Joaquín Brito, Ph.D.

Joaquín L. Brito was born in Caracas in 1953. He is a chemist who has got the following titles: Lic. Quím. (Univ. Simón Bolívar, Caracas, 1978); M. Sc. Quím. (IVIC, Venez. Inst. Sci. Research, 1982); Ph. Sc. Quim. (IVIC, 1986). Pursued postdoc training at Univ. of Pittsburg (1989-91). Has been active in scientific research since 1974, mostly at IVIC until his retirement in 2018. Among other institutions, has collaborated and published with researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA; CSIC, Madrid, Spain; UCV, Caracas, Venezuela; U. Cartagena, Colombia; Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi; ESPOL, Ecuador. Currently continues his career in Ecuador: 2018-2019 at Yachay-Tech; 2019-20 and 2021-2026 at Ikiam; 2020 at UTM; and is returning to Yachay-Tech in 2026.

Research interests

Heterogeneous catalysis for petroleum transformation and environmental protection. Transformation of biomass to resources. Materials characterization with emphasis in surface analysis techniques.

Selected publications

168) A. Vidal, J.L. Peña-Mena, R. Añez, D.S. Coll, O. Hurtado-Aular, A. Sierraalta, J.L. Brito. “Identifying the active nickel sites and hydrogen species in the phosphosulfide overlayer on the Ni₂P hydrotreating catalyst: a DFT-D3 study.” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 28 (2026) 7331-7343. https://doi.org/10.1039/D6CP00205F

167) Y. Villasana, J.L. Brito, M.A. Luis-Luis, F.J. Méndez. “Sulfured FeMo carbides and nitrides catalysts upgrade extra heavy crude oil quality.” Catalysis Today 443 (2025) 114964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2024.114964

165) Y. Villasana, J.A. García-Macedo, A. Navarro-Puyuelo, M. Boujnah, I. Reyero, H.A. Lara-García, J. Muñiz, F. Bimbela, L.M. Gandía, J.L. Brito, F.J. Méndez. “How bimetallic CoMo carbides and nitrides improve CO oxidation.” Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 11 (2023) 111478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.111478

163) A. Adriano, M.H. Cornejo, H. Baykara, E.V. Ludeña, J.L. Brito. “Dealumination and characterization of natural mordenite-rich tuffs.” Materials 15 (2022) 4654. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134654

162) F. Ruiz, Z.A. de Benzo, A. Garaboto, J. Salas, J.L. Brito. “XPS characterization of Vanadium Carbide species formed during the atomization process in Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy” Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry 37 (2022) 668-676. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1JA00323B

161) J. Puerta, P. Martin, F. Maass, J.B. Puerta, J.L. Brito. “Generalized non-ideal treatment and growth rates analysis of drift waves instabilities in a collisions free magnetized dusty plasma.” Physics of Plasmas 28 (2021) 023701. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0033635

157) B. Griffe, J.L. Brito, A. Sierraalta. “Selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide by ammonia over Cu/SAPO-11: A theoretical study.” SN Applied Sciences 2 (2020) 1302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-3079-3

151) Y. Villasana, F.J. Méndez, M.A. Luis-Luis, J.L. Brito. “Pollutant reduction and catalytic upgrading of a Venezuelan extra-heavy crude oil with Al2O3-supported NiW catalysts: Effect of carburization, nitridation and sulfurization.” Fuel 235 (2019) 577-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.08.047

140) F. Ruiz, Z. Benzo, A. Garaboto, V. León, F. Ruette, A. Albornoz, J.L. Brito. “An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the atomization of Mo from pyrolytic graphite platforms in ETAAS.” Spectrochimica Acta B 133 (2017) 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2017.04.009

132) G.D.J. Guerrero-Peña, M.M. Alrefaai, S.Y. Yang, A. Raj, J.L. Brito, S. Stephen, T. Anjana, V. Pillai, A. Al Shoaibi, S.H. Chung. “Effects of methyl group on aromatic hydrocarbons on the nanostructures and oxidative reactivity of combustion-generated soot.” Combustion and Flame 172 (2016) 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.06.026

128) Y. Rojas-Challa, F.J. Méndez, J.L. Brito, G. González, A.B. Sifontes, O. González, L. Rojas de Astudillo. “Microstructural study of the FeMo/MgO catalyst prepared by sol-gel and co-impregnation and their relationship with the growth of carbon nanotubes.” Diamond and Related Materials 60 (2015) 35-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2015.10.011

123) N. Ochoa, C. Vega, N. Pebere, J. Lacaze, J. Brito. “CO2 corrosion resistance of carbon steel in relation with microstructural changes.” Materials Chemistry and Physics 156 (2015) 198-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2015.02.047

101) C. Avendaño, A. Briceño, F. Méndez, J.L. Brito, G. González, E. Cañizales, R. Atencio, P. Dieudonne. “Novel MoO2/carbon hierarchical nano/microcomposites: Synthesis, characterization, solid state transformations and thiophene HDS activity.” Dalton Transactions 42 (2013) 2822-2830. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2dt31248d