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23.04.2026 Lehmann Prize awarded to Patrick Huber
🏆 Congratulations to Patrick Huber on receiving the Volker Lehmann Prize for the most outstanding talk at the 2026 Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology Conference (PSST2026) in Naples, Italy.
💧 His presentation, “Nature’s Blueprint: Water-Enabled Functions in Hierarchically Porous Silicon,” showcased key research directions of the Cluster of Excellence BlueMat: Water-Driven Materials.
🏆 The Lehmann Prize honors Volker Lehmann, who—together with Leigh Canham and Ulrich Gösele - co-discovered the quantum confinement effect in silicon.
22.10.2025 Water as an energy carrier: nanoporous silicon generates electricity from friction with water
Exciting news! Our new publication in Nano Energy presents a novel way for converting mechanical energy into electricity – by harnessing water confined in nanometre-sized pores of silicon as the active working fluid (press release).
29.09.2025 Colossal Effect of Nanopore Surface Ionic Charge on the Dynamics of Confined Water
In a recent publication, we report a particularly rewarding result from a French-German collaboration linking Hamburg, Rennes, Grenoble and Paris, with key neutron scattering experiments carried out at the high-flux neutron reactor of the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France.
We show that water behaves very differently when confined to tiny nanopores—and that surface charge makes all the difference. Adding ionic charges to pore walls dramatically slows down water motion, not just in the vicinity of the pore wall but throughout the entire pore. This long-range control goes far beyond simple wetting effects and highlights surface charge as a powerful tool for using water as a nanoscale working fluid in water-driven materials, membranes, and nanotechnologies.
09.09.2025 When symmetry breaks in tiny spaces
Nanopores unlock hidden chirality in exotic liquid crystals – with the observation now made by us within an international cooperation with Ukraine, France and Poland, they might find even wider usage in energy storage or conversion or tunable lenses (see press release).
22.05.2025 Cluster of Excellence "BlueMat: Water-driven materials" approved
BlueMat has been awarded funding through the Cluster of Excellence program (ExStra)!
The application process was challenging: out of a total of 143 draft proposals for new clusters of excellence, only 41 were invited to submit a full proposal. In this second round, the new applications competed with the 57 already established clusters. Of a total of 98 applications submitted, only 70 were approved. The Cluster of Excellence will initially be funded for seven years until 2033.
We would like to thank all of our partners for their hard work. The whole team is energized and eager to begin bringing our vision to life. Stay tuned for updates as we embark on this exciting journey!