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. Final placement will be done in October, according to the official rules of the MSc program. Some of the current open topics to choose from are:

Electrocatalysis: Synthesis of well-defined ordered porous materials as electrodes for CO₂ reduction reactions (Harsh Wadhwani).
There is currently a MSc project available focusing on the synthesis of hierarchically porous structures with well-defined pore sizes using soft templates like surfactant micelles. These 3D porous electrodes are then to be used in CO₂ reduction reaction to know the impact of pore size on CO₂ reduction activity looking at the ease of mass transport inside the pores. The project involves synthesis, material characterization, electrochemical characterization and CO₂ reduction reaction. Please contact me if you are interested in working on this project.

• Photocatalysis: Self-assembly and catalytic testing of colloid-templated photocatalysts (Marianne Bijl/Jessi vd Hoeven).
There is currently an MSc project available, focusing on investigating the photocatalytic performance of Au/TiO₂ inverse opals. Inverse opals are highly ordered three-dimensional photonic structures with enhanced optical and catalytic properties. This research involves the synthesis of inverse opals with various pore sizes, and testing their performance in CO₂ reduction under light irradiation. The study will utilize various characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopy, to correlate the pore size with photocatalytic performance (activity, stability, and selectivity). Feel free to contact me if you are interested in doing this project!

• Computational chemistry: Investigation of CO₂ hydrogenation on alkali promoted Cu catalysts (Robin van der Kruit) .
There is currently a computational MSc project available, focusing on investigating the hydrogenation of CO₂ on Cu promoted with an alkali(ne earth) metal. This electronic promotion is known to improve the selectivity of the reaction, but the mechanism behind this is not yet well understood. This research would involve investigating the minimum energy states of the intermediates in the CO₂ to CO conversion and finding their reaction energies via transition state investigations with density functional theory and machine learning potential calculations. If you are interested in this project or something similar, feel free to contact me.

• 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).

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.