Physical Chemistry of Surfaces and Interfaces

The research of the group is devoted to a fundamental understanding of the physical, chemical, structural and electrical properties of surfaces and interfaces as well as processes taken place or emerging at them due to their low dimensionality. Our experimental approach spans a wide range of research areas including organic/inorganic interfaces, molecular self-assembly and the study of novel growth processes and interfacial phenomena. A strong emphasis is placed on advanced characterization tools at the nanoscale based on scanning probe microscopy (AFM, CAFM, KPFM, STM/nc-AFM in UHV) although complementarily synchrotron-based techniques is also employed. The systems of study are often selected with specific functionality with an application in mind, mainly related with energy conversion and storage, organic electronics and environmental technology. Our final goal is developing structure-property relationships in new materials for emergent technologies.