(593) 99 407 0906

hpinto@yachaytech.edu.ec

Biography

Henry Pinto obtained his PhD in Physics in the field of Condensed Matter Physics and Quantum Mechanical simulations at the Department of Physics at the National University of Ireland in Cork and Tyndall National Institute, Ireland, in 2006. During his PhD studies he was the winner of the BOC Postgraduate Bursary Award for his research. Through his scientific career, Dr. Pinto has been doing research in world class centers like: Aalto University, Finland; Nagoya University, Japan and Liverpool University, UK. From 2010 until 2016 Dr. Pinto was a Research Professor in the Interdisciplinary Center for Nanotoxicity at Jackson State University, USA.

Summary of Interests

Dr. Pinto’s main scientific interests are in Condensed Matter Physics and Computational Materials Science applying cutting-edge theoretical and computational methods together with the best available computing resources. He has special interest in the understanding of the nanoworld phenomena from a theoretical perspective in close collaboration with experimentalist. His main research topics includes: electronic structure calculations, magnetism and strong correlated systems, mineral and metal-oxide surfaces and interfaces, polymers and metal/polymer interfaces, scanning tunneling microscopy simulations, nanomanipulation, molecular electronics, point defects and high performance computing.

Current Research projects

Effect of Interface Reconstruction on the Mechanical Properties of Al/Al2O3 Multilayers.
Study of metal clusters/TiO2(110) interfaces:
Structural and electronic properties of polymer/gold-surface interfaces.
Surfaces and interfaces of defective pyrite FeS2.
Asteroid Regolith Modeling: From Atomistic to Macroscopic.
Molecular electronics: structural and electronic properties of NiTPP on Si(100) towards a controlled electronic manipulation.
Computational studies on CoSi2/NiSi2 silicide pads grown on Si(100).
Computational studies of flower-like defects in graphene: effect on the mechanical and electronic properties.

Selected Publications

H. Pinto, R. M. Nieminen, S. D. Elliott. Ab–initio study on γ–Al2O3 surfaces – Phys. Rev. B 70, 125402 (2004).
H. Pinto, S. D. Elliott. The short-range nature of the Verwey transition in Fe3O4: band structure and Jahn-Teller distortion – J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 18, 10427 (2006). IOPselect
G. H. Enevoldsen, H. P. Pinto, A. S. Foster, M. C. R. Jensen, A. Kühnle, M. Reichling, W. A. Hofer, J. V. Lauritsen, F. Besenbacher. Detailed scanning probe microscopy tip models determined from simultaneous atom-resolved AFM and STM studies of the TiO2(110) surface – Phys. Rev. B 78, 045416 (2008). Editor’s suggestion
G.H.Enevoldsen,H.P.Pinto,A.S.Foster,M.C.R.Jensen,W.A.Hofer,B.Hammer,J.V.Lauritsen,F.Besenbacher. Imaging the hydrogen subsurface site in rutile TiO2 – Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 136103 (2009).
F. Chiaravalloti, H. P. Pinto, D. Riedel, A. S. Foster, G. Dujardin. Atomic-scale study of the adsorption of calcium fluoride on Si(100) at low-coverage regime – Phys. Rev. B 84, 155433 (2011).
H.P. Pinto, A. Michalkova, J. Leszczynski, First-principles studies of paramagnetic vivianite Fe3(PO4)2·8H2O surfaces – Journal of Physical Chemistry C 118, 6110 (2014).
M. Yengui, H. P. Pinto, J. Leszczynski and D. Riedel. Atomic scale study of corrugating and anticorrugating states on the bare Si(100) surface — J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27, 045001 (2015).

Patrycja Parnicka, Alicja Mikołajczyk, Henry P Pinto, Wojciech Lisowski, Tomasz Klimczuk, Grzegorz Trykowski, Beata Bajorowicz, Adriana Zaleska-Medynska. On the excitation mechanism of visible responsible Er-TiO2 system proved by experimental and theoretical investigations for boosting photocatalytic activity. Applied Surface Science, 146815. (2020)

P Parnicka, A Mikołajczyk, HP Pinto, W Lisowski, T Klimczuk, G Trykowski, … Experimental and DFT insights into an eco-friendly photocatalytic system toward environmental remediation and hydrogen generation based on AgInS2 quantum dots embedded on Bi2WO6. Applied Surface Science, 146596. (2020)

Magdalena Miodyńska, Alicja Mikolajczyk, Beata Bajorowicz, Julia Zwara, Tomasz Klimczuk, Wojciech Lisowski, Grzegorz Trykowski, Henry P Pinto, Adriana Zaleska-Medynska. Urchin-like TiO2 structures decorated with lanthanide-doped Bi2S3 quantum dots to boost hydrogen photogeneration performance. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 118962. (2020)

MJ Schaible, HP Pinto, AD McKee, J Leszczynski, TM Orlando. Characterization and Simulation of Natural Pyrite Surfaces: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 123 (43), 26397-26405. (2019)

JK Roy, ES Vasquez, HP Pinto, S Kumari, KB Walters, J Leszczynski. Computational and experimental approach to understanding the structural interplay of self-assembled end-terminated alkanethiolates on gold surfaces. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 21 (42), 23320-23328 (2019)