Jan Lüning heads HZB Institute for Electronic Structure Dynamics
© HG Medien
The HZB Institute for Electronic Structure Dynamics, newly founded on 1 May, develops experimental techniques and infrastructures to investigate the dynamics of elementary microscopic processes in novel material systems. This will help to optimise functional materials for sustainable technologies.
Prof. Dr. Jan Lüning is an internationally recognised expert in research with synchrotron radiation. Before joining HZB in 2018, he was a professor at Sorbonne University in Paris and worked at the French synchrotron SOLEIL.
Three groups belong to the institute: Dr Ulrich Schade's group operates the IRIS infrared beamline at the BESSY II synchrotron radiation source. He examines molecular processes in novel functional materials that enable, for example, energy conversion or catalytic water splitting.
The group "Ultra-Short-Time Laser Spectroscopy" led by Dr. Iain Wilkinson works in the laser laboratories ULLAS and LIDUX and investigates the dynamics of reactions in aqueous solutions and at aqueous interfaces on ultra-short time scales.
The third group, led by Dr. Christian Schüssler-Langeheine and Dr. Niko Pontius, operates the Femtoslicing Facility at BESSY II and conducts research on materials with complex phase transitions that have the potential to make electronic and magnetic devices smaller, faster and more energy efficient.
The institute's research activities are part of the Helmholtz Association's Programme-Oriented Funding (POF IV) in the Research Field Matter.
- Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteriesA team led by Prof. Yan Lu, HZB, and Prof. Arne Thomas, Technical University of Berlin, has developed a material that enhances the capacity and stability of lithium-sulphur batteries. The material is based on polymers that form a framework with open pores (known as radical-cationic covalent organic frameworks or COFs). Catalytically accelerated reactions take place in these pores, firmly trapping polysulphides, which would shorten the battery life. Some of the experimental analyses were conducted at the BAMline at BESSY II.
- Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysisUsing a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in the shell can diffuse into the interior of the nanoparticles. However, most of it remains on the surface and oxidises. This process is strongly dependent on the surface orientation of the nanoparticle facets.
- KlarText Prize for Hanna TrzesniowskiThe chemist has been awarded the prestigious KlarText Prize for Science Communication by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.