Ina Vollmer

Dr. Ina Vollmer is an Assistant Professor at the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group within the Faculty of Science at Utrecht University. Her work focuses on chemical recycling and mechano-catalysis to address global plastic waste challenges.

• Research Focus: Developing low-temperature, high-selectivity methods for converting plastic waste into chemical building blocks using mechanical force instead of thermal energy.
• Expertise: Heterogeneous catalysis, polymer chemistry, and radical analytics.
• Teaching: Polymer chemistry and electron spin resonance spectroscopy.

She led the development of a patented Surface-Activated Mechano-Catalyst (SAM cat) and champions Open Science initiatives like FAIR data practices. Her group's work has been recognized through significant grants, including an ERC Starting Grant and NWO Demonstrator Grant, supporting the commercialization of mechano-catalytic recycling technologies.