Our curiosity is boundless – across topics and disciplines. Our institute stands for interdisciplinary research. Only through cross-border collaboration will we be able to understand and solve the complex challenges of our time. Therefore, international cooperation shapes our work. Together with partner institutions in Tokyo, Tsukuba, Trnava and Berlin, we maintain an intensive scientific exchange that enriches both research and society.
In our courses, students gather early experience with current research methods. This gives them valuable skills at the crossroads between scientific theory and technical application.
Coordination chemistry: a field between tradition and daily life
Coordination chemistry is a field steeped in history, tracing its origins back to the beginnings of modern chemistry. It is essential in our everyday lives, whether it be as catalysts in industry, such as the Ziegler-Natta process, or as pigments and dyes like the historically significant Prussian blue. Even within our bodies, numerous coordination compunds, such as heme complexes, enable the transport of oxygen in all vertebrates.
The diversity of coordination compounds is, for us, the subject of our studies but also a source of motivation and inspiration. Our projects range from the design of molecular switches to the storage of hydrogen as an energy source. This is how we combine basic research with application-oriented approaches – and open up new perspectives between chemistry, physics and materials science.
Chemical institutes at the site
We are one of six specialised chemical institutes within the Faculty of Natural Sciences. We focus on shared resources, particularly in terms of research infrastructure, as well as interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration.
