Photo of Emma Björk

Emma Björk

Senior Associate Professor

I focuse on development of nanoporous materials and on understanding how the material formation process correlates with the materials characteristics. The materials are used in applications such as drug delivery, sensing, and catalysis.

Presentation of my research

The materials I work with have pores that are 2–50 nanometers large. The porosity makes the materials suitable for carrying drugs or other molecules. 

My research interests involve development of nanoporous materials and understanding how the material formation process correlates with the materials characteristics. The materials I work with have pores that are 2–50 nm large, which provides a large specific surface area, ~500–1000 m²/g.

The porosity makes the materials suitable for carrying drugs or other molecules, and the large surface makes them excellent as catalytic supports.

The materials are synthesized using a sol-gel process, and I use in situ techniques to study how the materials are formed. This provides understanding of how synthesis parameters affect the characteristics of the final materials.

I have a large interest in designing materials for various applications, such as drug delivery, sensing, and catalysis. I explore how we can optimize the materials performance in each application by alterations of their composition, pore structure, and morphology.

Publications

2025

Irina V. Pushkareva, Zhixing Wu, Xianjie Liu, Maksim A. Solovyev, Sergey I. Butrim, Margarita V. Kozlova, Tatiana L. Kulova, Reverant Crispin, Emma Björk, Dmitri G. Bessarabov, Mikhail Vagin, Artem S. Pushkarev (2025) Advanced Nickel-Based Gas Diffusion Anode for Zero-Gap Anion-Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Vol. 17, p. 32216-32227 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Elisa Zattarin, Zeljana Sotra, Emanuel Wiman, Yagmur Baş, Jonathan Rakar, Linn Berglund, Annika Starkenberg, Emma Björk, Hazem Khalaf, Kristiina Oksman, Torbjorn Bengtsson, Johan Junker, Daniel Aili (2025) Controlled Release of Antimicrobial Peptides from Nanocellulose Wound Dressings for Treatment of Wound Infections Materials Today Bio, Vol. 32, Article 101756 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Clara Linder, Mikhail Vagin, Robert Boyd, Grzegorz Greczynski, Daniel Lundin, Karin Torne, Per Eklund, Emma Björk (2025) Tailoring the Electrocatalytic Activity and Corrosion Resistance of CoCrFeNi and MnCrFeNi Thin Films by Anodization ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS, Vol. 9, Article 2400797 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI

2024

Clara Linder, Robert Boyd, Grzegorz Greczynski, Mikhail Vagin, Daniel Lundin, Karin Torne, Per Eklund, Emma Björk (2024) Enhanced Oxygen-Reaction Electrocatalysis and Corrosion Resistance of CoCrFeNi Thin Films by Tuned Microstructure and Surface Oxidation SMALL SCIENCE, Vol. 4, Article 2400296 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Yuguo Zhao, Emma Björk, Yong Yan, Peter Schaaf, Dong Wang (2024) Recent progress in transition metal based catalysts and mechanism analysis for alcohol electrooxidation reactions Green Chemistry, Vol. 26, p. 4987-5003 (Article, review/survey) Continue to DOI

Research in material science

News

Iridescent disc on net.

26 March 2025

Successful outcomes for IFM's materials research in WASP-WISE pilot call

WASP and WISE have recently awarded grants to nine collaborative projects, three of which include participants from the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM) at Linköping University.

Researchers in a lab.

08 February 2024

Boosted nano material to secure hip implant

Cellular biologist Anna Fahlgren has  teamed up with materials scientist Emma Björk. Together, they will use nano materials that may contribute to a better healing process and faster recovery for the patient.

Portrait Nara Kim

08 January 2024

Women in materials science contribute to equality in research

Advanced Functional Materials (AFM) has developed a strategic initiative to support outstanding female researchers through co-funding

Teaching

Organisation