Meet Carlos E. M. Campos - LINXS guest researcher within the New Materials theme
LINXS is happy to welcome guest researcher Carlos E. M. Campos to the Institute. He will stay at LINXS from August until the start of December, and contribute with his expertise to the New Materials theme. Carlos E. M. Campos is Professor at the Department of Physics at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Brazil. As part of his institution’s post-doc programme, he is also undertaking a postdoc at the MaxPlanck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart (Germany) and at LINXS.
What attracted you to LINXS as a guest researcher?
Carlos E. M. Campos is Professor in the Department of Physics at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) in Brazil.
I decided to apply for a guest researcher position at LINXS because the mission of this institute fulfills my expectations of, during my post-doc season in Europe, being in contact with experts in materials science research that use neutron and X-ray methods, especially the large facilities, such as the European Spallation Source (ESS) and the MAX IV synchrotron radiation lab.
What do you want to gain from your stay here?
The linked actions of the LINXS, ESS, and MAX IV sound like a perfect match for my desire to improve my skills in materials characterization. Besides my professional and personal development, I would like to create networks that can open opportunities for long-term collaborations between my home institution in Brazil and Sweden/European organizations. These initiatives can favor scientific actions on new materials´ development as well as on the education of young scientists, who can take advantage of the opportunities of being in contact with renowned researchers that use large facilities to develop state-of-art methods based on using neutron and X-ray sources.
What are your research interests?
I have experience in the area of "Condensed Matter Physics", with emphasis on Structure, Vibrational, Thermal and Optical Properties of Nanocrystalline Solids, working on the following topics: MechanoChemical Synthesis (MCS) of chalcogenic intermetallic alloys, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), calorimetry (DSC), Raman scattering, and electron microscopy.
Among the most recent scientific interests are: i) quantitative structural analyzes of Cementitious Materials under hydration conditions, ii) Microstructural characterization of nanomaterials made by MCS and their Applications in Electroanalysis, iii) Obtaining theoretical vibrational spectra (Raman and Infrared) of molecular crystals through calculations of electronic structure using computational methods of first principles of quantum mechanics, iv) real-time and in-situ, and in-operando characterization of nanomaterials produced by MCS using synchrotron sources and their applications in electroanalytical, catalysis, and thermoelectricity.
What will you do within the New Materials theme?
I will progress my post-doc project: Real-time characterization of mechanochemical synthesis and hydration of nano-materials, and work to create opportunities for Brazilian researchers in international projects in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
For my project, I intend to use X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering and X-Ray Fluorescence techniques in real time to have a better understanding of the physicochemical mechanisms of these nanomaterials in applications such as catalysts and electroanalytical sensors. I will also investigate the feasibility of mechanochemical synthesis in cementitious materials containing nanomaterials and residues, aiming to improve their mechanical, microstructural and rheological properties.
What excites you the most with X-rays and neutrons?
Particularly speaking about X-ray scattering methods, what excites me most are the new 4th-generation synchrotron sources and the possibilities to reveal the 3D crystalline structure of matter at the nanoscale by using coherent X-ray microscopy. The possibility to perform such kind of experiments at Max IV Laboratory, the pioneer in the field that emitted its first X-ray beam in 2015, and to share some knowledge with the Brazilian scientific community that uses our 4th-generation synchrotron, SIRIUS, would be fantastic.
Recently, the Brazilian government announced that BRL 36.7 billion will be invested between 2023 and 2026 for the construction of the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB) [1 - 5]. As the name suggests, the project foresees the construction of a research reactor with several purposes, including the use of a neutron beam for scientific and technological research in different fields of science.
Given this, I am very excited about the possibility of having contact with researchers of LINXS involved with the European Spallation Source (ESS) in construction in Lund. It will be incredible to hear some news about the real-world sample environments and state-of-the-art support facilities of the ESS where smaller and more complex samples will be accessible for neutron investigations, making the study of rare samples and samples under extreme conditions possible, among other things..
Researchers are very welcome to contact Carlos to learn more about his research, and set up individual meetings: carlos.campos@ufsc.br.
Read more about Carlos’ work: