20.11.2025

Törggelen 2025

The research groups Materials- & Electrochemistry, Interface Chemistry & Structure, and Battery Technologies met for a Törggelen event at the Canisiusbrünnl in Rum.

11.11.2025

New Article Published in ACS Omega

How can CO2 be electrochemically converted to formic acid under industrially relevant, acidic conditions? Our new article "Boosting Formic Acid Production in Mildly Acidic Media - The Role of Native Surface Oxide on the CO2 Reduction Performance" shows that bismuth catalysts achieve over 95 % selectivity toward formic acid at pH 3 while suppressing the competing hydrogen evolution. A naturally formed bismuth oxide layer is found to be key for this performance, paving the way for an implementation of this reaction in proton-exchange membrane systems for industrial application.

 Link to the article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsomega.5c10136

27.10.2025 - 30.10.2025

MECS Booster 2025

Members of our research group attended the MECS Booster 2025, which took place in Waidhofen an der Ybbs. Through a varied program of talks and discussions, the participants were able to develop new ideas and further advance existing projects.

07.09.2025 - 12.09.2025

76th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry

Several members of our research group participated in the 76th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE), held in Mainz, Germany. With more than 2,000 contributions, the conference marked the largest annual meeting in ISE’s history in terms of participation. Our group contributed eight poster presentations, showcasing ongoing research and engaging in valuable scientific discussions.

07.08.2025

Congratulations to Lara Handle, MSc 

Today, Lara successfully defended her Master’s thesis titled "Tuning the Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Reaction by Irreversible Adsorption of Transition Metal Hydroxides on Cu(111)." Congratulations on this great achievement!

01.08.2025

New Article Published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 

 How do gold surfaces respond to repeated oxidation and reduction cycles? Our new article, "Dynamics of Adatom and Vacancy Islands on Au(111) in Alkaline and Acidic Media," investigates how the Au(111) surface evolves in acidic and alkaline solutions. The results reveal surprising differences in surface behavior and provide important insights into the self-healing properties of gold under different environmental conditions.

Link to the article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5c03661

17.03.2025

New Article Published in Angewandte Chemie 

How does the surface of WC powder electrocatalysts change under real-world conditions? Our new article, "Surface Chemistry of WC Powder Electrocatalysts Probed In Situ with NAP-XPS," provides answers. Using the NAP-XPS technique, exciting insights into the dynamic processes occurring at the catalyst surface were gained — an important step toward the development of more efficient electrocatalysts.

Link to the article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202500965

08.01.2025

New Article Published in Surface Science 

The so-called “anomalous” negative Stark effect of CO on Pt(111) has sparked debate in surface chemistry for years. In our new article, "Rationalizing the 'anomalous' electrochemical Stark shift of CO at Pt(111) through vibrational spectroscopy and density-functional theory calculations," we investigate this unusual behavior using advanced IR spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The study reveals surprising details about the structure and dynamics of CO adsorption at electrochemical interfaces.

Link to the article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2025.122694

22.04.2024

New Article Published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Our latest article, titled "Highly Active W₂C-Based Composites for the HER in Alkaline Solution: The Role of Surface Oxide Species," explores the role of surface oxide species in W₂C-based composite materials for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline solution. The study demonstrates their high catalytic activity and provides valuable insights into the design of efficient HER catalysts.

Link to the article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.4c01612

13.04.2024

New Article Published in ACS Catalysis

Our article "Electroreduction of CO₂ in a Non-aqueous Electrolyte – The Generic Role of Acetonitrile" focuses on the electroreduction of CO₂ in a non-aqueous electrolyte and investigates the generic role of acetonitrile as a solvent. The findings offer important implications for the design of efficient electrochemical CO₂ conversion systems.

Link to the article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.3c00236

18.01.2024 - 19.01.2024

Advanced Spectrocopy for Energy Storage & Conversion 

With great enthusiasm, members of our institute participated in the “Advanced Spectroscopy for Energy Storage & Conversion” workshop, held from January 18–19 in Munich, Germany. We contributed a total of three presentations, including two invited talks, and actively engaged in numerous scientific discussions, exchanging valuable insights and ideas.

08.01.2024

New Article Published in ACS Catalysis

IThe article "Electroreduction of CO₂ in a Non-aqueous Electrolyte – The Generic Role of Acetonitrile" provides an in-depth investigation of the role of acetonitrile as a solvent in the electroreduction of CO₂ in non-aqueous media, highlighting its influence on the efficiency of the reaction.

Link to the article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acscatal.3c02700

28.09.2023 - 29.09.2023

7th GÖCh-Symposium for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry 

Members of our group participated in the 7th GÖCh-Symposium for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at TU Vienna, held from September 28 to 29, 2023.
(Not pictured: Chri)

03.09.2023 - 08.09.2023

74th ISE Annual Meeting 

Members of the Materials and Electrochemistry as well as Battery Technologies departments participated in the 74th ISE Annual Meeting held in Lyon, France. We presented numerous contributions and actively engaged in the scientific exchange during the conference.

18.05.2023

New Article Published in Elecrochemical Science Advances 

Members of the Materials and Electrochemistry as well as Battery Technologies departments participated in the 74th ISE Annual Meeting held in Lyon, France. We presented numerous contributions and actively engaged in the scientific exchange during the conference.

Link to the article: https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/elsa.202300007

Excellence cluster "Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage" 

The continued burning of fossil fuels to meet the growing energy demand has pushed the world to the brink of a climate crisis. Within this excellence cluster, researchers are working to develop new technologies for efficient energy conversion and storage, paving the way toward a fossil-free society. A key focus is the storage of renewable energy in recyclable energy carriers: water can be split into hydrogen and oxygen, and CO₂ can even be converted into valuable products — including climate-neutral substitutes for natural gas and oil.

To achieve this, the excellence cluster develops nanocatalysts that enable chemical reactions to proceed rapidly and reliably. Expertise from diverse fields such as surface chemistry, surface physics, materials science, and computer simulation is brought together. This excellence cluster thus represents an important step toward climate neutrality.

“It’s five minutes past twelve! The energy transition can only be achieved if the brightest minds in materials research join forces to develop innovative ways to store renewable energy in a climate-neutral manner. This excellence cluster is Austria’s significant contribution to meeting this global challenge,” says Günther Rupprechter, Director of Research, about the new excellence cluster.