Research

Functional Porous Solids – Morphology, Transport, Performance

Our research focuses on the establishment of quantitative morphology–functionality–transport relationships for porous solids. Investigated are (intrinsically coupled) phenomena with increasing complexity, ranging from the interfacial dynamics to effective macroscale transport in hierarchically structured materials, to gain a thorough understanding of functionality and performance. This includes the 3D physical reconstruction of the pore space morphologies to present realistic geometrical models in subsequent transport simulations, the characterization of the functionalized surfaces and engendered interfacial effects, the involved (electro)chemical reactions, as well as the multiscale dynamics of diffusion and fluid flow. Reconstruction techniques (e.g., electron tomography) and modeling approaches (e.g., molecular dynamics simulations) are complemented by advanced experiments (e.g., continuous-flow microreactor chemistry coupled with analytical instrumentation) to identify and quantify key interfacial and transport phenomena.