Although nanoparticles are extensively used in various applications like consumer products and have most probably entered the environment, little is known about the effects of these particles on living organisms.

Promotor: E. Bouwman, Co-Promotor: S. Bonnet

As leading cause of death worldwide, cancer is responsible for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020 according to World Health Organization (WHO). Cisplatin and its derivatives are commonly used chemotherapy agents for current cancer treatment in the clinics.

CML-researcher Rene Kleijn has spoken about metals scarcity in relation to the energy transition in a new Dutch popular scientific TV show called

In Bronze Age Europe many bronze objects such as axes, swords and jewels were deliberately left at specific spots in the landscape. PhD research by Leiden archaeologist Marieke Visser shows that these practices were expressions of people’s relationship with the world around them. ‘It was a completely…

Density functional theory (DFT) with so-called semi-local exchange has been remarkable accurate for some dissociative chemisorption reactions on metals, but it has notoriously failed for others. A team of researchers from the University of California at Irvine and the Leiden Institute of Chemistry have…

A semi-empirical version of the specific reaction parameter approach to density functional theory (SRP-DFT) has been remarkably successful at predicting dissociative chemisorption probability vs. incidence energy curves for reactions on metal surfaces. New quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations on the…

In this thesis, we consider various (electro)chemical phenomena at surfaces and nanoparticles and their underlying atomistic processes, which we studied using first-principles methods such as density functional theory.

This thesis advance our understanding and the application of molecular catalysts relevant to the reduction of oxygen as well as reduction of nitrite.

Inaugural lecture

The global transition toward low-carbon energy systems and the rapid expansion of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, are reshaping how modern societies produce, move, and process energy and information.

Cathodic corrosion is a relatively unknown phenomenon that can severely etch metallic electrodes at cathodic (negative) potentials.

In surface science there is great effort to move from studying simple, flat model surfaces in vacuum to investigating more complex model catalysts in gas environments (in situ). This thesis gives three examples of such studies using microscopy and spectroscopy.

Inaugural lecture

To meet the rising demand for minerals driven by the global shift to clean energy technologies, ensuring responsible and resilient supply chains is critical. Minerals like cobalt, lithium, and nickel for batteries, neodymium and zinc for wind turbines, and indium for solar panels are essential.

NWO has awarded a €392k Projectruimte grant to physicists Koenraad Schalm and Jan Zaanen to study ‘strange metals’. These materials are alleged to follow the bizarre laws of quantum mechanics even at everyday length scales.

PhD defence

A full overview of THEOR PhD theses.

Research at the MCBIM group is comprised of the following research themes:

Covid-19 is een disruptieve ontwikkeling die hier en nu veel vraagt van zorgprofessionals, bestuurders en managers. Hoewel de crisis nog volop bezig is, is nu al duidelijk dat het Coronavirus een blijvende impact zal hebben op zorginstellingen en fundamentele vragen oproept over hoe we onze zorg optimaal…

Tin electrodeposition applications have rapidly evolved in the past 25 years.

On 19 February 2019, Mirjam Sombroek-van Doorm defended her thesis 'Medisch beroepsgeheim en de zorgplicht van de arts bij kindermishandeling in de rechtsverhouding tussen arts, kind en ouders'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A.G. Castermans en Prof. mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker.

Three professors voice their concerns about a vulnerable group in our society: children who come into contact with youth care.

As a professor, Natasha Appelman-Dijkstra understands better than anyone how important it is to recognise bone and mineral conditions at an early stage. She emphasises the importance of flexibility and collaboration for better care, groundbreaking research and strong education.

Professor of Radiology Lioe-Fee de Geus-Oei was already a professor at LUMC and the University of Twente. As Medical Delta professor, she has now also been appointed at Delft University of Technology. 'Talking with people from other disciplines always makes me immensely humble, because they look at…

Chemical reactions go hand-in-hand with an energy exchange with the environment in which they take place. Surfaces offer a variety of energy dissipation channels, constituted by the nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom of the atoms at the interface. Aiming at an improved future harvesting of energy,…

This perspective addresses four challenges facing theorists whose aim is to make quantitatively accurate predictions for reactions of molecules on metal surfaces, and suggests ways of meeting these challenges, focusing on dissociative chemisorption reactions of H2, N2, and CH4.

The main goal of the THEOR CHEM group, headed by Prof. Geert-Jan Kroes, is to characterize, and to accurately predict the outcome of chemical reactions at gas-solid and liquid-solid interfaces. Here the solid surface is typically a metal or an ice surface. These goals are important to many areas in…

Research projects for students of the University of Leiden and other Dutch Universities are often available at the MacBio group. The research lines are also described in the Research section. For details of specific projects contact the supervisor (Ubbink, Dame, Boyle, Jeuken or Wentink).

Research at the THEOR group is comprised of the following research themes:

Promotor: Jelle S. Kaastra Co-promotor: Jelle de Plaa

Promotor: J. Schaye

Metal complexes and 2D materials like graphene were combined to produce structures that can function as sensors.

Nowadays, it is well known that hydrogen and helium (and small traces of lithium and beryllium) were created shortly after the Big Bang, while the heavier elements are created in the cores of stars at different evolutionary stages. When these stars explode as supernovae, they expel metals synthesised…

Catalysis is of extreme relevance in the production of everyday materials and plays a central role in many aspects of our life.

Metal-organic compounds hold great promise as photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) agents, leveraging their unique geometric and electronic properties to achieve precise spatiotemporal control over drug activation.

How the systematic destruction of valuables created value in Bronze Age Europe, c. 2300-500 BC

Galaxies form and evolve through close interaction with their surroundings. As a result, the heavy elements ('metals') that are synthesized in stars, are found both inside and outside galaxies.

The goal of this thesis is to understand how interfacial parameters, such as the addition of organic additives, bulk pH or metal cations of the electrolyte, affect the relevant electrocatalytic reactions, i.e. electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction or hydrogen evolution reaction.

We use DNA strands to stabilize few-atom silver clusters, which show unique optical and chemical properties. This thesis involves the study of these constructs for various applications.

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-Promotor: L.B.F. Juurlink

Heterogeneous catalyzed processes are highly significant to the chemical industry. Dissociative chemisorption (DC) of molecules on surfaces is always considered as a step with a high degree of rate control for heterogeneous catalysis.

An Investigation into the role of copper-alloy craft production in the early medieval economy of northwest Europe.

Science Magazine has published three back-to-back papers on an important discovery in solid state physics. Leiden physicist Jan Zaanen wrote a Perspective article on the subject in the same issue of 4 March.

Bachelor projects are available in

The Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) is the basis for research and collaborations of the Leiden chemistry groups. Chemistry is the central science enabling a healthy future in a sustainable society. Chemistry researchers at Leiden University take a fundamental approach in finding tailored solutions…

Surface plasmons (SPs) are surface waves at the interface between a dielectric and a good metal, and are formed by the interaction between light and the free electrons at the metal-dielectric interface. They provide strong field confinement for optical fields, opening new possibilities for enhanced…

The emissions of the Chinese industrial sector alone comprise 24.1% of global emissions (7.8 GtCyr−1 in 2015). This makes Chinese industrial emissions of unique national and international relevance in climate policy. This study reports a literature survey that quantitatively describes the evolution…