MEL researchers achieved significant success at Nanocon 2026

Researchers from the Materials-Envi Lab (MEL) at CEET achieved significant success at the 18th edition of the international Nanocon 2026 conference, held in Brno at the turn of September and October. Klaus Müllen, who has been working at MEL since last year, delivered a plenary lecture; Rohan Jena received an honourable mention for his poster; and VŠB-TUO had the largest delegation of any participating institution. MEL researchers also actively contributed to several specialist sessions focusing on nanomaterials, energy, chemistry, catalysis and other promising fields.

Klaus Müllen, a world-renowned expert in organic and polymer chemistry and one of the most highly cited chemists, delivered a plenary lecture titled ‘From Energy to Quantum Computation: Graphene and Graphene Nanoribbons as Multitalents’. In his presentation, he explored the potential applications of graphene and graphene nanostructures in fields ranging from energy to quantum technologies.

“Professor Müllen is renowned for his pioneering work in the field of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and graphene nanostructures, as well as their applications. His lecture was extremely well received. Other speakers from MEL also delivered excellent presentations, covering a wide range of materials and their applications in energy, chemistry and catalysis. The conference also provided participants with a unique opportunity for face-to-face discussions with leading international experts,” said Radek Zbořil, head of MEL, who has served as the conference’s scientific guarantor for several years.

Another plenary speaker was Francisco Javier Aizpurua from the Donostia International Physics Centre in San Sebastián, Spain, coordinator of the Basque Quantum (BasQ) initiative, which focuses on the development of quantum technologies. In his lecture, ‘Addressing Enhanced Light-Matter Interaction in Extreme Metallic Nanocavities’, he explored the interaction between light and matter in extreme metallic nanocavities.

Rohan Jena also achieved success, receiving an honourable mention for his poster entitled ‘Intrinsic Peroxide Pathway Engineering in Ni(OH)₂ via Lanthanide Single Atoms for Selective Electrochemical H₂O₂ Production’.

The conference was attended by 222 experts from 28 countries, with researchers also presenting more than a hundred posters.