Our group concentrates on the preparation of heterogeneous catalysts and on their electrocatalytic evaluation. Especially important are high surface area materials with controllable size, facets and functional groups that are cost-efficient and scalable. Through a systematic approach of first characterizing model surfaces and then transferring them to nanoparticulate systems, we create the basis for application-oriented materials that can be used e.g. in fuel cells or electrolysers. Many of the fundamentals of both fields are very closely interlinked (surface potential, double layer, etc.) and we use the best of both worlds to obtain a deeper understanding of the catalytic processes and their underlaying reaction mechanisms. The catalytic reactions include the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the carbon dioxide reduction.
Our research is supported by fundamental studies on the growth mechanisms and the subsequent development of new materials. Innovative, automated characterization techniques are used to evaluate the catalysts’ performance which enables the examination of numerous materials in a short time and thus accelerates the discovery of new materials. The corresponding reaction mechanisms that are essential for understanding the underlying processes are examined.
