Ultrahigh Vacuum Scanning Probe Microscopy System

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In this project, we propose the procurement of an ultrahigh vacuum scanning probe microscopy system for model studies in catalysis and electrocatalysis. The system shall be installed at the newly established Chair of Interface Research and Catalysis as part of the Erlangen Catalysis Research Center of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. The new instrument will be employed in all present and future projects of the operating group in close cooperation with various workgroups in chemistry, physics, materials science and chemical engineering. The planned work will focus on fundamental investigations of catalytic and electrocatalytic processes in the field of renewable energies, in particular on the topics of energy transformation and storage, chemical storage of hydrogen, and energy-efficient catalysis and materials synthesis. In general, research at the Chair of Interface Research and focuses on mechanistic and microkinetic studies of chemical reactions at interfaces using the concepts of model catalysis. Model catalysts are complex but atomically-defined interfaces, which resemble specific structural and chemical properties of real catalysts. They allow us to correlate the microscopic properties of the interface to its catalytic performance. The proposed instrument will be essential for the characterization of the structural properties of model catalysts and, thus, closes a critical gap in the instrumental portfolio of the proposing group.