Materials, structure
and function.
A career centred on the chemistry of solids and porous materials, with nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray diffraction as key tools for understanding structure and function.
Scientific interests
Rocha’s work spans the synthesis, structural characterisation and functional understanding of inorganic and hybrid materials, particularly porous solids. He has pioneered the development of solid-state NMR techniques for the study of quadrupolar nuclei.
He completed doctoral and postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge and subsequently established a solid-state NMR research line at the University of Aveiro.
Microporous silicates
Structural work on materials including ETS-10 helped establish an internationally visible programme in porous inorganic materials at Aveiro.
From silicates to broader porous materials
Research expanded across titanium and zirconium silicates, functional porous solids and, later, metal–organic frameworks and coordination polymers.
Fundamental chemistry with translational consequences
Knowledge developed around microporous zirconium silicates contributed to a collaboration that was part of the scientific pathway leading to a material used in the hyperkalaemia medicine Lokelma.
Scale & recognition
Metrics are rounded and dated to August 2026.