Science News

With the aim to precisely understand its function, researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Department and Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute, together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion investigated the Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst system used for industrial methanol production during reaction conditions. They found that the dynamic, temperature-sensitive nature of the Cu-ZnO interaction is the key to its function – opening up new avenues for rationally improving this process. more

Researchers in the Inorganic Chemistry Department at the Fritz Haber Institute, together with partners in the National Research Data Infrastructure project FAIRmat, have developed a repository for standardized experimental catalysis data. The platform enables reliable data sharing and provides a strong foundation for artificial-intelligence-driven analysis. more

Self-driving laboratories (SDLs) powered by artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly accelerating materials discovery, but can they also explain their results? Researchers from the Theory Department of the Fritz Haber Insitute, in collaboration with BASF, and BasCat – UniCat BASF JointLab, show that they can. Their new AI-driven strategy works hand-in-hand with SDLs to identify better catalysts while revealing the chemistry behind their performance. The approach was validated on the industrially crucial conversion of propane into propylene. more

Whether in our bodies or in fuel cells, phosphoric acid plays an important role in many chemical processes because it is exceptionally good at transporting charges. Researchers from the Department of Molecular Physics at the Fritz Haber Institute gained new molecular insights into this remarkable property of the small molecule. more

Together with an international team, researchers from the Molecular Physics Department at the Fritz Haber Institute revealed how atoms rearrange themselves before releasing low-energy electrons in a decay process initiated by X-ray irradiation. For the first time, they gain detailed insights into the timing of the process – shedding light on related radiation damage mechanisms. more

Researchers from the Inorganic Chemistry Departments of the Fritz Haber Institute revealed how structural changes on the surface and in the bulk region of the cobalt oxide catalyst Co₃O₄ influence its selectivity in the production of industrially relevant chemicals like acetone. They discovered that a metastable, structurally “trapped” state exhibits the highest catalytic activity - an important finding for catalyst design. more

A large international collaboration of researchers led by the Fritz Haber Institute, the Paul Drude Institute, and the University of Iowa proposes a new way to control how light moves through materials at extremely small scales. This approach could lead to better sensors, faster communications, and smaller optical devices.  more