The latest publication of ACTIVE SITES member Kai Exner addresses the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a process of high relevance due to its application in electrolyzers for hydrogen production or metal–air batteries for energyconversion and storage. Until now, the application of electronic structure theory to improve OER materials has been based on a supposed single reaction mechanism. Kai Exner was able to show that, especially in the case of highly active OER catalysts, several reaction mechanisms take place depending on the applied electrode potential, with the favored reaction pathway changing with increasing overvoltage. The theoretical approach presented can also be applied to other electrocatalytic processes. View the article here: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/MH/D3MH00047H; Press release of the UDE: https://www.uni-due.de/2023-03-27-mehr-mechanismen-in-wasserstofferzeugung-beteiligt

In the picture: In January, Prof. Kai S. Exner (right), was appointed to the Board of the Electrochemistry Division of the German Chemical Society (GDCh).

[23.03.2023] Kai Exner was awarded the prestigious Carl Duisberg Memorial Prize of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) during the Chemistry Lecturers' Conference at the Technical University of Dresden. The GDCh honours Kai Exner for his outstanding conceptual contributions in the highly topical and competitive fields of theoretical electrocatalysis and battery research. The prize is endowed with 7500 euros and has been awarded since 1936 to young university teachers who work at a German university or as Germans at a foreign university, do not yet hold a W2/W3 or comparable position and have not yet exceeded the age of 40. Congratulations on the award!

[16.03.2023] The Jochen-Block-Preis 2023 of the German Catalysis Society was awarded to Corina Andronescu at the German Catalysis Meeting in Weimar. The award recognises Corina Andronescu`s significant contributions to method development for the stable immobilisation of catalysts on electrodes for energy conversion and storage. Congratulations!

[10.11.2022] The RC One Health Ruhr is one of four research centres in which the UA Ruhr of the universities of Bochum, Dortmund and Duisburg-Essen organises its cutting-edge research on urgent issues in an international and interdisciplinary way. Our colleague Alexander Probst is the first research professor at One Health Ruhr. Congratulations!

Read more: UDE Press Release

[02.11.2022] Corina Andronescu has been awarded the Gottschalk-Diederich-Baedeker Prize for Young Scientists for her research on electrocatalytic materials and their sustainable use in water electrolysis or CO₂ reduction. This prize is awarded by the Essen-based G.D. Baedeker Foundation to scientists who bring their outstanding research to industry. With the prize, the foundation wants to make the benefits of UDE research visible for the Ruhr metropolitan region.

Read more: UDE Press Release, WAZ report

Funding for the new ACTIVE SITES research building has been secured: Following the Science Council, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) has now also given green light for the new 70-million-euro building. The costs are shared by the federal and state governments and the UDE. With ACTIVE SITES the UDE gains a centre of international renown at which so-called active sites are researched in an aqueous environment. These have an important role in chemical and biological processes, such as energy conversion, water purification and active subtances development. Starting 2026, scientists from various disciplines will conduct research together in state-of-the-art laboratories. Read more