Department of Physical Chemistry

Nanostructured Model Catalysts

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1669 Conference Scholarship
1669 — Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft 22.05.2017

Two of our PhD students, Thomas Götsch and Norbert Köpfle, have been awarded with the 1669 Conference Scholarship (provided by the sponsorship association "1669 — Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft") for their participation in the SOFC-XV solid oxide fuel cell conference in Hollywood, Florida in July. This conference is organized by the Electrochemical Society.

There, Thomas will give three talks about the electronic structure of YSZ, the stability of NiCu anodes in micro-SOFCs as well as about the characterization of iron exsolution phenomena in lanthanum strontium ferrite perovskite anodes. Norbert will hold a talk about his studies on the dry reforming reaction of methane on Zr-Pd model systems. Details about these presentations can also bee gathered from the following proceedings papers:

 

[1] The Crystallographic and Electronic Phase Diagrams of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Model Electrolytes
Götsch, T.; Menzel, A.; Bertel, E.; Stöger-Pollach, M.; Penner, S., ECS Trans. 2017, 78 (1), 311-319
[2] Iron Exsolution Phenomena in Lanthanum Strontium Ferrite SOFC Anodes
Götsch, T.; Praty, C.; Grünbacher, M.; Schlicker, L.; Bekheet, M.; Doran, A.; Gurlo, A.; Tada, M.; Matsui, H.; Ishiguro, N.; Klötzer, B.; Penner, S., ECS Trans. 2017, 78 (1), 1327-1341
[3] PVD-Deposited Micro-SOFC Model Systems
Götsch, T.; Schachinger, T.; Kaindl, R.; Penner, S., ECS Trans. 2017, 78 (1), 1771-1780
[4] Zirconium-Palladium Interactions during Dry Reforming of Methane
Köpfle, N.; Mayr, L.; Lackner, P.; Schmid, M.; Schmidmair, D.; Götsch, T.; Penner, S.; Klötzer, B., ECS Trans. 2017, 78 (1), 2419-2430

Source: 1669 — Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft
Master Defense by Maximilian Watschinger
27.04.2017

Today, Maximilian Watschinger successfully defended his Master's thesis regarding in situ and operando FT-IR studies on Cu/ZrO2 catalysts.

EMS Scholarship for Thomas Götsch
European Microscopy Society 08.04.2017

Thomas Götsch has received the EMS Scholarship for his contribution to the 13th Multinational Congress on Microscopy 2017 in Rovinj, Croatia, entitled "Spectroscopic Investigation of the Electronic Structure Phase Diagram of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia in an Electron Microscope". This scholarship is awarded by the European Microscopy Society.

Source: European Microscopy Society
6th Annual SFB FOXSI PhD Workshop 2016
A group photo of all participants of the meeting. 06.02.2017

Last week, three member sof our group (Bernhard Klötzer, Thomas Götsch and Norbert Köpfle) were present at the 6th installment of the annual 'FOXSKI' PhD workshop of our SFB FOXSI in Haus im Ennstal.  Thomas Götsch and Norbert Köpfle both gave talks there.

Source: SFB FOXSI
Bachelor Thesis
16.12.2016

Corsin Praty finished his Bachelor thesis and gave his final presentation with the title 'Untersuchung der Eisenausscheidung aus La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ unter reduzierenden Bedingungen' where he investigated the iron exsolution in lanthanum strontium ferrite under reducing conditions.

Kevin Ploner: Master Defense
14.11.2016

Kevin Ploner successfully finished his Master's studies with his thesis entitled 'Structure-Activity Relationships in Methanol Steam Reforming on Cu/ZrO2 Catalysts' today.

Master Defense by Norbert Köpfle
29.09.2016

Norbert Köpfle has obtained the degree Master of Science by defending his thesis 'Untersuchung katalytischer Synergismen an Oxid-(Bi)Metall-Grenzflächensystemen anhand Brennstoffzellen-relevanter Reformierungsreaktionen'.

New Members: Daniel Hauser and Günther Kogler
01.08.2016

As of today, our research group welcomes two new students: Daniel Hauser will start his Master's thesis, during which he will conduct infrared spectroscopic measurements on selected thin film systems. Additionally, Günther Kogler will investigate perovskite-supported metal nanoparticles as part of his Bachelor's thesis.

New Bachelor Student: Corsin Praty
18.07.2016

Corsin Praty has decided to join us to complete his Bachelor's thesis. He will work on elucidating the segregation effects on LSF perovskite systems that have previously been found by Ramona Thalinger.

Two Successful PhD Defenses
10.06.2016

Today, Eva-Maria Köck and Michaela Kogler successfully defended their PhD theses titled 'Application-oriented in-situ/operando FT-IR Spectroscopy on SOFC anode oxides' and 'Operando/ in-situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis on SOFC-relevant anode materials'.

5th Annual SFB FOXSI PhD Workshop 2016
Some members of our group, together with colleagues from the Vienna University of Technology, collecting new samples for their research. 04.04.2016

Last week, a large part of our group has travelled to the annual FOXSI PhD workshop in Haus im Ennstal. There, four talks were given by Thomas Götsch, Eva-Maria Köck and Michaela Kogler, Norbert Köpfle, as well as Matthias Grünbacher.

New Members: Kevin Ploner and Maximilian Watschinger
11.01.2016

Today, two new Master students started their work within our research group: Kevin Ploner and Maximilian Watschinger.

Kevin will perform catalytical measurements, while Maximilian will be responsible for setting up our new IR spectrometer in preparation for future measurements.

Otto Seibert Award for Michaela Kogler
Michala Kogler being presented with the Otto Seibert Award. 18.12.2015

Yesterday, Michaela Kogler received the Dr. Otto Seibert award for her publication titled "Methane Decomposition and Carbon Growth on Y2O3, Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia, and ZrO2".[1]

 

[1] Methane Decomposition and Carbon Growth on Y2O3, Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia, and ZrO2
Kogler, M.; Köck, E.-M.; Perfler, L.; Bielz, T.; Stöger-Pollach, M.; Hetaba, W.; Willinger, M.; Huang, X.; Schuster, M.; Klötzer, B.; Penner, S., Chem. Mater. 2014, 26 (4), 1690-1701

Source: iPoint (University of Innsbruck)
IUPAC Poster Prize for Thomas Götsch
Thomas Götsch being presented with the IUPAC Poster Prize 23.09.2015

Today, Thomas Götsch was awarded with the IUPAC Poster Prize at the 16th Austrian Chemistry Days. He received the award for presenting his poster titled "From Zirconia to Yttria — Sampling the YSZ Phase Diagram Using Sputter-Deposited Thin Films", showcasing his work regarding the crystallography and electronic structure of YSZ.

Source: GÖCh
New Member: Norbert Köpfle
29.06.2015

After already successfully obtaining his Bachelor's degree in our group, Norbert Köpfle decided to return to us to complete his Master's thesis. He will be conducting research regarding perovskites using our XPS UHV setup.

1st International FOXSI Symposium
The view of Vienna from the location of the conference, the TutheSky room at the TU Vienna. 14.05.2015

Our group was represented at the 1st International FOXSI Symposium by several members. Eva-Maria Köck and Michaela Kogler jointly gave the concluding talk of the conference.

4th Annual SFB FOXSI PhD Workshop 2015
The participants of the FOXSKI workshop. 01.04.2015

Some of our members just returned from the 4th Annual FOXSI PhD workshop ("FOXSKI") in Haus im Ennstal. There, our group gave four talks and presented one poster.

Source: FOXSI Homepage
More Efficient Production of Hydrogen
The apparatus at the BESSY that was utilized for the experiments 12.02.2015

Together with our project partners from Jürgen Fleig's and Günther Rupprechter's groups, Raffael Rameshan and Bernhard Klötzer have co-authered a publication in the Angewandte Chemie. During measurements at the BESSY, in situ XPS measurements of perovskite electrodes during electrolysis reactions were performed.

 

[1] Enhancing Electrochemical Water-Splitting Kinetics by Polarization-Driven Formation of Near-Surface Iron(0): An In Situ XPS Study on Perovskite-Type Electrodes
Opitz, A.; Nenning, A.; Rameshan, C.; Rameshan, R.; Blume, R.; Hävecker, M.; Knop-Gericke, A.; Rupprechter, G.; Fleig, J.; Klötzer, B., Angew. Chem. 2015, 127 (9), 2666-2670

Source: iPoint (University of Innsbruck)
Eduard-Wallnöfer Award for Michaela Kogler and Eva-Maria Köck
Michaela and Eva at the award ceremony 09.12.2014

Today, our members Michaela Kogler and Eva-Maria Köck have been presented with the Eduard-Wallnöfer award for their research regarding energy sources of tomorrow.

Source: IV Tirol
Successful Master Defense by Thomas Götsch
Schematic representation of the Nanoscale Kirkendall Effect 17.11.2014

Today, Thomas Götsch sucessfully defended his Master's thesis regarding the Investigation of the Nanoscale Kirkendall Effect in Pd-Based Intermetallic Phases (supervised by Simon Penner) and has thus acquired the degree of Master of Science (MSc). In his thesis, Thomas prepared and analyzed hollow nanoparticles of various intermetallic phases between Pd and Ga, Ge or Sn as oxide-supported thin film systems by means of transmission electron microscopy.

Thomas will continue to stay in our group for his PhD thesis and will focus on the preparation of thin film systems and their characterization using microscopic techniques.

3rd Place at the CAST Technology Awards for Eva-Maria Köck
Eva with the award. 04.11.2014

Eva-Maria Köck received the CAST award.

Source: CAST
New Member: Matthias Grünbacher
14.07.2014

From today on, Matthias Grünbacher will write his Master's thesis in our group. His focus will be on adsorption measurements on perovskites.

Thomas Götsch Joined Our Group
Our new member, Thomas Götsch 03.03.2014

We welcome Thomas Götsch as part of our research group since he joined us for his Master's thesis. His research will deal with electron microscopy studies of the Nanoscale Kirkendall Effect in palladium-containing intermetallic phases.

Eduard-Wallnöfer Award for Lukas Mayr
Lukas with the award 10.12.2013

Our PhD student Lukas Mayr received the Eduard-Wallnöfer award for the development of highly-efficient catalyst materials for use in fuel cells.

Source: IV Tirol