# Maarten B. J. Roeffaers
**Maarten B. J. Roeffaers** is a full professor at [KU Leuven](https://www.edgepedia.org/ku-leuven), where he heads the division of Membrane Separations, Adsorption, Catalysis, and Spectroscopy for Sustainable Solutions (cMACS) in the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering.[1](https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/nl/person/00046986) According to EFCATS, he is known for developing optical microscopy methods, especially single-molecule fluorescence and [Raman imaging](https://www.edgepedia.org/raman-imaging), that let researchers watch working catalysts and photoactive materials such as metal halide perovskites down to the level of single reactions, single particles, and nanometer resolution.[2](https://efcats.org/Awards/EFCATS+Awardees+2021/Maarten+Roeffaers.html) His recognitions include an ERC Starting Grant (2012) and the biennial ExxonMobil Chemical European Science and Engineering Award (2015).[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers)
| Key facts | |
| --- | --- |
| Position | Full professor, KU Leuven; head of the cMACS division[1](https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/nl/person/00046986) |
| Field | Optical microscopy of heterogeneous catalysis and metal halide perovskites[2](https://efcats.org/Awards/EFCATS+Awardees+2021/Maarten+Roeffaers.html) |
| PhD | KU Leuven, Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, 2008, on zeolite catalysis with fluorescence microscopy[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers) |
| Postdoc | Harvard University, 2009–2010, with Prof. Xie on coherent Raman microscopy (Fulbright grant)[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers) • [4](https://fulbrightscholars.org/grantee/maarten-roeffaers) |
| Signature work | "Spatially resolved observation of crystal-face-dependent catalysis by single turnover counting", *Nature*, 2006[5](https://www.europacat2023.cz/program/Keynote-speakers/Roeffaers) |
| Honors | ERC Starting Grant (2012); ExxonMobil Chemical European Science and Engineering Award (2015); EFCATS Young Researcher Award (2021)[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers) • [2](https://efcats.org/Awards/EFCATS+Awardees+2021/Maarten+Roeffaers.html) |
| Current projects (2025–2029) | Photocatalytic ammonia production from water, N₂, and sunlight; microplastics detection including the ROUTE project[1](https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/nl/person/00046986) |
## Education and career
Roeffaers graduated with a doctorate from the Centre for Surface Chemistry and [Catalysis](https://www.edgepedia.org/catalysis) at KU Leuven in 2008, studying zeolite catalysis with fluorescence microscopy.[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers) His dissertation, published on 14 May 2008, is titled *Heterogene katalyse gevisualiseerd door middel van fluorescentiemicroscopie* (Heterogeneous catalysis visualized by means of fluorescence microscopy), and was a feasibility study of fluorescence microscopy as a new high-resolution characterization technique for catalytic materials and processes.[6](https://lirias.kuleuven.be/bitstream/1979/1794/2/Roeffaers%20-%202008%20-%20phd%20thesis.pdf)
He then spent 2009 to 2010 as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University with Prof. Xie, working on the development and use of coherent Raman microscopy.[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers) The Fulbright Scholar Program records his grant as running from September 2009 to August 2010.[4](https://fulbrightscholars.org/grantee/maarten-roeffaers)
In 2010 he returned to KU Leuven and started his own research group, focusing on optical microscopy tools to study heterogeneous catalysis and materials for sustainable chemistry.[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers) He is now a full professor (gewoon hoogleraar) in the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering and heads the cMACS division; he is also a member of LIMNI, the KU Leuven Institute for Integration of Micro- and Nano-scale Technologies.[1](https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/nl/person/00046986)
## Research
The Roeffaers lab develops novel microscopy modalities that enable in situ characterization of advanced materials.[7](https://roeffaers-lab.org/) Its stated aim is to establish structure-function relationships for nanostructured materials at the smallest possible length scales; the work began with solid catalysts and has expanded to the in situ investigation of optically active materials and the development of photo(electro)catalysts.[5](https://www.europacat2023.cz/program/Keynote-speakers/Roeffaers) As part of the Centre for Membrane separations, [Adsorption](https://www.edgepedia.org/adsorption), Catalysis, and [Spectroscopy](https://www.edgepedia.org/spectroscopy) (cMACS), the successor to the Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, a significant part of the research studies working catalysts.[7](https://roeffaers-lab.org/)
Within the PHOTOactive MATerials (PHOTOMAT) consortium, an integrated synthesis and characterization effort on novel photo-active materials has run for about a decade; more recent work has focused on metal halide perovskites as materials for opto-electronic devices.[7](https://roeffaers-lab.org/)
**What the methods add.** Single-molecule fluorescence and stimulated Raman microscopy locate and time individual reaction events on a catalyst particle, so activity can be mapped against structure at the single-reaction, single-particle, and nanometer scale.[2](https://efcats.org/Awards/EFCATS+Awardees+2021/Maarten+Roeffaers.html)
## Representative work
His 2006 *Nature* paper, "Spatially resolved observation of crystal-face-dependent catalysis by single turnover counting" (*Nature* 439, 572–575), reported spatially resolved observation of catalysis that differs between crystal faces by counting single turnover events.[5](https://www.europacat2023.cz/program/Keynote-speakers/Roeffaers) Other representative studies include "Super-Resolution Reactivity Mapping of Nanostructured Catalyst Particles" (*Angewandte Chemie International Edition*, 2009), single-particle studies of dealuminated mordenite by stimulated [Raman scattering](https://www.edgepedia.org/raman-scattering) microscopy in *ACS Nano* (2014) and *ACS Catalysis* (2017 and 2020) correlating acid site distribution with catalytic activity, and the 2019 *Science* paper "Thermal unequilibrium of strained black CsPbI3 thin films".[5](https://www.europacat2023.cz/program/Keynote-speakers/Roeffaers) A 2010 review in *Chemical Society Reviews* (39, 4703–4717) presented fluorescence micro(spectro)scopy as a tool to study catalytic materials in action.[8](https://www.roeffaers-lab.org/publications/)
## Honors and funding
He received an ERC Starting Grant in 2012 and the biennial ExxonMobil Chemical European Science and Engineering Award in 2015.[3](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers) The European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) awarded him its 2021 Young Researcher Award, sponsored by BASF, for pioneering work applying single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, and correlative fluorescence and electron microscopies to the in situ study of working catalysts in heterogeneous catalysis; the award was presented at the 15th European Congress on Catalysis, Europacat 2023 in Prague.[2](https://efcats.org/Awards/EFCATS+Awardees+2021/Maarten+Roeffaers.html)
## Current directions (since 2023)
Publications from 2025 cover two-dimensional perovskites with alternating diammonium and methylammonium cations for stable light-emitting diodes (*J. Phys. Chem. Lett.* Mater. Interfaces* 17, 42096–42107).[8](https://www.roeffaers-lab.org/publications/)
Funded projects running from 2025 to 2029, with Roeffaers as promotor, include direct Z-scheme photocatalysts for producing ammonia from water, N₂, and sunlight (07/11/2025–07/11/2029), and the ROUTE project on an optical machine-learning framework for detecting microplastics in tire wear at submicrometre level (01/10/2026–30/09/2029).[1](https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/nl/person/00046986)
## References
1. [KU Leuven wie is wie, Maarten Roeffaers](https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/nl/person/00046986)
2. [EFCATS, 2021 Young Researcher Award: Maarten Roeffaers](https://efcats.org/Awards/EFCATS+Awardees+2021/Maarten+Roeffaers.html)
3. [Maarten Roeffaers, Royal Society of Chemistry profile](https://www.rsc.org/people/maarten-roeffaers)
4. [Maarten Roeffaers, Fulbright Scholar Program grantee record](https://fulbrightscholars.org/grantee/maarten-roeffaers)
5. [Europacat 2023 keynote speaker biography, Roeffaers](https://www.europacat2023.cz/program/Keynote-speakers/Roeffaers)
6. [Heterogene katalyse gevisualiseerd door middel van fluorescentiemicroscopie (PhD thesis, KU Leuven, 2008)](https://lirias.kuleuven.be/bitstream/1979/1794/2/Roeffaers%20-%202008%20-%20phd%20thesis.pdf)
7. [The Roeffaers Lab Website](https://roeffaers-lab.org/)
8. [Publications, The Roeffaers Lab Website](https://www.roeffaers-lab.org/publications/)
9. [Maarten Roeffaers, European Academy of Sciences membership announcement](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maartenroeffaers_honored-to-join-the-european-academy-of-sciences-activity-7454911974389420032-Eabc)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Physical world and mathematics › Physical and mathematical scientists › Chemists › Researchers in inorganic chemistry, catalysis, and electrochemistry › Heterogeneous catalysis*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license