Department of Interface Chemistry and Surface Engineering

Overview:

The department mainly focuses on chemical reactions and physical properties of surfaces and interfaces with particular emphasis on finding ways how to increase their stability and to include functional properties into coatings on structural materials. The material classes of particular interest include metals, polymers, ceramics and their composites. Scientific studies related to these materials in particular concentrate on degradation reactions such as aqueous corrosion, high-temperature corrosion, tribocorrosion and de-adhesion reactions with the aim to understand their underlying physico-chemical reaction mechanisms. Based on this knowledge new and superior surface and interfaces are designed, characterised by their novel chemical composition, morphology and molecular and atomistic structure. To a great extent this requires the application of new surface modification techniques. The physico-chemical understanding of such technologies with regard to their application in tailoring surfaces and interfaces complements the analytical approach of the department.
Currently, the department includes approximately 70 people and among them more than 50 scientists working on a number of projects – most of them integrated in international collaborations with scientists in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The experimental equipment is exceptional even on an international scale and allows performing state of the art science in surface and interface chemistry.

The structure of the department is summarised in the figure below: