About our research
Physical Chemists at Radboud University perform research with and into advanced spectroscopic methods. The goal is to understand the workings of molecules and materials. But this goes beyond the characterisation of molecules and materials. We focus on fundamental knowledge: What do spectroscopic measurements really mean? And how can we explain the behaviour of certain molecules or materials? On this page, you can read more about the relevant institute(s), research groups and unique facilities that make our highly renowned research possible.
Research institutes
We believe in knowledge transfer between chemists and physicists. That’s why in Nijmegen all material research is combined in one institute: the Institute for Molecules and Materials (IMM). During your Master’s, you’ll experience this interplay in the lectures and internships. Once graduated, you’ll be able to understand the vernacular of both disciplines and in that way bridge the gap between chemistry and physics.
Institute for Molecules and Materials
IMM is an interdisciplinary research institute in chemistry and physics. The mission of IMM is to perform fundamental research to understand, design, and control the functioning of molecules and materials.
Research groups
Below you’ll get an impression of the most relevant departments for your internships. Or click the button for an overview of IMM research groups and internships related to Physical Chemistry.
Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC)
This research centre focuses on the development and application of nuclear magnetic resonance methods (NMR) that enable the study of local structure and dynamics in functional materials, for example biomacromolecules and their physical interactions.
Theoretical & Computational Chemistry
This group tries to explain and predict properties of molecules, clusters and molecular solids in a computational approach using quantum mechanical, (semi)classical and statistical mechanical methods.
HFML-FELIX
This laboratory applies intense infrared light and strong magnetic fields, or both, to sensitively identify molecular structure and exotic forms of matter.
Research facilities
Radboud University hosts a large number of advanced spectroscopic facilities.
You’ll get the chance to work with scientific equipment that is unique in Europe and sometimes even cannot be found anywhere else in the world. As a Master’s student in Physical Chemistry, you’ll get an overview of all these different methods, and you’ll be able to apply your knowledge as a member of a laboratory. Some of our students choose to focus on the development of new scientific methods.
High Field Magnet Laboratory (HFML)
The HFML is one of the few facilities with continuous high magnetic fields in the world. These magnetic fields bring surprising material properties to light, such as quantum phenomena and transport in graphene and superconductivity in low-dimensional metals.
Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC)
With Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy, our researchers unravel the design and synthesis of novel functional materials. In this way, they characterise materials for energy storage and conversion, and molecules such as polymers, pharmaceuticals and catalysts.
Free Electron Lasers (FELIX)
The FELIX laboratory comprises of three Free Electron Lasers: FELIX, FLARE and FELICE. Together they can produce an exceptionally broad spectrum of wavelengths from 3 µm to 1.5 mm, ideal for studying soft and condensed matter.
SPiN labs
A cluster of cutting-edge scanning probe labs, hosting multiple STM and AFM microscopes and the STILL lab facility, which is one of the quietest labs in the Netherlands. STM, in the Nanolab, is used to observe electronic and magnetic properties of surfaces and nanoscopic materials down to single molecules and atoms.
Cold and Controlled Collisions (CCC)
The study of collisions between individual molecules in the gas phase is one of the most revealing methods to acquire a detailed understanding of molecular structures and interactions. The CCC group uses advanced experimental techniques to optimise the quality of the preparation of the collision partners, and hence the level of detail of their experiments.
Life Science Trace Gas Facility
The Life Science Trace Gas Facility operates a variety of unique state-of-the-art trace gas detectors that allow real time measurements at unprecedented detection levels. The strength of the Facility of Science lies in 20 years of experience with applications to problems in Life Sciences, such as Microbiology, Ecology and Human Health.
Laser spectroscopy: Spectroscopy of Solids and Interfaces (SSI) & Molecular and Laser Physics (MLP)
Laser spectroscopy is a successful tool for ultrasensitive detection. Researchers at Radboud University have developed methods to detect gases below the part per billion volume (1:109). Using nonlinear optical phenomena, they study magnetic properties at surfaces and interfaces with femtosecond temporal resolution.