prof. Fred Brouwer
CV / Biography
Prof. Dr. Albert Manfred (Fred) Brouwer
Advanced Research Center for Nanolithography (ARCNL), P.O. Box 41883, 1009 DB Amsterdam The Netherlands
visiting address: Science Park 110, 1098 XG Amsterdam
phone + 31 20 851 7115 | e-mail: f.brouwerATarcnl.nl | www.arcnl.nl/nanophotochemistry
Research
Ever since I was a master student I have been intrigued by the combination of chemistry and light. As a PhD student I studied the photochemical reactions of small organic molecules, and related their reactivity to their three-dimensional structure in solution. After my PhD I joined the University of Amsterdam to work with Jan W. Verhoeven on photoinduced electron transfer, studying systems for long-lived charge separation, related radical ions, and charge-transfer fluorescence.
Around the year 2000 the work on rotaxane motor molecules took off. This hot research line that links chemistry with physics and biology resulted in several high impact papers. My focus is on the molecular-level working mechanisms behind molecular motion.
The previous experience with photoinduced electron transfer pays off in the current research on Solar Fuels. The key problem in converting the energy of the sunlight into useful fuels is the splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen. We study the mechanism of catalytic water oxidation and proton reduction mostly by means of time-resolved spectroscopy.
My fascination with fluorescence is an important driver of the development and application of luminescent probe molecules. Fluorescent probes offer the possibility to “look” inside matter, and to determine local properties with molecular temporal and spatial resolution. Applications are primarily in materials science (polymers, mechanics) and in the investigation of organic reaction mechanisms.
At ARCNL, the research on Nanophotochemistry aims at improving photoresist materials through a fundamental understanding of the chemical mechanisms of pattern formation by extremely-short-wavelength UV radiation. There is a lot to discover in this exciting new research field that covers both physics and chemistry.
Read more >> Fred Brouwer’s short curriculum vitae
