Colloid Chemistry

With a prestigious Max Planck Fellowship (2025–2028), microbiologist Gabriele Berg from the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) is launching a research collaboration with Markus Antonietti. Together, they’re developing a solution to soil exhaustion and infertility: a custom-made soil created in the lab from plant residues, enriched with carefully selected microorganisms.
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Nano-cages made of linalool and sulfur increase the service life and storage capacity of sodium-sulfur batteries
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Scientists have long sought to understand the exact mechanism behind water splitting by carbon nitride catalysts. For the first time, Dr. Paolo Giusto and his team captured the step-by-step interactions at the interface between carbon nitride and water, detailing the transfer of protons and electrons from water to the catalyst under light. This discovery lays critical groundwork for optimizing catalyst materials for hydrogen production as a renewable energy solution.
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The German Colloid Society’s Young Investigator Award acknowledges Zeininger's work in predicting and controlling the behavior of soft materials outside of thermodynamic equilibrium, as well as his establishment of guidelines for next-generation smart materials capable of responding to external stimuli in real time. more

The secret ingredient for a groundbreaking sodium-sulfur battery with improved energy performance and longer lifespan grows in our gardens: lavender. By combining lavender oil with sulfur, Dr. Paolo Giusto's team has created a unique material that solves a persistent failure problem – polysulfide shuttling. This research marks an important step toward developing more powerful and sustainable batteries for the next-generation large-scale energy storage systems.
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