The research group is concerned with the investigation of functional materials that are used in particular in the fields of energy storage or catalysis.

The main objective is to gain a deeper understanding of their mesoscopic structures (in the range of approx. 10-⁹ to 10-⁶ m), which determine the macroscopic properties (e.g. catalytic activity, ionic conductivity, etc.) of the materials. This information is crucial for their customised further development.

To achieve this goal, the Gutmann group utilises multinuclear solid-state NMR techniques to identify local structures. It also develops and applies dynamic nuclear polarisation (solid-state DNP) to increase sensitivity and thus make solid-state NMR applicable to materials that have only small surface areas or contain only low-sensitivity nuclei in low natural abundance. In particular, the selective signal amplification achieved by the DNP approach is used as a powerful tool to identify small amounts of functional groups in the presence of large amounts of NMR-active nuclei in bulk materials.

For some time, the group has been investigating sodium-containing energy storage materials for which it is developing in-situ/operando solid-state NMR techniques. In the future, this field of research will be extended to the development of in-situ/operando techniques that enable electrocatalytic reactions to be investigated under operating conditions.

Specific issues

• Structure of molecules on surfaces of inorganic-organic hybrid materials
• Development of methods for determining the structure of inorganic-organic hybrid materials and heterogeneous catalysts
• Analysis of active centres on the surface of heterogeneous catalysts
• Investigation of the relationship between the structure and reactivity of heterogeneous catalysts
• Investigation of probe molecules and reaction intermediates on the surfaces of supported metal nanoparticles
• Investigation of the intercalation of atoms/ions in electrode materials in energy storage systems
• Investigation of electrocatalytic reactions

Methods

• Multicore solid-state NMR⁽¹H, ²H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N, ²³Na, ²⁹Si, ²⁷Al, ³¹P, ⁵¹Vetc.)
• 1D and 2D solid-state NMR techniques (CP-MAS, HETCOR, REDOR, DARR, etc.)
• Low temperature MAS
• DNP-enhanced solid-state NMR⁽¹⁵N, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ²⁹Si, etc.)
• Selectively amplified DNP
• Development of in-situ/operando NMR techniques
• ¹H gas phase NMR
• Para Hydrogen Induced Polarisation (PHIP) NMR