After receiving my Chemistry B.S. from the National University of La Plata (Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 2003) I carried my PhD project on simulations and experiments for heterogeneous catalysis under vacuum conditions under the supervision of Prof. Vicente (Argentina, UNLP, 2007), and Prof. Imbihl (PCI, University of Hannover, Germany). During my post-doc I became familiar with synthesis and applications of meso and microporous materials, and after joining the Softmatter Lab in 2011, I visited Prof. Matzger Lab at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and started working on synthesis and applications of Microporous Coordination Polymers (also known as MOFs). Our current undergoing projects take advantage of both, the synergy arising from close-collaboration with lab members with diverse expertise (e.g., x-ray scattering techniques, organic synthesis, electrochemistry, colloidal chemistry methods), and the wide range of available techniques allowing for a thorough physical and chemical characterization; in order to pursue the synthesis of composites integrating MOF and diverse materials (either in colloidal suspensions or film configuration) with potential use in energy-related and sensing technologies.

Research interest

  • Layer-by-Layer approach for the design of hybrid electroactive films based on MOFs and conductive polymers.

  • Manipulation of colloidal dispersions of MOF nanoparticles for conferring surface affinity with different modulation agents and differential properties.

  • Application of controlled pyrolysis procedures to MOF nanoparticles in order to create nanocarbons with increased porosity for electrochemical applications.

  • Manipulation of MOF nanoparticles surface chemistry in order to confer bio-recognition for the assembly of biosensors.

Selected publications

  1. “Layer-by-layer integration of conducting polymers and metal organic frameworks onto electrode surfaces: enhancement of the oxygen reduction reaction through electrocatalytic nanoarchitectonics” Ana Paula Mártire,   Gustavo M. Segovia, Omar Azzaroni, Matías Rafti and Waldemar Marmisollé.
    Mol. Syst. Des. Eng. (RSC), 2019, vol. 4, pp. 893-900. (https://doi.org/10.1039/C9ME00007K)

  1. “Polyelectrolyte Capping As Straightforward Approach toward Manipulation of Diffusive Transport in MOF Films” Juan A Allegretto, Jimena S Tuninetti, Agustín Lorenzo, Marcelo Ceolín, Omar Azzaroni and Matías Rafti. Langmuir (ACS), vol. 34 (1), pp. 425-431, 2019. (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03083)

  1. “Heterogeneous Catalytic Activity of Platinum Nanoparticles Hosted in Mesoporous Silica Thin Films Modified with Polyelectrolyte Brushes”, Matias Rafti, Omar Azzaroni, M. Cecilia Fuertes, Galo J. A. A. Soler-Illia, Annette Brunsen. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES, vol. 5 (18), pp. 8833-8840, 2013.

  2. “Powering Up the Oxygen Reduction Reaction through the Integration of O2-Adsorbing Metal–Organic Frameworks on Nanocomposite Electrodes”, Gonzalo E. Fenoy, Juliana Scotto, Julio Azcárate, Matías Rafti, Waldemar A. Marmisollé, and Omar Azzaroni. ACS Applied Energy Materials, vol. 1(10), pp. 5428-5436, 2018. (https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.8b01021)

  1. “Shedding Light on the Dark Corners of Metal–Organic Framework Thin Films: Growth and Structural Stability of ZIF-8 Layers Probed by Optical Waveguide Spectroscopy” Juan A Allegretto, Jakub Dostalek, Matías Rafti, Bernhard Menges, Omar Azzaroni, Wolfgang Knoll. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A (ACS), vol. 123(5), pp. 1100-1109, 2018. (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.8b09610)

  1. “Photosensitizing properties of hollow microcapsules built by multilayer self-assembly of poly (allylamine hydrochloride) modified with rose Bengal”, Mariana P Serrano, Matías Rafti, Andrés H Thomas, Claudio D Borsarelli, RSC Advances, vol. 9 (33), pp. 19226-35, 2019.

Synergistic activities and scientific projects

  1. Argentina – Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científico y Tecnológico, Start-up PICT project, 2018-2021, Project Leader (IR).

  2. Argentina counterpart Project Leader, 2013-2015 DFG (Germany)-CONICET (Argentina) collaboration biannual project: “Experimental and theoretical modeling of the ammonia oxidation over d-band metal single crystal catalysts under UHV regime”. Prof. Ronald Imbihl – Leibniz University Hannover, Germany.

  3. Argentina counterpart Project Leader, 2012-2014 NSF (United States) – CONICET (Argentina) collaboration biannual project: “Adsorption of technologically relevant simple gases on carbonaceous surfaces”. Prof. Aldo D. Migone – Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (IL), U.S.

  4. Member of Argentinean Physical Chemistry Research Association (AAiFQ) 2005-present

  5. Reviewer for international scientific publications (Elsevier, American Chemical Society, Wiley, The Royal Society of Chemistry, and The Argentine Chemical Society) 2010-present.