Development of new materials is a driving force for technological innnovation and economic progress. Nature gives lucid examples for organic–inorganic hybrid materials combining sophistication, miniaturization, hierarchical organizations, hybridation, resistance and adaptability e.g. in mollusk shells and bones, chemical sensing or defense.
Our mission is the synthesis and in-depth structural and physical characterization and potential applications of new inorganic-organic hybrid materials and inorganic solids. Our research focuses on understanding the fundamental processes and mechanisms used in nature, in order to discover concepts valuable to materials engineering and to use our understanding for designing better materials with specific structural functions, for catalysis as well as energy, heat and light management.
The topics of our current activities include
- Mechanisms of nucleation and growth of nanoparticles in solution
- (Bio)functionalization of inorganic nanoparticles for biomedical applications
- Biomaterials and biomineralization
- Self-organization of functionalized nanoparticles
- Nanomaterials in heat management, thermoelectrics and phononics
- Nanomaterials in photonics and solar cells
- Biocatalysis and enzyme mimetics
- Nanostructured chalcogenides for tribology
Multifunctional Silica-Coated Au@MnO Janus Particles for Selective Dual Functionalization and Imaging, I. Schick, S. Lorenz, D. Gehrig, A.-M. Schilmann, H. Bauer, M. Panthöfer, K. Fischer, M. Schmidt, D. Strand, F. Laquai, W. Tremel, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2014, 136[34], 2473-83 DOI: 10.1021/ja410787u
Flexible Minerals: Self-Assembled Calcite Spicules with Extreme Bending Strength, F. Natalio, T. Coralles, M. Panthöfer, I. Lieberwirth, D. Schollmeyer, W.E.G. Müller, M. Kappl, H.-J. Butt, W. Tremel, Science, 2013, 339[6125], 1298-1302, DOI: 10.1126/science.1216260
V2O5 nanoparticles mimic vanadium haloperoxidases and thwart biofilm formation, F. Natalio, R. André, A. F. Hartog, B. Stoll, K. P. Jochum, R. Wever, W. Tremel, Nature Nanotechnol., 2012, 7[34], 530-35, DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.91
Thermoelectric transport in the fast copper ionic conducting Argyrodite Cu7PSe6, K. S. Weldert, W. G. Zeier, T. W. Day, M. Panthöfer, G. J. Snyder, W. Tremel, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2010, 132, 12035–12040, DOI: 10.1021/ja5056092