Rovira i Virgili University

About: Rovira i Virgili University is a education organization based out in Tarragona, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 4247 authors who have published 9141 publications receiving 236256 citations.

AlIII‐Catalysed Formation of Poly(limonene)carbonate: DFT Analysis of the Origin of Stereoregularity

Abstract: Amino-triphenolate derived AlIII complexes combined with suitable nucleophiles have been investigated as binary catalysts for the coupling of limonene oxide and carbon dioxide to afford alternating polycarbonates. These catalysts are able to produce stereoregular, perfectly alternating trans-polymers from cis-limonene oxide, whereas the pure trans isomer and cis/trans mixture give rise to lower degrees of stereoregularity. The best AlIII catalyst shows the potential to mediate the conversion of both stereoisomers of limonene oxide with high conversion levels of up to 71 % under neat conditions, indicating the high degree of robustness and atom-efficiency of this catalytic process. Computational studies have revealed unique features of the binary catalyst system, among which is the preferred nucleophilic attack on the quaternary carbon centre in the limonene oxide substrate.

Nanoporous Anodic Alumina Barcodes: Toward Smart Optical Biosensors

Abstract: Toward a smart optical biosensor based on nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA): by modifying the pore geometry in nanoporous anodic alumina we are able to change the effective medium at will and tune the photoluminescence of NAA. The oscillations in the PL spectrum are converted into exclusive barcodes, which are useful for developing optical biomedical sensors in the UV-Visible region.

Differences in Collaboration Patterns across Discipline, Career Stage, and Gender

Abstract: Collaboration plays an increasingly important role in promoting research productivity and impact. What remains unclear is whether female and male researchers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) disciplines differ in their collaboration propensity. Here, we report on an empirical analysis of the complete publication records of 3,980 faculty members in six STEM disciplines at select U.S. research universities. We find that female faculty have significantly fewer distinct co-authors over their careers than males, but that this difference can be fully accounted for by females’ lower publication rate and shorter career lengths. Next, we find that female scientists have a lower probability of repeating previous co-authors than males, an intriguing result because prior research shows that teams involving new collaborations produce work with higher impact. Finally, we find evidence for gender segregation in some sub-disciplines in molecular biology, in particular in genomics where we find female faculty to be clearly under-represented.