Miren Aguirre


Research Staff

Associate Professor

Dispersiones de polímeros de base biológica y degradables

Ingeniería y simulación de polimerización

+34943015282

miren.aguirre@ehu.eus



Miren Aguirre earned her B.Sc. in Chemistry in 2010 and her M.Sc. in Applied Chemistry and Polymeric Materials in 2012, both from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). She joined POLYMAT in 2010 and in September 2014 she got the PhD from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). During the PhD she spent 3 months in YKI, Surface Chemistry Institute (Stockholm). During her post-doctoral years, she had the opportunity to specialize in different characterization techniques to analyze the microstructure and morphology of the polymer particles. She obtained the Pre-Doctoral (Formación de Investigadores modalidad AE, 2011-2014) and Post-Doctoral (Juan de la Cierva en Formación), grants in competitive calls from Basque and Spanish Governments, respectively. In 2019, she obtained the Assistant Professor position in the UPV/EHUand since 2024 she is Associate Professor. Her PhD research was focused on the incorporation of metal oxide nanoparticles, CeO2 and ZnO more precisely, into waterborne polymeric dispersions to improve their final performance as UV protective coatings. Since then, her research involves different topics related to the synthesis of waterborne latex dispersions, being the key point in all of them the improvement of the sustainability of different processes. Miren has supervised 4 PhD students, and more than 15 Master and Undergraduate Student’s projects.

Restoring Adhesion-Cohesion Balance in High Bio-Content Waterborne Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives through Itaconate Chemistry and Nanocellulose Reinforcement
J. Gupta, E. Malmström, M. Aguirre and R. Tomovska
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6c04800 09/09/2026
Waterborne Random Copolymers as Polymeric Surfactants for Emulsion Polymerization
A. Barquero, M. Aguirre and J. Scheerder
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH Vol. 65, Núm. 5, pp. 2441–2453 10.1021/acs.iecr.5c04814 30/01/2026
From dispersion to powder: Monitoring PMMA latex coagulation with Photon density Wave Spectroscopy (PDWS)
González-González S. and Aguirre M.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE Vol. 325 10.1016/j.ces.2026.123450 01/01/2026
Reactivity Ratios of Biobased Dibutyl Itaconate with Conventional and Renewable (Meth)Acrylates: Influence of Depropagation
J. Gupta, R. Tomovska, S. Hamzehlou and M. Aguirre
BIOMACROMOLECULES Vol. 26, Núm. 11, pp. 8074–8086 10.1021/acs.biomac.5c01505 13/10/2025
Comprehensive Morphology of ABS Latex Particles Revealed through Mathematical Modeling
S. Hamzehlou, A. Agirre, E. Modin, M. Aguirre, A. Chuvilin and J.R. Leiza
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH Vol. 64, Núm. 34, pp. 16626–16636 10.1021/acs.iecr.5c02196 27/08/2025
Unraveling the Particle Morphology of ABS Polymer Latexes by 3D STEM
A. Agirre, E. Modin, A. Chuvilin, M. Aguirre and J.R. Leiza
MACROMOLECULES Vol. 58, Núm. 16, pp. 8591–8598 10.1021/acs.macromol.5c00657 26/08/2025
Vat Photopolymerization of High Molecular Weight Polymer Latexes with Pseudothermoplastic Properties for Recyclability
J. Ayestaran, X. de Pariza, F. Vidal, C. Vazquez-Martel, A. Pascal, S. Yu, M. Aguirre, A. Nelson, J.R. Leiza, E. Blasco, T. Long, R. Aguirresarobe and H. Sardon
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS Vol. 35, Núm. 43 10.1002/adfm.202503712 01/01/2025
Emulsion copolymerization of 2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (MDO) and acrylate monomers: Incorporation vs hydrolysis
F. Wenzel, M. Aguirre and J.R. Leiza
POLYMER Vol. 307 10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127285 01/01/2024
Overcoming Challenges of Incorporation of Biobased Dibutyl Itaconate in (Meth)acrylic Waterborne Polymers
J. Gupta, R. Tomovska and M. Aguirre
BIOMACROMOLECULES Vol. 25, Núm. 8, pp. 5310–5320 10.1021/acs.biomac.4c00739 01/01/2024
Towards improved performance of waterborne polymer dispersions through creation of dense ionic interparticle network within their films
M. Argaiz, M. Aguirre and R. Tomovska
POLYMER Vol. 265 10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125571 16/01/2023
Polymer Colloids: Current Challenges, Emerging Applications, and New Developments
M. Aguirre, N. Ballard, E. Gonzalez, S. Hamzehlou, H. Sardon, M. Calderon, M. Paulis, R. Tomovska, D. Dupin, R. Bean, T. Long, J.R. Leiza and J. Asua
MACROMOLECULES Vol. 56, Núm. 7, pp. 2579–2607 10.1021/acs.macromol.3c00108 01/01/2023
Thiol-ene emulsion polymerization using a semi-continuous approach
F. Wenzel, U. Larrañaga, M. Aguirre and J.R. Leiza
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING Vol. 101, Núm. 9, pp. 5270–5280 10.1002/cjce.24925 01/01/2023
Strategies towards improved performance of waterborne coatings through multiplying the ionic interparticle interactions
M. Argaiz, M. Aguirre and R. Tomovska
PROGRESS IN ORGANIC COATINGS Vol. 183 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2023.107731 01/01/2023
Degradable aqueous polymer dispersions
A. Barquero, E. González, M. Aguirre and S. Hamzehlou
Advances In Chemical Engineering Vol. 62, pp. 93–132 10.1016/bs.ache.2023.08.003 01/01/2023
High biobased content waterborne latexes stabilized with casein
M. Allasia, M. Aguirre, L. Gugliotta, R. Minari and J.R. Leiza
PROGRESS IN ORGANIC COATINGS Vol. 168 10.1016/j.porgcoat.2022.106870 01/01/2022
Characterization of grafting properties of ABS latexes: ATR-FTIR vs NMR spectroscopy
A. Agirre, M. Aguirre and J.R. Leiza
POLYMER Vol. 253 10.1016/j.polymer.2022.124997 01/01/2022
Emulsifier-free (meth)acrylic colloids stabilized by cationic monomer containing two charged moieties
M. Argaiz, M. Aguirre and R. Tomovska
Colloid and Interface Science Communications Vol. 50 10.1016/j.colcom.2022.100659 01/01/2022
Kinetics of Radical Ring Opening Polymerization of the Cyclic Ketene Acetal 2-Methylene-1,3-dioxepane with Vinyl Monomers
F. Wenzel, S. Hamzehlou, L. Pardo, M. Aguirre and J.R. Leiza
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH Vol. 60, Núm. 29, pp. 10479–10488 10.1021/acs.iecr.0c04117 01/01/2021
Ionic inter-particle complexation effect on the performance of waterborne coatings
M. Argaiz, F. Ruipérez, M. Aguirre and R. Tomovska
Polymers Vol. 13, Núm. 18 10.3390/polym13183098 01/01/2021
Modeling the Kinetics and Microstructure of a Thermally Initiated Thiol-Ene Polymerization
F. Wenzel, S. Hamzehlou, E. de San Roman, M. Aguirre and J.R. Leiza
Macromolecular Reaction Engineering Vol. 15, Núm. 6 10.1002/mren.202100034 01/01/2021
Incorporation of novel degradable oligoester crosslinkers into waterborne pressure sensitive adhesives: Towards removable adhesives
F. Wenzel, A. Agirre, M. Aguirre and J.R. Leiza
GREEN CHEMISTRY Vol. 22, Núm. 10, pp. 3272–3282 10.1039/d0gc00463d 01/01/2020
Renewable feedstocks in emulsion polymerization: Coating and adhesive applications
M. Aguirre, S. Hamzehlou, E. González and J.R. Leiza
Advances In Chemical Engineering Vol. 56, Núm. 1, pp. 139–186 10.1016/bs.ache.2020.07.004 01/01/2020
Copolymerization of (meth)acrylates with vinyl aromatic macromonomers: understanding the mechanism of retardation on the kinetics with acrylates
M. Bandiera, S. Hamzehlou, F. Ruiperez, M. Aguirre, R. Balk, Maria J. BARANDIARAN and J.R. Leiza
Polymer Chemistry Vol. 10, Núm. 14, pp. 1769–1779 10.1039/c9py00062c 14/04/2019
Nitroxide mediated copolymerization of acrylates, methacrylates and styrene: The importance of side reactions in the polymerization of acrylates
A. Simula, N. Ballard, M. Aguirre, J.R. Leiza, S. van Es and J. Asua
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL Vol. 110, pp. 319–329 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2018.11.041 01/01/2019
Dynamics of the Particle Morphology during the Synthesis
S. Hamzehlou, M. Aguirre, J.R. Leiza and J. Asua
MACROMOLECULES Vol. 50, Núm. 18, pp. 7190–7201 10.1021/acs.macromol.7b01488 26/09/2017
Accelerated ageing of hybrid acrylic waterborne coatings containing metal oxide nanoparticles: Effect on the microstructure
M. Aguirre, M. Goikoetxea, L. Alberto Otero, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY Vol. 321, pp. 484–490 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.05.013 15/07/2017
Effective incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles by miniemulsion polymerization in waterborne binders for steel corrosion protection
S. Chimenti, J. Manuel Vega, M. Aguirre, E. Garcia-Lecina, J. Antonio Diez, H. Grande, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
Journal Of Coatings Technology And Research Vol. 14, Núm. 4, pp. 829–839 10.1007/s11998-017-9958-x 01/07/2017
Nitroxide mediated suspension polymerization of methacrylic monomers
N. Ballard, M. Aguirre, A. Simula, J.R. Leiza, S. van Es and J. Asua
Chemical Engineering Journal Vol. 316, pp. 655–662 10.1016/j.cej.2017.02.006 15/05/2017
High solids content nitroxide mediated miniemulsion polymerization of n-butyl methacrylate
N. Ballard, M. Aguirre, A. Simula, J.R. Leiza, S. van Es and J. Asua
Polymer Chemistry Vol. 8, Núm. 10, pp. 1628–1635 10.1039/c7py00067g 14/03/2017
Novel alkoxyamines for the successful controlled polymerization of styrene and methacrylates
A. Simula, M. Aguirre, N. Ballard, A. Veloso, J.R. Leiza, S. van Es and J. Asua
Polymer Chemistry Vol. 8, Núm. 10, pp. 1728–1736 10.1039/c6py02190e 14/03/2017
Multi-wavelength UV-detection in capillary hydrodynamic fractionation. Data treatment for an absolute estimate of the particle size distribution
L. Clementi, M. Aguirre, J.R. Leiza, L. Gugliotta and J. Vega
JOURNAL OF QUANTITATIVE SPECTROSCOPY & RADIATIVE TRANSFER Vol. 189, pp. 168–175 10.1016/j.jqsrt.2016.11.024 01/03/2017
Effect of molecular weight on the physical properties of poly(ethylene brassylate) homopolymers
Fernández J, Amestoy H, Sardon H, Aguirre M, Varga AL and J.R. Sarasua
Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials Vol. 64, pp. 209–219 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2016.07.031 01/12/2016
Effect of nanoconfinement on kinetics and microstructure of poly(butyl acrylate) synthesized by microemulsion polymerization
N. Ballard, M. Aguirre and J. Asua
Chemical Engineering Journal Vol. 304, pp. 667–678 10.1016/j.cej.2016.07.005 15/11/2016
New Class of Alkoxyamines for Efficient Controlled Homopolymerization of Methacrylates
N. Ballard, M. Aguirre, A. Simula, A. Agirre, J.R. Leiza, J. Asua and S. van Es
ACS Macro Letters Vol. 5, Núm. 9, pp. 1019–1022 10.1021/acsmacrolett.6b00547 01/09/2016
Synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate) and block copolymers by semi-batch nitroxide mediated polymerization
N. Ballard, A. Simula, M. Aguirre, J.R. Leiza, S. van Es and J. Asua
Polymer Chemistry Vol. 7, Núm. 45, pp. 6964–6972 10.1039/c6py01634k 01/01/2016
Particle nucleation and growth in seeded semibatch miniemulsion polymerization of hybrid CeO2/acrylic latexes (vol 55, pg 752, 2014)
M. Aguirre, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
POLYMER Vol. 71, pp. 148–149 10.1016/j.polymer.2015.06.028 05/08/2015
Film forming hybrid acrylic/ZnO latexes with excellent UV absorption capacity
M. Aguirre, M. Barrado, M. Iturrondobeitia, A. Okariz, T. Guraya, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
Chemical Engineering Journal Vol. 270, pp. 300–308 10.1016/j.cej.2015.02.025 15/06/2015
Evolution of Particle Morphology During the Synthesis of Hybrid Acrylic/CeO2 Nanocomposites by Miniemulsion Polymerization
M. Aguirre, M. Paulis, M. Barrado, M. Iturrondobeitia, A. Okariz, T. Guraya, J. Ibarretxe and J.R. Leiza
JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE PART A-POLYMER CHEMISTRY Vol. 53, Núm. 6, pp. 792–799 10.1002/pola.27504 15/03/2015
Polimero akriliko/CeO2 estaldura hibridoen sintesia egurraren iraunkortasuna luzatzeko
M. AGUIRRE ARRESE, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
Ikergazte: Nazioarteko ikerketa euskaraz pp. 287–292 01/01/2015
(Cryo)-TEM Assessment of Droplet Nucleation Efficiency in Hybrid Acrylic/CeO2 Semibatch Miniemulsion Polymerization
M. Aguirre, M. Barrado, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
MACROMOLECULES Vol. 47, Núm. 23, pp. 8404–8410 10.1021/ma5021193 09/12/2014
Particle nucleation and growth in seeded semibatch miniemulsion polymerization of hybrid CeO2/acrylic latexes
M. Aguirre, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
POLYMER Vol. 55, Núm. 3, pp. 752–761 10.1016/j.polymer.2013.12.067 12/02/2014
Radical initiator modified cerium oxide nanoparticles for polymer encapsulation via grafting from the surface
E. Salazar-Sandoval, M. Aguirre, M. Paulis, J.R. Leiza, M. Johansson and A. Ahniyaz
RSC Advances Vol. 4, Núm. 106, pp. 61863–61868 10.1039/c4ra09044f 01/01/2014
Hybrid acrylic/CeO2 nanocomposites using hydrophilic, spherical and high aspect ratio CeO2 nanoparticles
M. Aguirre, E. Salazar-Sandoval, M. Johansson, A. Ahniyaz, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
Journal of Materials Chemistry A Vol. 2, Núm. 47, pp. 20280–20287 10.1039/c4ta03620d 01/01/2014
UV absortzio propietateak dituzten estaldura gardenak sortzeko akrilato/CeO2 nanokonposatu ur-dispertsioen sintesia
M. AGUIRRE ARRESE and M. Paulis
II. Materialen Zientzia eta Teknologia Kongresua 01/01/2014
High-Solids-Content Hybrid Acrylic/CeO2 Latexes with Encapsulated Morphology Assessed by 3D-TEM
M. Aguirre, M. Paulis, J.R. Leiza, T. Guraya, M. Iturrondobeitia, A. Okariz and J. Ibarretxe
MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS Vol. 214, Núm. 19, pp. 2157–2164 10.1002/macp.201300373 01/10/2013
Synthesising hybrid binders with nanoceria for wood protection
M. Aguirre, J.R. Leiza and M. Paulis
SURFACE COATINGS INTERNATIONAL Vol. 96, Núm. 1, pp. 38–43 000209339800002 01/02/2013
UV screening clear coats based on encapsulated CeO2 hybrid latexes
M. Aguirre, M. Paulis and J.R. Leiza
Journal of Materials Chemistry A Vol. 1, Núm. 9, pp. 3155–3162 10.1039/c2ta00762b 01/01/2013