Highlights - Institute for Materials and X-Ray Physics

13.2.2015 Topical review on "Soft matter in hard confinement: phase transition thermodynamics, structure, texture, diffusion and flow in nanoporous media" published in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter.

1.7.2014 Study on Switchable imbibition in nanoporous gold has been published in Nature Communications and featured as Nanotechnology Spotlight by nanowerk (in English and German) and as article "Kapillarwirkung auf Knopfdruck" by Spektrum der Wissenschaft (in German). The press release by Hamburg University of Technology can be found here.

The capillarity-driven uptake of liquids by porous solids can be experienced in daily life, e.g., when a sponge imbibes water. Here, we demonstrate that this process can be switched on and off reversibly when nanoporous gold takes the role of the sponge and an electric potential is used to control the surface tension.

9.9.2014 Towards bio-silicon interfaces: Formation of an ultra-thin self-hydrated artificial membrane composed of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and chitosan deposited in high vacuum from the gas-phase (pdf), published in the Journal of Chemical Physics - see also the press release of the American Institute of Physics.

Organic and inorganic materials grouped together to bridge the gap between biology and physics.

Credit: S.E.Gutierrez-Maldonado/FCV

4.9.2014 Study on the Spontaneous Formation of Nanopatterns in Velocity-Dependent Dip-Coated Organic Films: From Dragonflies to Stripes, published in ACS Nano.

9.6.2014 Study on the paranematic-to-nematic ordering of a binary mixture of rodlike liquid crystals confined in cylindrical nanochannels has been published in Physical Review E.

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News

22.05.2025 Cluster of Excellence "BlueMat: Water-driven materials" approved

BlueMat has been awarded funding through the Cluster of Excellence program (ExStra)!

Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and its partner institutions will receive funding totalling 70 million Euro. 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.
17.05.2024 - New publication: "Self-Assembly of Ionic Superdiscs in Nanopores"

Our study on discotic ionic liquid crystals has been published in ACS Nano - see also the DESY press release.