Mission
We advance chemistry by uncovering the principles of light-driven reactivity and supramolecular design, creating new tools for catalysis and nanomaterials innovation.Vision
A future where, like nature, we harness chemical complexity to achieve selective transformations for sustainable synthesis, clean energy, and advanced nanomaterials.
Research
Welcome to the group website of the Limburg Lab: Supramolecular Photochemistry and Catalysis (SPC). We are a young research group at the University of Barcelona started in October 2022. We study photochemistry and apply it in synthesis, energy transition and nanoscale materials. We are interested in Photocatalysis, Coordination Chemistry, Supramolecular and Nanoscale Chemistry, Computational Chemistry, Mechanistic Elucidation, and Organic and Molecular Electronics. Our research projects therefore bridge the common divides in chemistry and contain elements from the traditional fields of Organic, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry. Our current research projects include:
- Synthetic Neurons and Artificial Photoactivated Synapses (ERC-StG).
- Photocatalyst Design for Enhanced Quantum Yields in Synthesis and Energy production (Researcher Consolidation Project).
- Light-induced Reduction of Phosphine Oxides and Synthetic Catalytic Applications (Knowledge Generation Project)
News
Yaiza is visiting the 25th International Conference and Phosphorus Chemistry presenting a poster on some of our promising results from the RedFox project.
Igor has been awarded the highly competitive Juan de la Cierva fellowship to continue his research within our group! Congratulations, Igor!
Yesterday, we had our annual group excursion. This year, we headed into the woods for a scenic nature hike along a trail planned by our postdoc, Sofia. The hike ended at a BBQ spot, where we enjoyed good food and plenty of oxidation and Maillard reactions. Thanks for the organization, Sofia and Igor!
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Welcome to our new PhD student Öykü! Looking forward to your porphyin-liposome nanostructures!
Many congratulations to Sofia whose MSCA proposal RedLips was funded! In collaboration with the CNR Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity in Italy, we will develop liposomes producing radicals!
The last three days Bart, Igor and Antoni were at the Spanish Netherlands Organic Chemistry Symposium. We contributed with a talk and two posters. It was great to see new and old friends, and learn a lot about current new directions of chemical research in our two countries!
Last thursday, the 16th of October, Bart was part of the first Spanish Junior Leaders in Synthesis and Catalysis symposium in the beautiful Murcia, presenting about how mechanistic elucidation is highly important, especially for photoredox catalysis.
Latest Publications
Selective Binding of Sulphated Glycosaminoglycan Induces Self-Assembly of Naphthalene Diimide into Fluorescent Nanofibers
Poonam Sharma, Esteban Fernández-Pedrera López, Beatriz Cantero Nieto, Annalisa Calò, Subhadip Ghosh, Paula Rodríguez, Xavier Companyó, Bart Limburg, Mohit Kumar
Nanoscale 2026, 18, 6399-6408
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Fluoride‐Transfer Asymmetric Allylic Alkylation Enables Regiodivergent, Stereoselective Cross‐Electrophile Coupling
Jordi Duran, Vyali Georgian Moldoveanu, Claudia Barroso, Geraldo Augusto Pereira, Bart Limburg, Xavier Companyó
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e20513
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1,2-Hydrogen Atom Transfer of Aminyl Radicals under Photoredox Catalysis for the Synthesis of α-Amino Phosphine Oxides
Ailin Pan, Madeline E. Rotella, Yamiao Meng, Tian Xun, Shengzu Duan, Yonggang Jiang, Guogang Deng, Bart Limburg, Hongbin Zhang, Marisa C Kozlowski, Patrick J. Walsh, Xiaodong Yang
Chem. Sci. 2026, 17, 412-420
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