Research at the IPC
As part of the Faculty of Chemistry, our long-established department has been synonymous with excellence in research in the field of physical chemistry for 120 years. Below, we would like to provide a brief overview of our current areas of research.Prof. Dr Alec Wodtke’s research group “Physical Chemistry I” focuses on molecular interactions at interfaces. Scattering experiments involving molecular beams on surfaces play a key role in this research.
Prof. Dr Martin Suhm and his research group “Physical Chemistry II” focus primarily on intermolecular interactions. Clusters of small molecules are generated using supersonic expansion, and their molecular vibrations are measured using infrared and Raman spectroscopy.
Prof. Dr Michael Buback’s group focuses on “Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry”. Here, the kinetics, mechanisms and selectivity of chemical processes, particularly in the field of polymer chemistry, are investigated across a wide range of temperatures and pressures.
Prof. Dr Philipp Vana’s research group “Macromolecular Chemistry” focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of custom-designed macromolecules. Its main areas of focus are the development of biomimetic polymers, complex macromolecular architectures, surface polymerisation and nanocomposites.
Prof. Dr Andreas Janshoff is head of the “Biophysical Chemistry” research group, whose research lies at the intersection of physical chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics. The group focuses in particular on the mechanical, optical and electrical properties of small systems, ranging in size from individual molecules to living cells.
The “Lower Saxony Chair of Physical Chemistry” is held by Prof. Dr Jürgen Troe. His research group focuses on reaction kinetics, spectroscopy, photo- and laser chemistry, atmospheric chemistry and combustion chemistry.
Prof. Dr Ricardo Mata’s research group “Computational Chemistry and Biochemistry” is working on the quantum chemical investigation of biochemical systems. Another area of research is the use of many-body approximations in correlation methods to reduce computational effort.
"Theoretical Chemistry" Prof. Dr Reinhard J. Maurer’s research vision is to develop and apply new simulation methods and predictive tools that combine machine learning (ML) and data-driven approaches with quantum mechanical (QM) methods for simulating electronic structure and dynamics. In this way, existing bottlenecks in simulation capabilities—which limit the length and time scales as well as the complexity of chemical simulations—are overcome. More importantly, hybrid ML/QM methods enable fundamentally new predictive approaches that challenge the conventional structure-property paradigm on which modern chemical studies are based. The Maurer group applies newly developed ML-based research tools in the fields of high-throughput molecular design for organic electronics and functional interfaces, as well as in the investigation of chemical dynamics triggered by extremely short or intense light and electromagnetic fields.
Dr Florian Ehlers’ research group “Polymer Kinetics” focuses on the kinetics of polymerisation reactions. To this end, photoinitiators are cleaved using laser pulses and the resulting radicals are investigated by electron spin resonance spectroscopy.
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The investigation of chemical reactions on solid surfaces, material properties and solvation, as well as the development of new methods for representing potential hypersurfaces using neural networks, are research topics pursued by Prof. Dr Jörg Behler and his group Theoretical Chemistry.
The research group “Physical Chemistry of Solids” is led by Prof. Dr. Götz Eckold. The main research areas in this group are non-equilibrium states in condensed matter, the kinetics of segregation processes, and the development of instruments for neutron scattering.