Materials Chemistry and Catalysis

Available student projects in MCC

BSc projects

If you are interested in doing a BSc project, you can write to dr. Peter Ngene. You can find an overview of the PhD candidates and postdocs via our Team site. You can also contact PhD candidates or post-doctoral researchers directly, with dr. Peter Ngene in the CC.

MSc projects

For the academic year 2025-2026 we can place a maximum of 15 MSc students in projects. Supervision will generally be by a PhD candidate as daily supervisor, with one or two staff supervisors. You can indicate a first, second and third topic as preference to our coordinator Peter Ngene,. You can also contact the PhDs and postdocs directly if you would like more information about their research. Some of the current open topics to choose from are:

• Catalysis for Renewable Hydrogen: Investigation of new catalysts for methane pyrolysis to produce carbon nanofibers and CO₂-free hydrogen (Daan van Eck)
There is an opportunity for doing your MSc thesis project on catalysts to produce low-emission hydrogen and carbon nanofibers from methane pyrolysis. The goal is to expand a well-established synthesis route to see if a second active metal can be added. Characterization techniques like high-resolution TEM/STEM imaging will be used to assess the formation of the supported nanoparticles and the catalysts will be tested. Contact me for more information if you are interested!

• Catalysis for Renewable Fuels: Investigation of stability of Mo-carbide catalyst for hydrodeoxygenation of oxygenates (Patrick Kreft, p.j.kreft@uu.nl) .
There is a MSc project available investigating the stability of supported metal catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation of oxygenates. The project involves synthesis, characterisation, and catalytic testing of Mo-carbide catalysts. Mo oxide nanoparticles are deposited by impregnation onto a catalyst support material. A key question is to understand the influence of particle size and exact Mo-carbide phase on the catalyst activity, selectivity, and stability for the conversion of oxygenate model compounds relevant for the production of chemicals and fuels from bio-based resources. If you are interested in doing a project with me, feel free to contact me!

• Computational chemistry: Development of atomistic models of earth-abundant catalyst materials for water splitting catalysis (Koen Draijer).
There are MSc projects available for computationally investigating the activity and stability of Co-based catalysts for electrochemical water splitting. The projects involve the use of density functional theory (DFT) and the training of interatomic potentials to investigate the reaction- and degradation mechanisms of the Co-based catalysts. Computational modelling allows the determination of the energeties required for different catalysts to function or degrade. If you are interested in this project or something similar, feel free to contact me.

• Computational/Machine learning: Applied to catalysis and energy storage (directly with Nong Artrith or Robin van der Kruyt).

Literature review projects

If you are interested in performing a literature thesis in our group, you can contact a PhD candidate or postdoc with a project that seems interesting to you directly and ask if she/he has a project for you. You can find an overview of the PhD candidates and postdocs via our Team site. If you cannot find a suitable project, please ask our coordinator Peter Ngene.