Quantum Beams & Computation for Sustainable Materials group

Based in the Materials Physics Center in Donostia San Sebastián, we are focused on the use and development of neutron-based and computation techniques to improve our knowledge of energy materials

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Meet the team

Recent & Upcoming Events

Umbertoluca Ranieri

May 20, 2026

Pint of Science 2026

Pint of Science 2026

Umbertoluca participated in Pint of Science as a volunteer.

Felix Fernandez-Alonso

May 5, 2026

Researcher Dr. Rita Omamuyovwi Akemu joins our group as a visitor

We welcome Dr. Rita Omamuyovwi Akemu from Covenant University, Nigeria, who was awarded a “Woman for Africa” grant to join our group.

Felix Fernandez-Alonso

Apr 20, 2026

Neutron Activation Analysis Workshop

Neutron Activation Analysis Workshop

We organized a two-days workshop on Neutron Activation Analysis by Dr. Carlo Cazzaniga from the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (UK). This was part of the ongoing Neutron Scattering Series. Funding was provided by Estrategia IKUR 2030.

Umbertoluca Ranieri

Apr 15, 2026

Seminar by Prof. Elisa Borfecchia

Seminar by Prof. Elisa Borfecchia

Prof.ssa Elisa Borfecchia (University of Turin, Italy) visited us in Donostia-San Sebastián and gave a seminar as part of the ongoing CFM Colloquium Series

Umbertoluca Ranieri

Feb 4, 2026

Seminar by Prof.a Elena Solana Madruga

Seminar by Prof.a Elena Solana Madruga

Prof.a Elena Solana Madruga (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) visited us in Donostia-San Sebastián and gave a seminar as part of the ongoing Neutron Scattering Series.

Umbertoluca Ranieri

Dec 16, 2025

Neutron Scattering Seminar

Neutron Scattering Seminar

Umbertoluca gave a seminar titled “High-pressure neutron scattering to study plastic phases” at CFM, as part of the ongoing Neutron Scattering Series.

Latest Publications

Jonathan F. Gebbia, Ares Sanuy, Michela Romanini, David Aguilà, Phillipe Negrier, Stephane Massip, María Del Barrio, Felix Fernandez-Alonso, Sanghamitra Mukhopadhyay, Markus Appel, Claudio Cazorla, Luis Carlos Pardo, Josep Lluís Tamarit (2026). Solid-solid phase transitions across orientationally disordered phases: The case of tetrachloro-m-xylene. Phys. Rev. E, 113, 024101 (2026).

Guido Goracci, Nick Adams, Tomas Stephen Northam de la Fuente, Amaia Iturrospe Ibarra, José Antonio Ibáñez-Gómez, Arantxa Arbe Mendez, Karen Allacker, Jorge Sánchez Dolado (2026). Carbonated alkali-activated cementitious material with radiative cooling properties for urban heat mitigation. Cleaner Materials 19, 100380 (2026).

Mattia Gaboardi, Valerio Di Lisio, Balthasar Braunewell, Jay Siegel, Daniele Cangialosi, Felix Fernandez-Alonso (2025). Curvature-induced vitrification & polymorphism in corannulene, the simplest geodesic polyarene. ChemRxiv. 2025; doi:10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-gdq9l.

Cristina Maciá-Castelló, Daniel Blanco López, Mattia Gaboardi, Eduardus Koenders, Jorge S. Dolado, Yasuo Wakabayashi, Tomonori Fukuchi, Yujiro Ikeda, Yoshie Otake, Felix Fernandez-Alonso (2025). Energy-resolved imaging and tomography with compact neutron systems - application to novel construction materials for thermal-energy storage. Canadian Journal of Physics 2025, doi:10.1139/cjp-2025-0085.

Pelayo Marín-Villa, Pablo Gila-Herranz, Monica Jimenez-Ruiz, Alexandre Ivanov, Jeff Armstrong, Kacper Drużbicki, Felix Fernandez-Alonso (2025). Molecular Derailment via Pressurization in Methylammonium Lead Iodide. ChemRxiv. 2025; doi:10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-jd7bj.

Ana Arauzo, Pelayo Marín-Villa, Kacper Drużbicki, María Concepción Sánchez, Felix Fernandez-Alonso (2025). Soft Modes and Localized Excitations in Metal Halide Perovskites: Insights from Heat Capacity. ChemRxiv. 2025; doi:10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-jd7bj.

Stephanie Willeit, Alexander Mauz, David Gutiérrez-Armayor, Joseph Arbash, Jesús Agustín Banda-Vázquez, Sergio Martí, Pedro B. Coto, Rubén D. Costa (2025). Ancestral Protein-Based Lighting. Adv. Mater. 2025, 2420303.

Pelayo Marín-Villa, Mattia Gaboardi, Boby Joseph, Frederico Alabarse, Jeff Armstrong, Kacper Drużbicki, Felix Fernandez-Alonso (2024). Methylammonium Lead Iodide across Physical Space: Phase Boundaries and Structural Collapse. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2025, 16, 1, 184–190.

Karin S. Thalmann, Kalith Mohamed Ismail Syed Sulaiman, R. K. Kathir, Diogo J. L. Rodrigues, Michael Thoss, Ángel Martín Pendás, Pedro B. Coto (2024). Role of the Radical Character in Singlet Fission: An Ab Initio and Quantum Chemical Topology Analysis. J. Phys. Chem. A 2025, 129, 1, 94-102.

R. K. Kathir, Pedro B. Coto, Michael Thoss (2024). Spin Mixing in Intramolecular Singlet Fission: A First-Principles-Based Quantum Dynamical Study. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2024, 15, 46, 11517–11524.

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