Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research

Charged Droplets Can Cause Surface Corrosion

Graphene can be used to produce diamond nanoparticles of a specific size and with desired properties

New class of water-soluble proteins opens up applications in freezing technology

New findings on space charge effects could improve efficiency

A mixture of different ingredients offers an alternative to foie gras thanks to treatment with a goose enzyme

Rich colors, extremely sharp pictures, lower energy consumption: organic light-emitting diodes have set new standards in mobile devices and high-end TVs. However, the technology is not perfect. Blue OLEDs are particularly problematic. Paul Blom, director at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, and research group leader, Gert-Jan Wetzelaer, are leading a team that is investigating improvements to this technology. Their goal: highly efficient, printable OLEDs.

It is such a common sight that it seems downright banal: at some point, almost everyone has likely watched raindrops run down a windowpane. So, it may come as a surprise that there is still fundamental scientific knowledge to be uncovered about how drops travel over surfaces. Research on drops is precisely what a team from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research has succeeded in doing – and they’ve opened up surprising potential applications in the process.

Crispy jellyfish, milk mayo, and crackling vegan sausage – just a few of the specialties from the laboratory of Thomas A. Vilgis. The research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz approaches cooking with scientific precision and has thus found the perfect synthesis of his two passions.

Germany's objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 will require a massive expansion of solar energy and improved photovoltaic modules. New materials such as perovskites promise to deliver more cost-effective and more efficient solar arrays. To pave the way for their development, Stefan Weber and Rüdiger Berger of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz are clarifying the processes that take place inside perovskite solar cells.

Numbness, immobility and, in the worst case, paraplegia - the severing of a nerve pathway - often has permanent consequences. This is because the extracellular matrix, which provides support for the neurons, is also damaged during the injury. Tanja Weil and Christopher Synatschke, who work at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, are looking for a replacement for this support material. And they have already made an important find.

Rechargeable batteries have changed our lives, from electric bicycles to electric cars, from home solar power plants to garden tools. But they also have disadvantages: batteries leak and can burn. That is why work is underway to develop solid-state batteries that are safer and more powerful. Our group is investigating solid-state batteries at the microscopic level to understand and reduce signs of aging and improve their performance.

OLED televisions offer higher-contrast images thanks to self-illuminating diodes that enable deep blacks and high energy efficiency. However, production is expensive, especially for blue OLEDs. Our research is aiming for simpler, more efficient structures that minimize impurities and conduct electrons efficiently. These new semiconductor systems could enable more cost-effective and printable OLEDs in the future.

The separation of different substances requires a large proportion of the world's energy. In an innovative approach, my research group is trying to realize highly energy-efficient possibilities by using quantum effects. The discovery of "quantum friction" between liquids and the walls of channels enables the precise control of liquid flows on a nanoscale by influencing the electrons in the channel walls. This mechanism could significantly improve separation processes in the future.

Drugs undergo a complex testing procedure before they are used. This process often involves tests on animals. Among other things, it is important to know how drugs can pass through the cell walls of the intestine into the blood. In order to be able to simulate this process in laboratory experiments, we have developed a transistor based on organic materials. With this transistor, the permeability of cell layers can be measured by measuring ionic currents in our experimental setup.

The production of hydrogen or the generation of energy from molecular hydrogen could be important processes in future energy storage systems, such as those already used in hydrogen-powered cars. At the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research we have taken a closer look at the processes taking place on molecular length scales and thus gained fundamental insights into the chemical reactions at electrodes.