Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research

Researchers discover an iron-containing material in the outer enamel of rodent teeth that could also make human teeth more resistant

Glycoproteins and glycolipids which are abundant on cell surfaces can now be visualized one molecule at a time

An ultra-fast microscope combines atomic spatial and temporal resolution and thus enables unprecedented insights into the dynamics of electrons in molecules

The Max Planck Society and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation recognize the achievements of Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Anastassia Alexandrova, and Sumit Gulwani

A new technique makes it possible to image the spatial structure of polysaccharides using a scanning tunnelling microscope

The sun sends more energy to Earth than humanity needs. Researchers led by Bettina Lotsch, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, are working on materials that can help us put this abundant supply to use for a whole host of purposes – even beyond the energy revolution.

For a long time, pianists have had to live without the sensation of playing on ivory keys. One remedy for this is synthetic ivory, a substitute developed by Dieter Fischer, Sarah Parks, and Jochen Mannhart, who usually spend their time researching quantum electronic phenomena at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. Now, a start-up is planning to produce the material on a large scale – and not only for use in piano keys.

Brilliant-cut diamonds can emit a dazzling array of light, but that is not what attracts Joerg Wrachtrup to these precious stones. The Professor of Physics at the University of Stuttgart and Fellow at Stuttgart’s Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research works with less conspicuous diamonds. His team uses these to develop sensors that are intended to allow live observation of the molecular machinery in a living cell. These insights into the nanoworld could also be of benefit in medicine.

Recently, superconductivity was discovered in two different structural types of nickelates. To study them in detail, we grew large crystals. In the case of nickelate single crystals with infinite repeating layers, it was shown that the absence of superconductivity is most likely due to the limited solubility of the doping. In addition, we found several crystallographic phases in single crystals of La₃Ni₂O₇. They show a pronounced sensitivity to oxygen stoichiometry, which explains their physical properties and the significant pressure dependence of superconductivity.

Superconductivity at normal ambient conditions would be a major breakthrough. However, the best high-temperature superconductors, cuprates, only reach -130 °C so far. Some of their properties have so far been puzzling, including a so-called pseudogap phase at higher temperatures. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research were able to show that the Hubbard model, which is simple at its core, has such a phase. They succeeded in developing an analytical theory that can be understood intuitively. It can be used to calculate measured variables approximately. 

Strong electron-electron interactions play a pivotal role in the manifestation of superconductivity at high temperatures in doped cuprates. The finding of superconductivity in isostructural and isoelectronic nickel oxides is exciting, although not realized until after three decades of its discovery in cuprates. It is fascinating to see how different the electronic correlations are in the two seemingly identical systems and explore the physical features that support or hinder superconductivity. We provide an insight into these differences using ab initio quantum chemistry methods.

Historical calcareous objects, such as antique amphorae, are exposed to a variety of environmental influences over centuries during storage in museums. White, needle-shaped efflorescence crystals are particularly common on calcareous objects, which is known as "Bynes disease". The sometimes extremely complex crystal structures of some of these compounds were solved by us from X-ray powder diffraction data. In addition to the purely scientific interest, we were also able to make contributions to the preservation of calcareous cultural assets.

Quantum materials with unprecedented properties are often stabilized under high pressures. Here we present the discovery of superconductivity at T_c = 15 K in new perovskite antimonates Ba_1−xK_xSbO₃ (BKSO) synthesized at a high pressure of 12 GPa. The sibling perovskites Ba_1−xK_xBiO₃ (BKBO) are known as anionic high-T_c superconductors with even higher T_c = 30 K. The distribution of valence electrons onto the cations (Sb or Bi) and ligands (O) is slightly different in BKSO compared to BKBO. Metal-oxygen covalency is suggested to become more important in BKSO.