Department
Research subjects in the Bürgi Group
- surface chemistry
- nanochemistry
- development of in situ spectroscopic methods
Covered subjects:
- modification of surfaces with polymers for applications with biosensors
- preparation, characterization and organization in 1, 2, and 3 dimensions of metal nano-aggregates
- chiral surfaces and nanoparticles
- mechanistic studies of heterogeneous catalytic reactions by in situ spectroscopy (enantio-selective hydrogenations, selective oxidations, photocatalysis by TiO2)
- vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) for the determination of the conformation of molecules in solution (experiment and theory)
The
scientific
importance of the research activities lies mainly in the development of
spectroscopic methods allowing the study of the chemical reactions and
intermolecular interactions which take place at the solid-liquid and
solid-gas interfaces.
These tools allowed mechanistic studies for
example on heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation, to develop
enantioselective surfaces, and to modify surfaces by chemical methods.
More
recently, chiral metal nanoparticles which were synthesized and
separated according to their size and their qualities were studied.
One
of the most significant results is the development of the mechanism of
heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation by modified Pt by
alkaloids of cinchona by using a combination of in situ
spectroscopies of the solid-liquid interface, quantum calculations and
catalytic experiments. Another result, considered as very significant,
is the determination, for the first time, of the structure of chiral
molecules adsorbed on metal nanoparticules by vibrational circular
dichroism (VCD). Significant publications:
