Tom WillhammarResearcher

About me

Tom Willhammar is a Docent at the Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry (MMK) at Stockholm University. He received a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering with focus on Materials and Polymer Chemistry from Lund University in 2008. His PhD was earned from Stockholm University in 2013 in the field of Structural Chemistry. After a Postdoc with Prof. Sara Bals at EMAT, Belgium, he is now working at Stockholm University as a researcher. Since 2022 he is Docent in Materials Chemistry.

Visit our group website: www.willhammargroup.com

Research

My research circles around electron microscopy, electron diffraction and its applications on structural characterization of materials.

Keys to an increased understanding of the properties of new materials are embedded in their structures, ranging from the mesoscale down to the atomic level. Electron microscopy provides important tools to reveal such information. My main research interest comprises methods such as 3D electron diffraction, scanning electron diffraction as well as imaging from the mesoscale down to the atomic scale. I work on a wide range of material systems with recent focus including cellulose-based materials, zeolites and MOFs.

My main research project at the moment are:

• "Unraveling the local structure of Cellulose Nanocrystals using scanning electron diffraction" funded by the Swedish Research Council (2020-2024)
• "A multidimensional toolkit for modern electron microscopy" funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (2019-2023).
• "Selective removal of water contaminants of emerging concern through in-situ molecular mechanistic understanding" funded by Formas (2023-2026)
• "Imaging of soft/bio-materials using emerging techniques in the electron microscope" funded by Carl Trygger Foundation (2023-2025)

Group Members

• Yu Xia, Postdoc
• Mathias Nero, PhD Student
• Evgeniia Ikonnikova, PhD Student
• Yan Zheng, PhD Student
• Sofía García Pascual, Master student

Alumni:

• Elina Kapaca, Postdoc Researcher

Teaching

I am lecturing the following courses:

• Basic Chemistry (KZ2012), Bachelor level
• Electron Microscopy for Materials Characterization (KZ7016), Advanced level
• Electron Crystallography (KZ41010), PhD level
• Advanced transmission electron microscopy (KZ41011). PhD level

Selected Publications

Removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from effluent by a plant-based metal-organic framework
Svensson Grape, Erik; Chacón-García, Antonio J.; Rojas, Sara; Pérez, Yolanda; Jaworski, Aleksander; Nero, Mathias; Åhlén, Michelle; Martínez-Ahumada, Eva; Galetsa Feindt, Athina E.; Pepillo, Mathieu; Narongin-Fujikawa, Mayumi; Ibarra, Ilich A.; Cheung, Ocean; Baresel, Christian; Willhammar, Tom*; Horcajada, Patricia*; Inge, A. Ken*
Nature Water 2023
DOI: 10.1038/s44221-023-00070-z

Single-walled zeolitic nanotubes
Korde, Akshay; Min, Byunghyun; Kapaca, Elina; Knio, Omar; Nezam, Iman; Wang, Ziyuan; Leisen, Johannes; Yin, Xinyang; Zhang, Xueyi; Sholl, David S.; Zou, Xiaodong; Willhammar, Tom*; Jones, Christopher W.*; Nair, Sankar*
Science 2022, 375, 6576, 62–66
DOI: 10.1126/science.abg3793

Structure of the active pharmaceutical ingredient bismuth subsalicylate
Erik Svensson Grape, Victoria Rooth, Mathias Nero, Tom Willhammar*, A Ken Inge*
Nature Communications, 2022, 13, 1984
DOI: 1038/s41467-022-29566-0

Local crystallinity in twisted cellulose nanofibers
Willhammar, Tom*; Daicho, Kazuho; Johnstone, Duncan N.; Kobayashi, Kayoko; Liu, Yingxin; Midgley, Paul A.; Bergström, Lennart; Saito, Tsuguyuki*
ACS Nano 2021, 15, 2, 2730–2737
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c08295

A priori control of zeolite phase competition and intergrowth with high-throughput simulations
Schwalbe-Koda, Daniel; Kwon, Soonhyoung; Paris, Cecilia; Bello-Jurado, Estefania; Jensen, Zach; Olivetti, Elsa; Willhammar, Tom; Corma, Avelino; Román-Leshkov, Yuriy; Moliner, Manuel; Gómez-Bombarelli, Rafael
Science 2021, 374, 6565, 308-315
DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3350

Synthesis and Structure of a 22× 12× 12 Extra-Large Pore Zeolite ITQ-56 Determined by 3D Electron Diffraction
Kapaca, Elina; Jiang, Jiuxing; Cho, Jung; Jordá, José L; Díaz-Cabañas, María J; Zou, Xiaodong; Corma, Avelino; Willhammar, Tom*
Journal of the American Chemical Society 2021, 143, 23, 8713-8719
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c02654

Introducing the crystalline phase of dicalcium phosphate monohydrate
Lu, Bing-Qiang‡; Willhammar, Tom‡; Sun, Ben-Ben; Hedin, Niklas; Gale, Julian D; Gebauer, Denis
Nature Communications 2020, 11 (1), 1-8
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15333

Please visit our Google Scholar for a complete list of publications.

If you are interested in a Postdoc do not hesitate to contact me.

Research projects

Ongoing

Completed

Unraveling the local structure of Cellulose Nanocrystals using Scanning Electron Diffraction

Cellulose is an essential constituent in the architecture of plants, where it contributes with extraordinary properties in terms of strength and stiffness. Using scanning electron diffraction we are revealing details of its atomic structure.

Developing novel advanced methods for imaging biomolecules

The "Cell differentiation and coordination in tissues" group is establishing and optimizing novel methods to directly assess changes in amount and chemical composition of plant biomass from biopsies with sub µm resolution.

Selective removal of water contaminants of emerging concern through in-situ molecular mechanistic un

Ensuring the availability of clean water is an essential global challenge. A significant fraction of the world’s population is at risk of water scarcity or insecurity.