Mónica Loureiro

Researcher

CERENA-IST

.

Mónica Loureiro completed her PhD in Materials Engineering in 2023, at Instituto Superior Técnico, on the topic “Isocyanate microcapsules as new cross-linkers for safer and high performance adhesives”. She obtained her Masters’ degree in Technological Chemistry in 2016 with the thesis “Test and Development of Microcapsules for Rigid Polyurethane Foam” and graduated in Biochemistry in 2013, both at Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL). Her main scientific research area is synthesis and characterization of polymeric materials. Throughout her research career she developed polymeric microcapsules with several compositions, namely polyurea, polyurea/polyurethane, polyurea/silica, polycaprolactone, polyhydroxybutyrate and Eudragit. The microcapsules were to act as storage vesicles, self-healing materials or crosslinkers for polymeric materials (adhesives, PU foams, paints and anti-corrosion films). In the last two years of research, she focused on the development of biodegradable polymeric microcapsules and bio-based polyesters.