Adam Matěj, Ph.D.

Adam works on on-surface chemistry and the electronic structure of molecules at metallic surfaces, combining DFT with multiscale approaches. His skills include modelling elementary reaction steps and proposing complete reaction pathways based on calculated free energies. Additionally, he can calculate various molecular properties of PAHs, including numerous aromaticity descriptors. In connection to SPM, he’s able to calculate AFM and STM images for comparison with experiments.

Research interests

• On-surface synthesis and reaction mechanisms
• Electronic structure of adsorbed molecules
• Scanning-probe microscopy simulations
• Evaluation of the accuracy of various multiscale methods

Funding

Running

• 2024—2027 — Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) project nr. 24-10142O from the Postdoc Individual Fellowship — Outgoing program, titled Inducing Open-shell Ground State in Conjugated Hydrocarbons.

Past

• Endowment fund of Palacký University Olomouc funded the 3-month internship at TTU.

Short CV

• 2026-now – Chairman of the Czech Young Chemist Association
• 2026–now — Group leader, SurfReact, Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacký University Olomouc
• 2024–2026 — Postdoc at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA (Miklos Kertesz)
• 2022 — 3-months internship at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA (Hans Lischka)
• 2019–2023 — Ph.D., Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacký University Olomouc (Pavel Jelínek)
• 2019—now — Researcher in Nanosurf group, Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Pavel Jelínek)
• 2019-now — Researcher at Department of Physical Chemistry, Palacký University Olomouc

Selected papers

• Timm M. J. et al., Spatially Resolving the Cone of Reaction for a Single Molecule. Science 2026; 393, 6809, 417-421.

• Frezza F. et al., On-Surface Synthesis of a Radical 2D Supramolecular Organic Framework. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024; 146, 5, 3531-3538.

• Lowe B. et al., Selective Activation of Aromatic C–H Bonds Catalyzed by Single Gold Atoms at Room Temperature. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022; 144, 46, 21389-21397.

• Lawrence J. et al., Circumventing the Stability Problems of Graphene Nanoribbon Zigzag Edges. Nat. Chem. 2022; 14, 12, 1451, 1458.