Article "Ionic liquid dynamics in nanoporous carbon: A pore-size- and temperature-dependent neutron spectroscopy study on supercapacitor materials" published

27.05.2020 Our article "Ionic liquid dynamics in nanoporous carbon: A pore-size- and temperature-dependent neutron spectroscopy study on supercapacitor materials" has been published as Editors' Suggestion in Physical Review Materials.

 

 

Ionic liquids imbibed in nanoporous carbons are promising hybrid materials for electrochemical energy storage, conversion and harvesting. These functionalities crucially depend on the ionic mobility in the pore space. Here we demonstrate that quasielastic neutron scattering, specifically the so-called fixed energy window experimental technique, is particularly suitable for a fast access of the confined ionic liquid’s dynamic landscape as a function of pore-size and temperature. Compared to the bulk we find reduced self-diffusion mobilities. However, despite this slowing-down, the temperature range of the liquid state upon nanoconfinement is remarkably extended to much lower temperatures, which is beneficial for potential technical applications of such liquid-infused solids.

 

Book "Soft Matter in Geometrical Confinement" published

13.03.2020 Book "Soft Matter in Geometrical Confinement" published.

The book "Soft Matter in Geometrical Confinement: From Fundamentals at Planar Surfaces and Interfaces to Functionalities of Nanoporous Materials"  has been published within the part  "Soft Matter and Biomaterials on the Nanoscale: The WSPC Reference on Functional Nanomaterials" of the World Scientific Series in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

 

Self-Assembly of Liquid Crystals in Nanoporous Solids for Adaptive Photonic Metamaterials

20.11.2019 Study on the Self-Assembly of Liquid Crystals in Nanoporous Solids for Adaptive Photonic Metamaterials published in Nanoscale.

X-ray scattering and optical polarimetry evidence in agreement with Monte Carlo computer simulations that confinement-controlled self-assembly of liquid crystals in nanopores allows for designing photonic metamaterials with adaptive birefringence. Movies illustrating 3-D reciprocal space mapping of a nanopore-confined columnar liquid crystal based on synchrotron-based X-ray scattering along with the peculiar textures found in the study can be downloaded from the TORE repository of Hamburg University of Technology. This work is dedicated to Prof. Peter S. Pershan (Harvard University), a pioneer in the field of soft-condensed-matter physics, on his 85th birthday, remembering his mentoring in synchrotron-based X-ray scattering from liquids. See also the press release "Tuneable self-organisation of liquid crystals in nano pores" (in English) or Steuerbare Selbstorganisation von Flüssigkristallen in Nanoporen (auf Deutsch). 

 

Minisymposium: Fluids in Nanoporous Media

Aug 31 - Sept 3, 2020 Minisymposium: Fluids in Nanoporous Media

 

organized by Gennady Gor and Patrick Huber at the 12th International Conference on Porous Media (InterPore meeting), Aug 31 - Sept 3 2020 in Qingdao, China.

 

DASHH PhD Student Position

DASHH Ph. D. Student Position

There is a Ph.D. student position available in our research group, embedded in the Data Science HELMHOLTZ Graduate School Hamburg for the Structure of Matter (DASHH).

 

  1. Nondestructive high-throughput screening of nanopore geometry in porous membranes by imbibition
  2. Minisymposium at InterPore 2019 in Valencia
  3. Photon Science Highlight 2018
  4. Elastocapillarity in Nanopores

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News

  • 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!

  • 26.02.2025 Centre for Molecular Water Science (CMWS) inaugurated

    The DESY-initiated CMWS is a Europe-wide research network in the field of molecular water research. The CMWS declaration has been signed by forty-seven founding members from twelve countries – including fourteen German universities and eight Helmholtz Centres. See also the corresponding press release.

  • 18.11.2024 Ultrafast X-ray imaging at the European XFEL of a water droplet sucked into a porous silicon membrane by capillary action

  • 12.09.2024 Article "Deformation dynamics of nanopores upon water imbibition" published in PNAS

    Our article shows by a combination of experiments and computer simulations of water imbibition in nanopores that the competition between expansive, surface stress release at pore walls and negative, contractile Laplace pressures of nanoscale menisci lead to an unusual macroscopic behavior of the porous medium, which is generic for any liquid/nanoporous solid combination. The results allow one to quantify surface and Laplace stresses and to monitor nanoscale flow and infiltration states by relatively simple length measurements of the porous medium.