What we do
Recent research output
In 2023, users of our microscopes published 53 articles thanks to the data they collected with us. Browse a few of the exciting findings from these researchers here.
See how our Phenom Pro X was used to help with the development of new sodium ion batteries as a safer alternative to conventional lithium based energy storage.
We used our Talos F200X microscope to find a way to improve the lifetime of a catalyst that converts CO2 to fuel and useful chemicals, helping take steps towards a carbon neutral economy.
Our Talos Arctica has been used to investigate on a molecular level how the tails of sperm cells help them travel, fundamental research which may help tackle male infertility.
Cutting edge cryo electron tomography of cells using our Talos Arctica and Aquilos systems has allowed our researchers to learn about how the internal machinery of cells respond to stress caused by diseases and cancers.
In situ heating in our Talos F200X helped unravel the thermal stability of cobalt selenide nanosheets which can be used to make ultra thin, flexible, transparent electronic devices.
The Helios focused ion beam and Talos F200X in our facility were used to understand how grain boundaries in olivine determine the resistance to forces.
Older Key Publications
Publications and output over the past 10 years that we are particularly proud of.
- K. Cheng, L.C.J. Smulders, L.I. van der Wal, J. Oenema, J.D. Meeldijk, N.L. Visser, G. Sunley, T. Roberts, Z. Xu, E. Doskocil, H. Yoshida, Y. Zheng, J. Zevevic, P.E. de Jongh, K.P. de Jong, Maximizing noble metal utilization in solid catalysts by control of nanoparticle location, Science 377 (2022), 204-208.
- F. Chang, I. Tezsevin, J. W. de Rijk, J.D. Meeldijk, J. P. Hofmann, S. Er, P. Ngene, P. E. de Jongh, Potassium hydride-intercalated graphite as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for ammonia synthesis鈥, Nature Catalysis 5 (2022) 222-230.
- J. Xiao, K. Cheng, X. Xie, M. Wang, S. Xing, Y. Liu, T. Hartman, D. Fu, K. Bossers, M.A. van Huis, A. van Blaaderen, Y. Wang, B.M. Weckhuysen, 鈥楾andem Catalysis with Double-Shelled Hollow Spheres鈥, Nature Materials 21 (2022) 572鈥579.
- D.S. Gavhane, A.D. Sontakke, M.A. van Huis, 鈥楽elective Vertical and Horizontal Growth of 2D WS2 Revealed by In Situ Thermolysis using Transmission Electron Microscopy鈥, Advanced Functional Materials 32 (2022) 202106450.
- J.E.S. van der Hoeven, J. Jelic, L.A. Olthof, G. Totarella, R. Moes-van Dijk, J. Krafft, C. Louis, F. Studt, A. van Blaaderen, P.E. de Jongh, Unlocking Synergy in Bimetallic Catalysts by Core-Shell Design, Nature Materials, 20 (2021) 1216鈥1220.
- D. Wang, T. Dasgupta, E.B. van der Wee, D. Zanaga, T. Altantzis, Y. Wu, G.M. Coli, C.B. Murray, S. Bals, M. Dijkstra and A. van Blaaderen, Binary icosahedral clusters of hard spheres in spherical confinement, Nature Physics 17 (2021) 128鈥134.
- T.A.J. Welling, K. Watanabe, A. Grau-Carbonell, J. de Graaf, D. Nagao, A. Imhof, M.A. van Huis, A. van Blaaderen, 鈥楾unability of Interactions between the Core and Shell in Rattle-Type Particles Studied with Liquid-Cell Electron Microscopy鈥, ACS Nano 15 (2021) 11137-11149.
- T.A.J. Welling, S. Sadighikia, K. Watanabe, A. Grau-Carbonell, M. Bransen, D. Nagao, A. van Blaaderen, M.A. van Huis, Observation of undamped 3D Brownian motion of nanoparticles using liquid-cell scanning transmission electron microscopy, Part. Part. Syst. Charact. 37 (2020) 202000003.
- W. Albrecht, T.-S. Deng, B. Goris, M.A. van Huis, S. Bals and A. van Blaaderen, Single particle deformation and analysis of the same silica coated gold nanorods before and after fs-laser pulse excitation, Nano Letters 16, 1818-1825 (2016).
- Vanmaekelbergh, D.A.M., van Vugt, L.K., Bakker, H.E., Rabouw, F.T., de Nijs, B., Moes, Relinde, van Huis, Marijn, Baesjou, Patrick & van Blaaderen, A. (2015). Shape-Dependent Multiexciton Emission and Whispering Gallery Modes in Supraparticles of CdSe/Multishell Quantum Dots, ACS Nano 9 (2015) 3942-3950.
- Ze膷evi膰, J., G. Vanbutsele, K.P. de Jong, J.A. Martens, Nanoscale intimacy in bifunctional catalysts for selective conversion of hydrocarbons, Nature 528 (2015) 245-254.
- Prieto, G., J. Zecevic, H. Friedrich, K.P. de Jong, P.E. de Jongh, Towards stable catalysts by controlling collective properties of supported metal nanoparticles, Nature Materials 12 (2013) 34-39.
- Gemmer M, Chaillet ML, van Loenhout J, Cuevas Arenas R, Vismpas D, Grollers-Mulderij M, Koh FA, Albanese P, Scheltema RA, Howes SC, Kotecha A, Fedry J, Forster F, Visualization of translation and protein biogenesis at the ER membrane. Nature 614:160-167 (2023).
- El Mazouni D, Gros P, Sci Adv. 8:eadd3677 (2022). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.add3677
- Liaci AM, Steigenberger B, Telles de Souza PC, Tamara S, Grollers-Mulderij M, Ogrissek P, Marrink SJ, Scheltema RA, Forster F, Structure of the human signal peptidase complex reveals the determinants for signal peptide cleavage. Mol. Cell 81:3934-3948 (2021).
- Fedry J, Hurdiss DL, Wang C, Li W, Obal G, Drulyte I, Du W, Howes SC, van Kuppeveld FJM, F枚rster F, Bosch BJ, Structural insights into the cross-neutralization of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 by the human monoclonal antibody 47D11. Sci Adv (2021).
- Leung MR, Roelofs MC, Ravi RT, Maitan P, Henning H, Zhang M, Bromfield EG, Howes SC, Gadella BM, Bloomfield-Gad锚lha H, Zeev-Ben-Mordehai T. EMBO J. 40:e107410 (2021).
- Oosterheert W, van Bezouwen LS, Rodenburg RNP, Granneman J, F枚rster F, Mattevi A, Gros P, Cryo-EM structures of human STEAP4 reveal mechanism of iron(III) reduction. Nat. Commun. 9:4337 (2018).
- Leung, M. R., L. S. van Bezouwen, L. M. Schopfer, J. L. Sussman, I. Silman, O. Lockridge, T. Zeev-Ben-Mordehai. Cryo-EM structure of the native butyrylcholinesterase tetramer reveals a dimer of dimers stabilized by a superhelical assembly. PNAS 115 (2018) 13270-13275.
- Braunger K, Pfeffer S, Shrimal S, Gilmore R, Berninghausen O, Mandon EC, Becker T, F枚rster F, Beckmann R. Structural basis for coupling protein transport and N-glycosylation at the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum, Science 360 (2018) 215-219.
- Ugurlar D., Howes S.C., de Kreuk B.J., Koning R.I., de Jong R.N., Beurskens F.J., Schuurman J., Koster A.J., Sharp T.H., Parren P.W.H.I, Gros P. Structures of C1-IgG1 provide insights into how danger pattern recognition activates complement, Science 359 (2018) 794-797.
- Fokkema, J., Fermie, J., Liv, N., van den Heuvel, D. J., Konings, T. O. M., Blab, G. A., Meijerink, A., Klumperman, J. & Gerritsen, H. C. Fluorescently Labelled Silica Coated Gold Nanoparticles as Fiducial Markers for Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy. Sci. Rep. 8, 13625 (2018).
- Yoshida, K., Oyanagi, R., Kimura, M., Pl眉mper, O., Fukuyama, M., & Okamoto, A. (2023). Geological records of transient fluid drainage into the shallow mantle wedge. Science Advances, 9(14), eade6674.
- Amiri, H., Vasconcelos, I., Jiao, Y., Chen, P. E., & Pl眉mper, O. (2023). Quantifying microstructures of earth materials using higher-order spatial correlations and deep generative adversarial networks. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 1805.
- Pl眉mper, O., Wallis, D., Teuling, F., Moulas, E., Schmalholz, S. M., Amiri, H., & M眉ller, T. (2022). High-magnitude stresses induced by mineral-hydration reactions. Geology, 50(12), 1351-1355.
- Boulton, C., Mizera, M., Niemeijer, A. R., Little, T. A., M眉ller, I. A., Ziegler, M., & Hamers, M. F. (2022). Observational and theoretical evidence for frictional-viscous flow at shallow crustal levels. Lithos, 428, 106831.
- Kotowski, A. J., Cisneros, M., Behr, W. M., Stockli, D. F., Soukis, K., Barnes, J. D., & Ortega鈥怉rroyo, D. (2022). Subduction, underplating, and return flow recorded in the Cycladic Blueschist Unit exposed on Syros, Greece. Tectonics, 41(6), e2020TC006528.
- Verberne, B.A., Hangx, S.J.T., Pijnenburg, R.P.J., Hamers, M.F., Drury, M.R., Spiers, C.J. Drill core from seismically active sandstone gas reservoir yields clues to internal deformation mechanisms (2021) Geology, 49 (5), pp. 483-487. DOI: 10.1130/G48243.1
- Ohl, M., Nzogang, B., Mussi, A., Wallis, D., Drury, M., & Pl眉mper, O. (2021). Crystal鈥怭lastic Deformation in Seismically Active Carbonate Fault Rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126(4), e2020JB020626.
- Nelson, W.S., Hammer, J.E., Shea, T., Hellebrand, E., Taylor, J.G. (2021) Chemical heterogeneities reveal early rapid cooling of Apollo Troctolite 76535. Nature Communications 12.
- Wallis, D., Hansen, L.N., Kumamoto, K.M., Thom, C.A., Pl眉mper, O., Ohl, M., Durham, W.B., Goldsby, D.L., Armstrong, D.E.J., Meyers, C.D., Goddard, R.M., Warren, J.M., Breithaupt, T., Drury, M.R., Wilkinson, A.J. Dislocation interactions during low-temperature plasticity of olivine and their impact on the evolution of lithospheric strength (2020) Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 543, art. no. 116349, DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116349
- Lenting, C., Pl眉mper, O., Kilburn, M., Guagliardo, P., Klinkenberg, M., & Geisler, T. (2018). Towards a unifying mechanistic model for silicate glass corrosion. npj Materials degradation, 2(1), 28.
- Pl眉mper, O., John, T., Podladchikov, Y. Y., Vrijmoed, J. C., & Scambelluri, M. (2017). Fluid escape from subduction zones controlled by channel-forming reactive porosity. Nature Geoscience, 10(2), 150-156.
- Pl眉mper, O., Botan, A., Los, C., Liu, Y., Malthe-S酶renssen, A., & Jamtveit, B. (2017). Fluid-driven metamorphism of the continental crust governed by nanoscale fluid flow. Nature Geoscience, 10(9), 685-690.
- Pl眉mper, O., King, H. E., Geisler, T., Liu, Y., Pabst, S., Savov, I. P., ... & Zack, T. (2017). Subduction zone forearc serpentinites as incubators for deep microbial life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(17), 4324-4329.
- Scambelluri, M., Pennacchioni, G., Gilio, M., Bestmann, M., Pl眉mper, O., & Nestola, F. (2017). Fossil intermediate-depth earthquakes in subducting slabs linked to differential stress release. Nature Geoscience, 10(12), 960-966.
- Verberne, B. A., Pl眉mper, O., Matthijs de Winter, D. A., & Spiers, C. J. (2014). Superplastic nanofibrous slip zones control seismogenic fault friction. Science, 346(6215), 1342-1344.