Improving sustainable materials through advanced characterization

Peter Schweizer heads new research group on Quantitative Transmission Electron Microscopy

Dr. Peter Schweizer has established the Quantitative Transmission Electron Microscopy Group (QuanTEM) at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials. His team focuses on analysing and quantifying atomic-scale structures, compositions, and properties of materials using high-resolution imaging and advanced microscopy techniques.

A core aspect of their research is engineering microstructures by controlling crystal orientation in metallic alloys. Their work has significant implications for hydrogen embrittlement, where coatings or trapping strategies can prevent material failure, and metal recycling, where the team explores how elements can be efficiently separated and upcycled rather than downcycled. By conducting in situ heating experiments, they observe segregation and precipitation processes in real-time, offering new insights into material behaviour.

“We develop quantitative microscopy methods, using 4D-scanning transmission electron microscopy, multimodal imaging, and big data analysis. By integrating machine learning with experimental data gained through transmission electron microscopy, we aim to model structures and predict material properties more accurately”, explains Schweizer. This approach allows his research group to analyse not just single grain boundaries but entire datasets, making their findings more comprehensive. The QuanTEM group aims to develop new methodological workflows that combine computational analysis, electron microscopy, and spectroscopy. Their work will contribute to a deeper understanding of materials, from metals to oxides to nanostructures, helping to design more efficient and sustainable materials for the future.

Schweizer brings extensive expertise in defect characterization and engineering, having studied nanotechnology at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, completed his PhD with distinction on material defects, and conducted postdoctoral research at the National Center for Electron Microscopy in Berkeley (USA) and at the Swiss Federal Laboratory of Materials Science and Technology in Thun. He joined MPI-SusMat for its outstanding research infrastructure and reputation in the materials science community, in November 2024.