Nieves Lopez Salas

Nieves Lopez Salas serves as a Junior Professor in Sustainable Materials Chemistry at the University of Paderborn's Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry since October 2022. She leads the Sustainable Materials Chemistry working group (AK Lopez Salas) and is affiliated with the Center for Sustainable Systems Design.

• PhD in Electrochemistry from Materials Science Institute of Madrid and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2014-2017)
• MSc in Electrochemistry from Materials Science Institute of Madrid and Universidad de Burgos (2012-2013)
• Chemical Engineer from University of Murcia, Spain (2005-2011)

Professor Lopez Salas specializes in the design and synthesis of carbonaceous materials with controlled pore structure and heteroatom doping for applications in electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and energy storage. Her research focuses on understanding electrolyte-nanopore interactions and developing sustainable materials chemistry approaches using ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents. She investigates how carbon nanopore structures and surface chemistry affect interactions with aqueous electrolytes, which is crucial for green energy storage and conversion applications.

Her research group aims to achieve deeper control over the carbonization process to develop advanced carbon materials with tailored properties, including carbonization of precursors with pre-coded information and optimization of carbon-carbon and metal-carbon heterojunctions.

• 2022 Women in Nanoscience Award for 'Controlled condensation of molecular precursors to functional materials.'
• 2017 PhD Thesis University Extraordinary Award
• 2016 Best Flash Presentation award for research on nitrogen-doped carbons
• Recipient of FPI PhD fellowship from the Spanish Government (2014-2017)

Professor Lopez Salas actively contributes to academic administration as a member of the Fakultätsrats NW and Prüfungsausschuss Materials Science at Paderborn University since 2023. She previously served as Gender Equality Officer at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (2021-2022) and has been involved in numerous outreach activities including Soapbox Science Berlin presentations and founding the 'PhD Thesis Showcase' project. She leads international collaborations such as the DAAD SDG Partnership: AfirGER with universities in Egypt, Tunisia, and Uganda, and the 2024 Paderborn Institute for Advanced Study project on green energy production.