Rate My Professor Niklas Hedin

Niklas Hedin serves as Head of the Department of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Chemistry at Stockholm University. He earned his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, under the supervision of István Furó. Subsequently, he pursued postdoctoral research with Bradley Chmelka at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and with Sebastian Reyes at the ExxonMobil Corporate Research Laboratory in Annandale, USA. His academic career at Stockholm University began as Assistant Professor of Materials Chemistry, advancing to Associate Professor and then to full Professor of Materials Chemistry. In this role, he leads the Department of Chemistry, following a recent merger that unified chemistry research at the university.

The research in Niklas Hedin's group centers on adsorbents for the separation or reduction of carbon dioxide and carbon materials derived by hydrothermal carbonization, utilizing a multipronged approach including molecular spectroscopy. His group has obtained substantial funding as principal investigator or co-principal investigator, including 3.40 MSEK from the Swedish Research Council (2022-2025) for colloidal and aminated porous liquids for emission-free and energy-efficient CO2 capture; 0.890 MSEK from the Olle Engkvist Foundation (2022-2024) for methanol as hydrogen storage and heterogeneous catalysts; 3.8 MSEK from FORMAS (2021-2023) for activated limestone to reduce eutrophication in the Baltic Sea; and additional grants from the Carl Trygger Foundation, Swedish Energy Agency, Mistra, and others focused on CO2 absorption, direct air capture, and sustainable materials. He teaches master's-level courses on soft materials (KZ8001) and porous materials (KZ8011), as well as Grundläggande kemi – strukturdelen in Chemistry 101. Key publications include 'Structuring adsorbents and catalysts by processing of macroporous media in vacuum and under ambient conditions' (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2014), 'Adsorbents for the post-combustion capture of CO2 using rapid temperature swing or vacuum swing adsorption' (Applied Energy, 2013), 'Accelerated Uptake of CO2 Catalyzed by Immobilized Amines' (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2015), and over 100 peer-reviewed papers contributing to advancements in porous materials and gas separation technologies.