Research Groups

Group leader: Annette  Trunschke

The chemical diversity of metal oxides accounts for the importance of this materials class in various functional applications.
We investigate the reactive surface of metal oxide catalysts in activation of C-H, O-O, C-O, and O-H bonds in small molecules.
The oxidation of short-chain alkanes and oxygenates on the surface of bulk and supported V-based mixed oxides, perovskites, and alkaline earth metal oxides is studied with the aim to identify descriptors to predict selectivity. more

Group leader: Axel Knop-Gericke

The electronic structure of catalytically active solid/gas-phase and solid/liquid interfaces is our main interest. We perform synchrotron based in-situ/operando X-ray absorption (XAS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements to study structure-function relations. The measurements were supported by DFT calculations. more

Group leader: Thomas Lunkenbein


The Electron Microscopy group focuses on the structural understanding of heterogeneous catalysts and chemical energy converters, using state-of-the-art X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy methods. In doing so, we seek to uncover the differences between local and averaged structures and to understand their chemical relationship to catalysis. To this end, our portfolio includes not only detailed X-ray diffraction analysis and chemical electron microscopy, but also operando and quasi in situ measurements for X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. more