Pablo Ballester

Prof. Pablo Ballester is a Professor at the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research (ICIQ) in Tarragona, Spain, affiliated with ICREA (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies). His research focuses on molecular self-assembly, supramolecular chemistry, and the design of functional molecular architectures. Key areas include the thermodynamic characterization of self-assembly processes, synthetic heteroditopic receptors for ion-pairs, molecular containers for confined chemistry studies, and mechanically interlocked molecules (e.g., catenanes and rotaxanes) with applications in molecular machinery.

Research Interests:

• Molecular self-assembly and thermodynamic analysis
• Design of ion-pair receptors and molecular containers
• Chemical reactivity in confined nanoscopic environments
• Synthesis of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs)

Advising and Group Activity: Leads a research group involving PhD students, visiting scientists, and postdoctoral associates, as evidenced by documented group history and annual group pictures (2005–2024). No specific grants or awards are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Labs/Teams: Directs a supramolecular chemistry research group focused on advanced molecular architectures and their applications in nanotechnology and molecular machinery.