Targeted Synthesis of Inorganic Materials

We cover a wide range of preparative and analytical techniques for the characterization and targeted design of functional molecular and heterogeneous materials. Two threads connect them: First, they all serve to address current environmental and health challenges. Second, we mainly focus on the study of low-cost 3d transition metals when designing active centers of our materials.

The main focus of our energy materials research is water splitting (artificial photosynthesis). Our goal is to bridge the fields of molecular and solid-state catalysis - through identifying and understanding overarching design principles and mechanistic pathways. We complement this by exploring the formation mechanisms of molecules and solids as an essential part of their controlled design.
(Chem. Soc. Rev. 2017, 46, 6124; Chem. Soc. Rev., 2021,50, 2444-2485.)

Our current work includes the following topics:

• Heterogeneous Water Splitting Catalysts
• Structure/Property-Activity: Green Catalysts
• Molecular Water Oxidation Catalysts
• Photoelectrodes
• Polyoxometalates: Bio-Medical Properties
• Solar Thermochemical Materials