PhD defense of Li Sun : "Luminescent coinage metal clusters confined in zeolite: synthesis, photophysics and applications"

Big congrats to Dr. Lotte Clinckemalie for successfully defending her PhD entitled: "Development of High-Quality Perovskite Materials for Efficient and Stable Radiation Detection".

Congratulations to Dr. Gebruers Michaël for successfully defending his PhD thesis ''Development of allotropic noble metal nanoparticles for improved catalysis'' in auditorium 'De Tweede Hoofdwet'.

The air we breathe is full of microscopic particles. This particulate matter is very complex, both in size and composition. Different components of particulate matter contain metal oxides, silica dust, and soot particles. Soot particles are a major form of air pollution in the industrialized world. Every combustion engine that runs, barbecues and campfires that are lit, and unwanted (natural) fires release huge amounts of soot particles into the atmosphere.

Researchers find soot particles in vital organs of the unborn.

The richness and complexity of physical and chemical processes in perovskites make correlative investigations necessary for a comprehensive understanding on perovskites and their optoelectronic devices.

The generation of clean, renewable energy sources has been a hot research topic for the past decades. Photocatalysis is a plausible way to store intermittently available solar energy in chemical

A team of scientists has shown that Bromine (Br) incorporation in polycrystalline cesium lead triiodide (CsPbI3) thin films, with composition CsPbI3-xBrx, modifies the crystal structure by changing the symmetry of the lattice. This change, in turn, governs the formation of the different, energetically favored textures within the thin film. Controlling grain orientations within polycrystalline all‐inorganic halide perovskite solar cells can help increase conversion efficiencies, which would represent great progress in the field of renewable energies. This discovery comes directly from synchrotron X‐ray diffraction experiments carried out at the ALBA Synchrotron and the European Radiation Facility in Grenoble.

Since its emergence, microfluidics has proven to be a powerful tool in chemistry and the life sciences. Microfluidic devices, consisting of networks of micron-scale flow channels, leverage high surface-area-to-volume ratios and precision fluid control to provide advantages over conventional methods in chemistry and biology. In chemistry, reactions with greater speed, selectivity, and safety can be achieved thanks to fast mixing and efficient heat transfer. In biology, greater control over mechanical and biochemical microenvironments allow cell culture studies with greater relevance to living organisms.

Catalysis forms the cornerstone of the chemical industry, with over 90% of the industrial-scale processes involving at least one catalytic step, mainly carried out using heterogeneous catalysts.