Chemical Physics - Research
Astrochemistry of Metals
Despite decades of research, the chemistry of iron in interstellar clouds holds more questions than answers. In the mass spectrometer, we can simulate the vacuum conditions found in space. We vaporize iron with a short laser pulse and mix the iron vapour with gas in the ion source to produce charged, reactive iron compounds similar to those in space. We inject these into the mass spectrometer and examine them further with lasers and other reaction partners. This provides us with data that can be compared with astronomical observations to ideally identify iron complexes in interstellar clouds.
Atmospheric Chemistry
In the ion trap in the ultra-high vacuum of a mass spectrometer, chemical reactions take place in slow motion because only about one collision of a cluster with a molecule of a reaction gas takes place per second. This allows us to follow the course of the reaction precisely. Furthermore, we use tunable lasers to initiate photochemical reactions and to determine the structure of the clusters and their reaction products. With these methods, we investigate the behavior of sea salt aerosols in the atmosphere, gaining insight into the fundamental properties of chemical bonds.
Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide
are key ingredients for the storage of green electricity. We investigate hydrogen evolution from water at metal centers and at innovative catalysts, which will replace the precious platinum in water electrolysis. To obtain liquid fuels from green electricity, hydrogen must be coupled with carbon dioxide to larger molecules light methanol or ethanol. The required reaction steps are investigated in our laboratories.
Functional Materials
Self-healing polymers – how can this work? On our atomic force microscope, we investigate the mechanical forces acting during material fatigue, i.e. chemical bond breaking. Our partners from organic chemistry synthesize specifically required molecular loops, which we pull apart molecule by molecule. We are member of the UIBK Research Area FunMat.
