Welcome to the Molecular Geochemistry Laboratory

If chemistry is the central science, then geochemistry is the central science as applied to understanding the natural world around us.

Geochemists seek to answer questions relating to the evolution of life on Earth and how metalloenzymes may have evolved, the chemistry of the oceans and how they are affected by global warming, the interplay between flora, fauna and the environment in chemical terms, how pollutants interact with soils and minerals, and how radioactive waste can be securely stored for millennia. We do this by connecting the very big — mountains — with the very small — atoms and molecules, and the very fast — fundamental reactions — with the often very slow — weathering

If you share our passion for understanding and explaining how the world works — join us! To find out about opportunities in our laboratory, contact one of the group leaders: Erik BjörnJean-François BoilyMichael Holmboe, C. André Ohlin, Andrey Shchukarev, and Staffan Sjöberg.

Congratulations Sébastien!

Sébastien Le Crom (Kempe Postdoc in Boily group) is beginning a “Maître de Conférence” position at Institut Mines-Télécom Nantes (France) in September 2023. 

Sébastien also gave the following talk (link here) entitled “” at the 2023 Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Lyon:

Le Crom S., Boily J.-F. 2023 Ciprofloxacin Binding Mechanisms on Goethite: A Molecular Dynamics Study. Goldschmidt 2023 Conference.

2023 Boily papers so far

[7] Luong N.T., Veyret N., Boily J.-F. ‡ 2023. CO2 mineralization by MgO nanocubes in nanometric water films. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. (accepted, Aug. 29, 2023).

[6] Luong N.T., Boily J.-F. ‡ 2023 MgO Water film-driven brucite nanosheet growth and stacking. Langmuir31, 11090-11098.

[5] Luong N.T., Oderstad H. Holmboe M., Boily J.-F. ‡ 2023 Temperature-resolved nanoscale hydration of a layered manganese oxide. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 25, 17352-17359.

[4] Luong N.T., Holmboe M., Boily J.-F. ‡ 2023 MgO nanocube hydroxylation by nanometric water films. Nanoscale. 15, 10286-10294.

[3] Adeniyi K.O, Osmanaj B., Manavalan G., Samikannu A., Mikkola J.-P., Avni B., Boily J.-F., Tesfalidet S.‡ 2023. Engineering of layered iron vanadate nanostructure for electrocatalysis: simultaneous detection of methotrexate and folinic acid in blood serum. Electrochim. Acta. 142538.

[2] Zhou L., Lassabatère L., Luong N.T., Boily J.-F, Hanna K. ‡ 2023 Mineral nanoparticle aggregation alters contaminant transport under flow. Environ. Sci. Technol. 57, 2415-2422.

[1] Luo T., Pokharel R., Chen T., Boily J.-F., Hanna K. ‡ 2023. Fate and transport of pharmaceuticals in iron and manganese binary oxide coated sand columns. Environ. Sci. Technol., 57, 214-221.

New group focused on Planetary Geochemistry and Spectroscopy lead by Dr. Yeşilbaş

We are searching for one of the biggest quests in humanity: “Are We Alone?”. To resolve this, we are addressing the following questions:

Is there water on Mars?

What is the role of water in martian geochemical history?

How can we reveal the potential water resources for future human explorations on Mars?

Our research focuses on the geochemical changes of the planet Mars and alien oceans using spectroscopic techniques. We use martian analogue rocks and soils collected from the extreme environments on Earth to reveal the geochemical and climate history of Mars. We combine the laboratory data with martian orbit data, especially from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM).

If you would like to know more about ongoing research in our lab, you could watch this IceLab pitch link given by the group leader, Dr. Yeşilbaş.

Are you interested in joining the Yeşilbaş group? We currently offer a fully-funded PhD position for 4 years. You can apply through this link till May 24, 2022. Postdoctoral researchers are very welcome to discuss potential research topics and projects. We also have bachelor and master student projects available during the academic year. For all your questions and inquires, please reach out to Dr. Yeşilbaş via email (merve.yesilbas@umu.se).

Per aspera ad astra!🚀