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.

Nanoelectronics is at once a promise and a challenge. Within their tiny dimensions, electrons, the drivers of electronic circuits, exhibit some exotic quantum effects. Using ultrasensitive techniques, researchers in Klaus Kern’s department at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart are studying the behavior of electrons in nanostructures.

Printable, flexible and low-cost – these are the properties that engineers hope to achieve with organic electronics. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research are investigating various materials that can be used to manufacture monitors that can be rolled up, or low-cost chips for mass-produced articles.

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. 

The Hubbard model is the simplest model for electronic correlations, however, it is not exactly solvable. A new numerical perspective, the so-called multi-method, multi-messenger approach, bears the potential for leading to new insights also for the celebrated high-temperature superconductors and has already been successfully applied to certain parameter regimes.

Poly(heptazinimide), a chemically robust and versatile carbon nitride, is equipped with unique opto-electronic and -ionic properties. These properties allow for the simultaneous conversion and storage of sunlight within one single material. From classical photocatalysis to photocatalysis in the dark, all the way to solar batteries, light-driven microswimmers and novel sensors - carbon nitrides are chemical all-rounders and open up new perspectives at the interface between solar energy conversion and electrochemical energy storage.