Education

Akim holds a Degree in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2017). As part of his undergraduate training, he joined the Erasmus program at the University of Cologne (Germany), where he worked under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Sanjay Mathur and Dr. Yakup Gönüllü on the deposition and surface modification of metal oxide layers via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, aiming to improve solar water-splitting efficiency for sustainable energy applications.

He earned his Master’s degree in Biomedicine from the Universitat de Barcelona (2018). For his master’s thesis, he worked in the group of Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Albertazzi under the supervision of Dr. Silvia Pujals, where he investigated supramolecular polymers as stimuli-responsive drug delivery platforms. His work focused on the synthesis of peptide-functionalized BTA monomers and the study of their self-assembly into stable one-dimensional fibers under physiological conditions.

In 2024, he obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, working in the Supramolecular Nanochemistry and Materials group led by Prof. Dr. Daniel Maspoch and under the supervision of Dr. Arnau Carné. His doctoral thesis explored the use of metal–organic polyhedra (MOPs) as modular building blocks for the construction of hierarchical porous materials, including metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and soft-porous architectures such as aerogels, with the aim of achieving advanced structural control and multifunctionality in complex porous systems.

 

Research

His research background spans supramolecular chemistry, coordination chemistry, and nanomaterials, with a strong focus on the design of advanced porous and multifunctional materials. During his Ph.D., he developed innovative synthetic methodologies to integrate MOPs into hierarchical structures, leading to atomically precise bimetallic MOFs, defect-engineered frameworks with hierarchical porosity, and multifunctional aerogels with tunable surface chemistry.

He also contributed to the development of DNA–MOP hybrid networks, opening new opportunities at the interface of supramolecular chemistry and biomolecular engineering. This interdisciplinary expertise has positioned him to advance the design of advanced porous frameworks and bioinspired materials with applications in catalysis, pollutant remediation, gas storage, and nanomedicine.

In 2025, Akim joined the POLYMAT group led by Prof. Ana Beloqui Elizazu, where he will work on exploring strategies for developing polymeric carriers for the targeted delivery of therapeutic proteins, primarily enzymes and antibodies.

Multifunctional Protein-polymer Hybrids

Publications