outstanding Engineering Graduate Student Leadership Award by Great Minds in STEM (GMiS). The selection process was highly competitive, with over 1,000 applicants, and she stood out as the top graduate engineering scholar. She will be formally recognized at the Student Leadership Awards Ceremony on November 8 at the 2024 GMiS Conference in Fort Worth, TX. Congratulations, Gabriela! https://greatmindsinstem.org
09-06-2024: NSSAL’s work on the removal of siloxanes from water is featured in the RSC’s “Celebrating Latin American Chemistry” themed collection https://pubs.rsc.org/en/journals/articlecollectionlanding?themeID=406e1bc9-fc28-4c6e-b4dc-f4c6c9f85707
01-31-2023: Prof. Arturo Hernandez-Maldonado is elected 2022 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) https://www.aaas.org/news/elected-fellows-announcement-2022
2025
Aristizabal-González, C.; Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Prerna; Siepmann, J.I.; Tsapatsis, M.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. A Ammonia Adsorption at High Temperature and Pressure using Sodium Containing Aluminosilicates: Selectivity over Nitrogen and Multicycle Working Capacities. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2025, accepted. (Link)
2024
Vega-Santander, D.R.; Arrieta-Perez, R.; Rivera-Mirabal, D.; Del Valle-Pérez, G.C.; Sepulveda-Pagan , M.; Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Pagan-Torres, Y.J.; Hernandez-Maldonado, A.J. Superior Single- and Multi-component Siloxane Removal from Water using a Faulted Silica DON Zeolite Adsorbent. Environ. Sci.: Adv. 2024, 3, 10-18. (Link)
Tous-Granados, A.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. A SIFSIX-MOF Constructed from a Metalloligand Yields Enhanced Stability for Selective CO2 Adsorption. Chem. Comm. 2023, 59, 10020-10023. (Link)
Tous-Granados, A.; Munoz-Senmache, J.C.; Arrieta-Pérez, R.R.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. A Bimetallic Be/Cu Pillared-Layered Porous Coordination Polymer for Selective CO2 Removal via Adsorption. Cryst. Growth Des. 2023, 23(3), 1888–1897. (Link)
Del Valle-Pérez, G.C.; Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Cruz-Tato, P.E.; Nicolau, E.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. Carbon Dioxide Removal from Humid Atmosphere by a Porous Hierarchical Silicoaluminophosphate/Carbon Composite Adsorbent. ACS Appl. Eng. Mater. 2023, 1(2), 790–801. (Link)
2022
Vega-Santander, D.R.; Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Borrero-Negron, J.; Pagan-Torres, Y.J.; Hernandez-Maldonado, A.J. Removal of Linear Siloxanes and Dimethyl Sulfone from Water using Hierarchical Zeolite Porous Carbon Adsorbents. J. Hazard. Mater 2022, 440, 129805. (Link)
Urcia-Romero, S.; Arrieta-Pérez, R.R.; Toby, B.H..; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. Carboxylic Group Rotation and Lattice Expansion in Co2(pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate)2(4,4′-bipyridine) Porous Coordination Polymer Induced by CO2 Adsorption at Ambient Temperature Cryst. Growth Des. 2022, 22(4), 2382–2391.(Link)
Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Cruz-Tato, P.E.; Nicolau, E.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. Confined Space Synthesis of Chromium–Based Metal–Organic Frameworks in Activated Carbon: Synergistic Effect on the Adsorption of Contaminants of Emerging Concern from Water. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 2022, 10 (2), 107282.(Link)
2021
Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Fernández-Reyes, B.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. Progress in the Design of Nanoporous Adsorbent Materials Containing Transition Metals for the Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern. Env. Pollut. Bioavail. 2021, 33(1), 41. (Link)
Fernández-Reyes, B.; Morales-Jiménez, S.; Sanchez-Marrero, G.; Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. Hierarchical Three-Dimensionally Ordered Mesoporous Carbon (3DOm) Zeolite Composites for the Adsorption of Contaminants of Emerging Concern. J. Hazard. Mater Lett. 2021, 2, 100017.(Link)
Fernández-Reyes, B.; Morales-Jiménez, S.; Muñoz-Senmache, J.C.; Vega-Santander, D.R.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. Single- and Multi-Component Adsorption of Selected Contaminants of Emerging Concern from Water and Some of their Metabolites onto a Hierarchical Porous Copper(II)-Zeolite-Activated Carbon Composite. Microporous Mesoporous Mater. 2021, 312, 110355. (Link)
Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. “Advancements in the Design of Porous Materials for the Adsorption of Contaminants of Emerging Concern from Water” A James Y. Oldshue Lecture Award by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers & Interamerican Confederation of Chemical Engineering. 2020 AIChE Annual Meeting – November 202
Del Valle-Pérez, G.C.; Rivera-Mirabal, D.M.; Y. Zhao, Y.; Arrieta-Pérez, R,R,; Chen, Z.;Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. “Adsorption of Siloxanes from Water using Nanoporous Zeolitic Materials.” Spring 2020 ACS National Meeting (Virtual Presentation) – March 2020
Rivera-Mirabal, D.M.; Arrieta-Pérez, R.R.; Zhao, Y.; Z. Chen, Z.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. “Adsorption of Dimethyl Sulfone (DMSO2) and Trimethylsilanol (TMS) from Aqueous Media by a Large Pore Pure Silica UTD-1 Zeolite Material.” Spring 2020 ACS National Meeting (Virtual Presentation) – March 2020
2019
Muñoz-Senmache,J.C.; Kim, S.; Yoon, Y.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J .“Carbon Metal–Organic Framework Composite (CMOF) for the Adsorption of Contaminants of Emerging Concern from Water.” Fall 2019 ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA – August 2019
Urcia-Romero, S.; Arrieta-Pérez, R.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J. “Co2(pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate)2(4,4′-bipyridine) 1D Porous Coordination Materials: Enhanced Carbon Dioxide Adsorption at Ambient Temperature.” Fall 2019 ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA – August 2019
Fernández-Reyes,B.; Hernández-Maldonado, A.J “Hierarchical Porous Carbon-Zeolite Composites Materials for the Adsorption of Contaminants of Emerging Concern from Water.” 3rd ANQUE-ICCE International Congress of Chemical Engineering, Santander, Spain – June 2019
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