An Arqus research collaboration: Interview with Dominique Luneau, Sabrina and Antonio Barbon

A collaboration between Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and the University of Padua illustrates how doctoral mobility can contribute to both scientific results and long-term research cooperation.

The collaboration was initially launched by Dominique Luneau, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Lyon 1, who encouraged his PhD student, Sabrina Grenda, to undertake a research stay in Padua in order to access specialised Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy techniques. The collaboration was established with Antonio Barbon, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences at the University of Padova.

During her doctoral research at the Laboratoire des Multimatériaux et Interfaces, Sabrina worked on the magnetic properties of molecular materials, using advanced characterisation methods including EPR. Her research stay in Padua enabled her to acquire new experimental approaches and benefit from the host laboratory’s expertise in the field.

The collaboration led to the development of new pulse EPR methodologies and the production of results that were further analysed jointly in Lyon and Padua, which resulted in a publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Beyond the scientific results, the mobility marked a key step in Sabrina’s career. It was her first research experience abroad and contributed to her subsequent postdoctoral position at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, while maintaining links with her collaborators in the University of Lyon 1 and the University of Padua.

The collaboration rapidly extended beyond this initial exchange. In March 2023, the newly established Arqus Metal-Organic Network, initiated by Dominique Luneau, held its first meeting in Lyon, bringing together researchers from Granada, Graz, Leipzig, Lyon and Padua to identify shared research interests and strengthen links between research and training.

These exchanges led to the preparation of a joint proposal for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (MONARQ) on sustainable metal-organic materials, which received a high evaluation score of 93.6/100. 

The collaboration is now further consolidated through joint training initiatives. In June 2025, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 hosted the Blended Intensive Programme, BIP,  “Training in advanced sustainable metal-organic materials”, gathering PhD students and academic staff from Granada, Graz, Leipzig, Lyon and Padua, as well as partner institutions in Spain and Turkey. Combining online and in-person activities, the programme provides interdisciplinary training and contributes to the development of shared expertise and future research collaborations.

This trajectory highlights how doctoral mobility can support not only research production, but also the structuring of international networks, joint training activities and long-term academic cooperation.

Watch the full interview here: