Interdisciplinary Graduate School 611 Design and Characterisation of Functional Materials

Structure of the programme

The research programme has been structured into four main areas:

• Functionalised surfaces (Heck, Terfort, Wiesendanger, G. Hoffmann)
• Structured materials (Albert, Bismayer, Fröba, Paulmann)
• Nanomaterials, Clusters and Colloids (Albert, Förster, Rehder, Weller)
• Porous materials (Albert, Fröba, Heck)

In addition, the analytical research group Broekaert is incorporated.

Brief description of main areas:

For details, see also the links to the specific research groups.

Functionalised surfaces

Pd thin layers deposited in capillaries for heterogeneous catalysis. Manufacture of patterned surfaces by micro-contact printing for sensoric applications, including combinatorial assesment of catalyst libraries. Colloidal particles of functionalised polyoxometalates. Methods: Scanning probe microscopy to characterise monolayers and metal submonolayers; X-ray microscopy. Chemical vapour deposition (CVD); formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).

Structured materials

Tailoring ferroic and non-ferroic minerals towards low-dimensional ion conduction processes. Defect-induced patterns. Biomineralisation of calcium phosphate. Meso-structured metal chalcogenides and transition metal oxides. Hybrid organic-inorganic materials. Boride-based materials. Nano-scalic materials.

Clusters and Colloids

Controlled synthesis (surfactant micella and cryptands matrices) of polyoxometalates with catalytic and biological activity. Wedge-shaped thiols in the control of size and dispersity of gold colloids. Study of the early stages of precipitation from colloid solutions. Nanoparticles in 2D and 3D superlattices and doped nanocrystals.

Porous materials

Microstructured polyesters. Prussian blue type supramolecular aggregates containing organotin building blocks. Host/guest systems containing NLO-active organometallics. Mesostructured host-guest compounds and mesoporous silica phases as NLO chromophore supports.