• Provost Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (2019-2022)
• Eberly College of Science Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA (2018-2019)
• PhD, Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (2013-2018)
• BS, Department of Chemistry, Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey, Cayey, PR (2008-2012)

• 2025 Stanford R. Ovshinsky Sustainable Energy Fellowship by the American Physical Society
• 2025 U.S. Young Observers to IUPAC (selected by National Academy of Sciences)
• 2024 Forum of Early Career Scientists (FECS) of the American Physical Society Diversity and Inclusion Award
• 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award (2023)
  
• Scialog: Negative Emission Science Fellow (2022)
• NSF-AGEP Lighthouse Beacon Fellow (2022)
• Early Career Editorial Board Member, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 
• 2019 ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Young Investigator Award (August 2019)
• IUPAC–Solvay International Young Chemists Award (July 2019)
• Robert S. Hyer Graduate Research Award, Texas Section–American Physical Society (October 2018)

• Synchrotron-based X-ray characterization
• Inorganic and solid-state material synthesis
• Electronic structure elucidation
• Surface chemistry of inorganic materials
  
• Deep decarbonization
  
• Electrocatalytic CO2 valorization
  

Strained Layered Materials as Electrodes for Energy-Storage Devices

This work looks to elucidate on the stability and change in reactivity of layered materials in relation to tailored strain-site patterns on the material. The presence of stress and the resulting strain has been demonstrated to modify the local electronic structure of the material, increasing (or decreasing) reactivity, and modifying its properties. We seek to grow transition-metal dichalcogenides on templated Si/SiO_x wafers that matches the desired patterns. The performance of the resulting products is then evaluated using electrochemical characterization techniques, and its surface chemistry is evaluated by Raman mapping spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and XAS.

Elucidation of the Phase Diffusion Mechanisms within High Entropy Alloys

High entropy alloys and oxides (HEA/HEO) are a novel class of materials in high-composition space. These materials are usually comprised of 5 or more transition metals within the unit cell. We seek to understand the phase transformation phenomena that occur on this system. Phase transformations of this system occurs in the presence of temperature, heat, or oxidative/reduction environments. We will be focusing on stimuli originating from electrical potential and oxidative/reduction environments.

Chemically Tailored Layered Double Hydroxides as Pollutant Remediation Technology

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are lamellar inorganic solids that are comprised of positively charged brucite-type layers of divalent and trivalent metals with exchangeable intercalated anions present in between the layers to compensate the net positive charge, with general formula of [M_1-x²⁺M_x³⁺(HO^-)₂]^x+(A^m−)_x/m·nH₂O. The chemical diversity of this solid allows for an unprecedented tailoring of the properties of the material. In addition, the lamellar nature of this solid allows for facile intercalation of both organic and inorganic species in between the layers. We propose to use these LDHs as pollutant remediation technologies where precise capture and degradation of the undesired specie can be achieved.

• Sharma, J.; Kolpack, T.J.; Pérez Colón, K.;  Janpandit, M.; Li, Y. C., De Jesús Báez, L. R.*; On the Crystal Growth of Vanadyl Hydroxide (VOOH) with Six-Fold Arms Morphology, Nanoscale, 2025, DOI: 10.1039/D5NR02771C
• Otero, K.; Armstrong, C.; Moreno-Piza, O. J.; Hollis, E.; Scalia, J. C.; De Jesús Báez, L. R.; Holewinski, A.; Hernández-Pagán, E. A.; Synthesis of Solid-Solution Mn_xZn_1–xO Nanoparticles and their Electrochemical Oxidation of Furfural; Inorganic Chemistry, 2025, 64 (34), 17603–17613
• Rajan, Revathy, Scalia, J. C., De Jesús Báez, L. R., Knowles, K.E.; Ligand-Dependent Optical Properties of Colloidal Ternary Spinel Oxide Nanocrystals Containing Transition Metals; Inorganic Chemistry, 2025, 64 (29), 15152-15164                                                                                                
• De Jesús Báez, L. R.*; Rosas, A. S.; Mahale, P.; and Mallouk, T. E.* A chelation-based route to layered transition metal carbides (MXenes), ACS Omega, 2023, 8, 44, 41969–41976.