Research profile

In ‘biomolecular chemistry’, researchers investigate at the molecular level how biological processes (life processes) take place and how they are created. This area includes the fields of bioorganic chemistry, biophysical chemistry, natural product chemistry, electroanalytics & sensor technology and theoretical chemistry and, at the highest level of complexity of the systems studied, biochemistry, which is networked with biology, medicine and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund to research biochemical structures and processes with a view to the molecular level.

Most chemical reactions, important industrial processes and practically all biological processes take place in the liquid phase. Solvents - with water being the most prominent example - ‘solvate’ molecules, i.e. they bring them into solution, from simple reagents to proteins in living cells. A profound understanding of solvation is a prerequisite for important key technologies of current social relevance, e.g. for the development of energy-efficient catalysis processes, new process technologies in the field of green chemistry as well as in the optimisation of batteries and the development of active substances in medicine.

Since 2012, the Cluster of Excellence Ruhr Explores Solvation, has established a new interdisciplinary field of research, solvation research. New experimental techniques, such as ultrafast laser spectroscopy and atomic-resolution microscopy, modern synthesis methods and simulations in the modern research building ZEMOS (Centre for Molecular Spectroscopy and Simulation of Solvent-Driven Processes), allow research into the description and systematic influencing of structure, dynamics and kinetics at a molecular level. Together with partners from the world's top universities, researchers have thus succeeded in creating a bottom-up perspective at the molecular level that views solvent molecules as active participants in processes and not as passive substances. This enables the controlled management of solvent processes, beyond trial and error. This interdisciplinary approach developed in Bochum makes it possible to find new answers to the pressing questions of our time: What role does water play in biological processes? What does a sustainable chemistry of the future look like?

As an integral part of Interfacial Systems Chemistry, but also closely linked to biomolecular chemistry, research into novel functional materials and a deep understanding of catalytic processes on surfaces are the link between the overarching research areas. Materials research and catalysis provide the application reference for theoretical and experimental work.

The aim of the materials research centre ICAMS (Interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Materials Simulations) is to develop new methods for the computer simulation of modern materials and to transfer these to industrial research. New products require materials and substances with specific, customised properties. The automotive industry, for example, needs high-strength steels for lighter construction methods in order to reduce fuel consumption and increase safety standards.

With our participation in the ICAMS materials research centre (Current news on the opening in 2006) we are at the forefront of materials research. Interdisciplinary co-operation with the engineering sciences is crucial for success.