Closed Projects

TiO₂ nanostructures are promising electrodes for dye or hybrid solar cells and are utilized as stable support for electrocatalyst. Among a great variety of nanostructures, single-crystalline TiO₂ nanowires exhibit particularly interesting characteristics. In this project TiO₂ nanowires are synthesized via a hydrothermal approach and analyzed using electron microscopy. The main focus is on the morphology changes during annealing and core etching which lead to better performance. [more]

The potential applications of silica nanotubes (SNT) are various including gas storage, drug delivery and catalysis to name only a few. In this project, we focus on the study of silica-based nanotubes (SBNTs) which tend to assemble to 3D mesostructures. The structural and chemical compositions of these networks as well as their internal morphology are investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques with a main focus on electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). [more]

In the light of growing energy needs, depleting fossil fuels, and the threatening global warming, alternative energy sources are needed. Chalcopyrite materials are suitable for renewable energy applications, for example solar cells, water splitting or photo catalysis. In our study, we synthesize copper indium disulfide films via a solvothermal procedure. The nanostructured films are crystalline even at temperatures below 200 °C as shown by electron microscopic techniques. [more]

While solar cells are becoming more and more widespread, storing the produced energy is difficult. Of the many possible solutions, the splitting of water into H₂ and O₂ by a photoelectrochemical cell offers an elegant approach. The hydrogen can then easily be stored, transported and burned in a fuel cell. As most features in photoelectrodes are on the nano- or microscale, electron microscopy is very powerful. We study material systems such as Fe₂O₃ or TiO₂ and attempt to identify performance bottlenecks. [more]