The Spectroscopy and Catalysis department (part of Institute for Molecules and Materials) develops methods for investigating the details of catalytic chemical reactions and designs and synthesises new (supra)molecular catalysts. The aim is to understand and describe trends for improving catalysts and to prepare better catalysts. The department has three research groups: Roithova Group, Elemans Group and Cristescu Group (Trace Detection Laboratory TDL).
Spectroscopy and Catalysis
Department
Research
Within the Spectroscopy and Catalysis department, there are three research groups working on various projects. View all our scientific contributions and publications in Radboud Repository or view the publications of Jana Roithová, Hans Elemans or Simona Cristescu.
Roithová group
The Roithová group develops methods for investigation of details of catalytic chemical reactions. The aim is to understand, to describe a trend how to improve catalysts and to prepare better catalysts. The unique aspect of our research is investigation of properties of reactive species at a single molecule level in interconnection with their reactions in bulk.
We work on the border between chemistry and physics. The group consists of chemists, who synthesise new catalysts and study their reactions, and of physicists, who develop and operate cutting-edge instrumentation to study the reactive species responsible for the reactions. Students are trained in synthetic chemistry, computational chemistry, mass spectrometry and different spectroscopical methods. The group develops and uses methods in mass spectrometry to investigate reactions in solution, gas phase reactions, reactive intermediates, and short-lived intermediates in photochemical reactions.
Elemans group (Molecular Nanotechnology)
In the Molecular Nanotechnology group we aim at developing new technologies to write, store, and read information on molecules, i.e. on polymer chains, with the help of supramolecular machines inspired by the ‘Turing machine’, a hypothetical device proposed by the British mathematician Alan Turing in 1936 as the general basis for the operation of a computer.
The supramolecular machine is composed of a chiral catalytic cage compound (tape-head) that moves unidirectionally along a polymer chain (information tape) while 'writing' a binary code in the form of the enantiomers of chiral chemical functionalities, such as (R,R)-and (S,S)-epoxides or (R)-and (S)-sulfoxides. The group combines advanced organic and inorganic synthesis with supramolecular catalysis and analytical techniques such as NMR, UV-vis, fluorescence and CD spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry.
View the Research and Internship Opportunities of the Elemans group
Cristescu group (Trace Detection Laboratory TDL)
The Trace Detection Laboratory (TDLab) focuses on reliable detection and quantification of volatile compounds in complex gas mixtures. We develop and apply techniques and analytical methodologies using state-of-the-art mid-infrared laser-based spectroscopy (e.g. with broadband supercontinuum sources and custom-made Fourier transform spectrometers) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (e.g. PTR-ToF-MS) for a wide range of gas concentrations (from sub ppb level to ppm and percentages). We aim to develop gas sensing systems that can be deployed in the field for various applications, such as biomarkers detection for precision medicine, fruit quality monitoring, dairy farming, air quality monitoring, process control, plasma diagnostics, etc.
Go to the external page of Trace Detection Laboratory TDL
Staff
The department features a dedicated team of professionals, including PhD candidates, an associate professor, a professor, a management assistant, and other key staff, all focused on advancing research and innovation in their field. Chair of the department is Prof. Jana Roithová.
Contact information
Location
Visiting address
Heyendaalseweg 1356525AJ Nijmegen
Postal address
Postbus 90106500GL NIJMEGEN