Univ.Ass. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.rer.nat.

Postdoctoral Researcher in the Research Group for Solid State Ionics

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Whenever you think there are no significant open questions in a scientific field, it just means you did not look closely enough.

Keywords Impedance spectroscopy, Ambient pressure XPS, In-situ analytics, Catalysis

Research Interest

It is my belief that publicly funded science should deal with technologies that are desperately needed, but not commercially successful. In the energy sector, the electrolysis of H₂O and CO₂ – especially the more energy efficient high-temperature electrolysis is still in its technological infancy.

From a scientific point of view, we know quite well which reactions happen on the surfaces of fuel cell electrodes. However, we know surprisingly little about the catalytically active surfaces themselves since they differ massively from the bulk in terms of structure and stoichiometry. It is therefore not surprising that we neither know the individual reaction steps, intermediates and rate-limiting reactions in detail.

In my research I focus on the development of new in-situ analytical tools and electrochemical measurement methods. With these I get more information on the actual surface chemistry of (electro) catalytically active materials and how it influences the activity of the electrodes. In the long run, improved electrodes will hopefully be a key stone for realizing efficient and long-term stable high temperature electrolysis cells and catalysts

Research Topics

• Advanced thin film techniques
• All solid state Li ion batteries
• CO2 and H2O electrolysis
• Defect chemistry and MIECs
• Development of novel setups
• Electrochemical in-situ methods
• Reaction mechanism and kinetics

Funded Projects

• KatSeg (FWF)