Highlights - Institute for Materials and X-Ray Physics

September/October 2010

Neutron spin echo studies on the dynamics of polymers and alkanes confined in silicon nanochannels (published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters and in Macromolecules) indicate sticky boundary layers and anisotropic self-diffusion dynamics.

19./21./23.07.2010

Patrick mastered a three-stage disputation marathon within one week - Matthias and Simon successfully finished their PhD!

from left to right: Matthias Wolff, René Berwanger, and Simon Gruener Matthias Wolff, René Berwanger, and Simon Gruener (f.l.t.r.) proudly present their mortarboards from their PhD graduation. Congratulations!

Theses and disputation talks are available online!

08.04.2010
Pure alcohol (ethanol) exhibits polymorphism: Depending on the cooling rate it solidifies in a crystalline, orientational glass or structural glass state. As we report in Philosophical Magazine Letters this polymorphism is conserved upon geometric nano-confinement in tiny channels, a few nanometers across. However, the critical cooling rates, necessary in order to achieve the glassy phases, are two orders of magnitude smaller than in the bulk state. A pdf-copy of the manuscript can be found here.

Phase diagram of ethanol (bulk).

11.05.2010
Homepage of TemplDisco, a project directed towards an understanding of template confinement effects on discotic liquid crystals, went live.

27.04.2010
Impressions from our most recent experimental synchrotron run at ESRF, Grenoble.

Page 20 of 22

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

News

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!