Thanks to the financial support of the Erasmus+ program, I had the unique opportunity to spend four months in the prestigious Materials Chemistry and Catalysis (MCC) research group at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. This group specializes in the development, synthesis, and characterization of nanostructured catalysts and functional materials, with a strong emphasis on understanding processes at the atomic level. My work was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Jessi van der Hoeven, whose research focuses on combining colloid synthesis, advanced electron microscopy, and catalysis to develop more efficient materials, particularly multi-metallic core-shell nanoparticles.

I spent my internship in the modern David de Wied building within the Utrecht Science Park. This campus offers an inspiring environment where world-class science meets a dynamic student life. In addition to modern laboratories, the David de Wied building houses a cutting-edge microscopy center equipped with the latest instruments in the field of electron microscopy.

My research focused on the characterization of gold-titania catalysts with a so-called inverse opal structure. During the internship, I was trained on the Talos 200 and, most notably, the Spectra 300 transmission electron microscopes—a unique instrument featuring double-aberration correction that enables the study of materials at atomic resolution. My tasks included data collection for electron tomography, followed by 3D reconstruction and analysis. I successfully developed a methodology that integrated my previous experience from UCT Prague with the new procedures acquired in Utrecht.

I highly value the close collaboration with Marianne Bijl, who served as my "buddy." Our joint efforts culminated in a final presentation of our results to the entire MCC group. Both the presentation and the subsequent technical discussion were immensely beneficial and provided me with invaluable experience. The results measured during my stay will be published in the form of two scientific papers in the near future, which I consider an excellent tangible output for such a relatively short period.

Beyond the scientific experience, the internship helped me significantly improve my English. Working in an international team forced me to communicate in a foreign language on a daily basis, which provided me with the necessary fluency while also highlighting areas for further improvement.

Utrecht itself enchanted me with its picturesqueness. The historic center is dominated by the Dom Tower, surrounded by iconic canals and a dense network of bicycle paths. Owning a bike in the Netherlands is an absolute necessity—you ride in the saddle to work, for shopping, and for leisure, regardless of the weather. In addition to cycling, I tried another typically Dutch discipline: speed skating on an oval track.

This experience confirmed that an international internship is the best way to gain healthy professional confidence, improve language skills, and establish contacts that can influence one’s entire future career.

We are proud to announce that Ayesha Shafiq successfully presented her research at the Student Catalytic Seminar 2026. The event took place on Wednesday, January 28, at the Masaryk University Campus in Bohunice, Brno.

Ayesha delivered a 15-minute presentation titled "Development of Rhodium-based catalysts for styrene hydroformylation," showcasing her latest findings in the field.

The seminar program featured a series of student presentations in English, alongside invited lectures by experts in the field:

• Assoc. Prof. Kateřina Pacultová (VŠB TU Ostrava) regarding TPR Methods and Determination of Active Metal Surfaces.
• Michal Dudák (ANAMET) regarding Chemisorption and Reactor Instruments.
  
  

It was an excellent opportunity for scientific discussion and networking within the catalytic community.

On November 20, 2025, the Student Scientific Conference was held again at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, with six students from our group registering to participate this year. Namely: Nikolas Letzel, Mariia Khover, Jáchym Kučera, Sofiia Zadniprianska, Zhuldyzai Zhazykbayeva, and Ihar Astanin. The most successful was the work of Nikolas Letzel, who won first place in the category Study and Use of Heterogeneous Catalysts with his work "Synthesis of Ge Nanoparticles as Fluorescent Probes for Studying the Availability of Porous Heterogeneous Catalyst Systems." Sofiia Zadniprianska also won third place in the same category with her work: Graphene oxide supported metal nanoparticles for CO₂ activation. We congratulate both winners and thank everyone else for participating. 

Martin Vesely gave a lecture at The Youth Academy on the 2nd of December with the title: Heterogeneous catalysts – unconventional approaches to understanding their properties. 

Annotation: 

How can we find out what is happening on the surface of a material that accelerates a chemical reaction without being consumed itself? In this lecture, we will look into the world of heterogeneous catalysis—a key field in the chemical industry and environmental protection. We will focus on modern methods that allow us to study catalysts at various levels, from the atomic level to the catalytic reactor as a whole.

We are delighted to announce that Iryna Danylo has successfully defended her dissertation entitled Correlative Spectromicroscopy for the Nanoscale Characterization of Low-Dimensional Materials and Their Catalytic Applications, which she wrote under the supervision of Martin Veselý, Ph.D. 

Congratulations from the whole 2D CAT group.

We are pleased to announce that Michaela Hlinková will be joining the 2DCAT group as a PhD student.
We wish her every success in the years to come. 

We are pleased to announce that Ing. Martin Veselý, Ph.D. has received a grant from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic entitled: MicroDetect - Fast and cost-effective detection of microplastics in drinking water using AI spectro-microscopy. The project will run from September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2027.

Project number: FY01010196

Project goals:

The goal of the MicroDetect project is to develop an innovative analytical system for the detection, classification, and quantification of microplastics in various types of water, especially drinking water. Current methods are often time-consuming, insufficiently precise, and difficult to apply to individual microplastic particles, which range in size from 1 μm to 5 mm. Moreover, existing approaches require extensive manual sample preparation and human interpretation of results, limiting their practical use in operational conditions. The MicroDetect project focuses on developing and validating technology that automates the microplastic analysis process and eliminates subjective errors caused by human interpretation. The project will deliver three key outputs: A utility model protecting the developed filtration apparatus – an innovative solution for the efficient separation of microplastics from water samples. A functional prototype of the filtration apparatus – a device enabling optimized microplastic filtration for subsequent analytical detection. A verified technology of the analytical system – software capable of generating automated reports on the quantity, size, and composition of microplastics based on optical analysis. This system has direct commercial potential not only in water quality monitoring and industrial processes but also in research laboratories and environmental management. Thanks to its high precision and speed, MicroDetect enables up to 80% more efficient microplastic detection compared to conventional methods, significantly improving the effectiveness and scalability of this technology in various industrial and environmental applications.

Congratulations

Reference: https://www.bosch-home.com/cz/novinky/filtr-na-mikroplasty (4.1.2026)

Martin Veselý participated in Europacat 2025, located in Trondheim, Norway, as part of the 16th European Congress on Catalysis (31th August - 5th September). Martin gave a lecture entitled: Optimized Platinum Nanoparticle Dispersion on 2D Supports for Enhanced Selective Hydrogenation of Cinnamaldehyde 

Ing. Iryna Danylo, Ph.D., received an award for the best oral presentation at the 26th Annual YUCOMAT Conference for her work Correlative Spectromicroscopy of Platinum-Based Catalysts on 2D Materials: from Fabrication to Catalytic Activity.

We warmly congratulate Dr. Danylo. 

Cléa Pagés and Margaux Pichard were part of 2DCAT for two months (May-July) as part of an international internship. Both students came to us for an internship from the French university ESCOM (Ecole Supérieure de Chimie Organique et Minérale). During their internship, they worked under the supervision of Martina Pitínová on the preparation and characterization of rhodium catalysts for hydroformylation.

Martina Pitínová and Ayesha Shafiq participated in the 10th Czech-Italian-Spanish Conference (CIS-10) on Molecular Sieves and Catalysis, held at Liblice Castle on June 9-12, 2025. Martina gave a lecture entitled: STYRENE HYDROFORMYLATION CATALYZED BY RHODIUM SUPPORTED ON 3D AND 2D TRANSITION METAL DICHALCOGENIDES. 
Ayesha with her lecture: HYDROGENATION OF CINNAMALDEHYDE BY PLATINUM SUPPORTED ON 2D AND 3D TRANSITION METAL SULFIDES

The International Conference on Chemical Technology took place in Mikulov from April 14 to 16, 2025. At this conference, Lukáš Koláčný presented his work on the topic: EXPLORING 3D MICROSTRUCTURAL CHANGES IN WORKING PT-CO CATALYSTS OF A
FUEL CELL VIA ELECTRON TOMOGRAPHY,
and Ayesha Shafiq presented on the topic: RHODIUM-CATALYSED HYDROFORMYLATION OF STYRENE USING TRANSITION METAL
DICHALCOGENIDE SUPPORTS,
and Martin Veselý presented his poster entitled: TOPOCHEMICALLY SYNTHESIZED SI AND GE QUANTUM DOTS FOR INVESTIGATING
POROUS NETWORKS IN SOLID CATALYSTS. Martin Veselý was also the chairman of the Applied Catalysis and Organic Technology section.

Martin Veselý was elected Vice-President of ČSPCH in February 2025. Congratulations!