Student’s Spotlight – Maggie Kroon

22-01-202522-01-2025 TimGunterStudent's Spotlight Lund University

Maggie Kroon is a PhD student in materials chemistry at Lund University.

Maggie has been working and studying for 1,5 years in the Centre for Analysis and Synthesis department at the Kemicentrum at the Lund University under the supervision of Professor Karen Edler. The Edler group focuses on exploring nanoscopic materials ranging from a few Angstroms to microns. While others study micelles and nanoparticles, she focuses on a slightly bigger scale of polymers in a class of solvents that are called deep eutectic solvents (DES). She uses these DESs for the extraction of lignin from wood chips.

Lignin, the second most abundant natural polymer on Earth after cellulose, is primarily a byproduct of the paper industry and is often burned as fuel. However, in recent years, lignin has gained attention for its potential as a valuable feedstock. Her research is about tuning the properties of lignin by extracting it in various DESs. She thinks the most rewarding part of her work is to repurpose a waste stream that would otherwise be burned and explore its applications. Thereby, the employment of techniques such as NMR, SAXS, SANS offer new and exciting insights for the understanding of lignin and solvent interaction. She went to ILL in France to measure the structure of lignin in various solvents with Small Angle Neutron Scattering SANS. Recently she visited ISIS in the United Kingdom to measure the intermolecular interactions of a model lignin compound in a DES to obtain a computational model by a total diffraction measurement on NIMROD.

Maggie thinks the most fun part of her work is to learn and grow every day. Is it in developing soft skills, like communication skills, guiding others, and planning and hard skills, such as technical proficiency and specialized knowledge in the field. For her, it’s not just about the outcome of the project, but the process of understanding the systems in society and the will to contribute to something bigger than herself.

One of the challenges Maggie has faced in her work is handling complex problems and finding solutions. Diving into literature can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially in new fields that demand extensive knowledge. In these cases, it is important to find the right people that are willing to help address these complex questions. Maggie highlights the importance of working in a collaborative environment where you can talk freely. However, navigating such collaboration can sometimes be challenging. Her advice to new PhD students is to clearly communicate their goals and expectations for a project and have fun with your colleagues, as this can greatly improve direction and motivation.

A great example of a complex technique is x-ray and neutron scattering. She is thankful for her coworkers and the neutron society which provides her with a lot of knowledge and tools for understanding the concept. She has attended a scattering course by SwedNess where she met amazing people, and she recommends the school. For everyone interested in learning about neutron scattering, Maggie encourages them to approach it as an exciting journey. She acknowledges that to her the field felt like a challenge at first, with its complex techniques. But with patience and the right support learning neutron scattering can became manageable and rewarding, offering valuable insights and opportunities.

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