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Posted: May 10th, 2012 New DFG project to enable the manufacture of new materials withcustomized properties ( Nanowerk News ) Chemists and physicists are collaborating within a new researchgroup at the University of W zburg. Their stated objective is toenable the manufacture of new materials with customized properties.The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the project. Is this what the energy source of the future will look like?Specially synthesized molecules split water into its components,hydrogen and oxygen, with the help of sunlight. The plan is forthis process, which occurs in nature as "photosynthesis", to bereplicated in the laboratory to free the world from its dependencyon fossil fuels. This artificial photosynthesis should supplymankind with a virtually inexhaustible and clean energy carrier. Unfortunately, the dream of artificial photosynthesis as an energysupplier on a grand scale is still a long way off becoming areality. Scientists have yet to acquire the necessary knowledgeconcerning the fundamental processes inside potential hydrogenproducers. However, a new research group at the University ofW zburg is about to start work on this, bringing togetherscientists from various branches of physics and chemistry. Itsspokesman is Professor Tobias Brixner, Chairman of the Departmentof Physical Chemistry I. The German Research Foundation (DFG) willbe providing around EUR 2.3 million in funding for the project overthe next three years. New materials with specific properties Molecular aggregates and their reactions to light will be the mainfocus of the W zburg research group. "We will examine theinteraction between light and matter with a view to understandingand controlling the dynamic processes and optical phenomena," saysBrixner. It is hoped that their findings will enable the scientiststo customize new materials with specific properties. Of course, facilitating the breakthrough of artificialphotosynthesis will be just one of the goals with these newmaterials. Extremely energy-efficient light sources, tap-proofencryption technology, super-fast quantum computers, effectivephotovoltaic elements, nano-components that can repair themselves:these will all be conceivable once the fundamental processes in themolecular aggregates have been clarified and understood. Research on molecular aggregates Molecular aggregates: chemists understand these as the smallestbuilding blocks in macroscopic systems such as liquids, solutions,or crystals. Inside these, molecules are arranged in specificstructures with strong or weak links binding them. The diverseinteractions between the individual blocks determine what happensinside the aggregates when light falls on them. "What makes molecular aggregates so special and therefore appealingcompared, for example, to inorganic solids is the fact that theproperties of these molecular 'basic building blocks' can be varieddeliberately," explains Brixner. Changes at the microscopic levelresult in changes on a macroscopic scale as well. Though, the exactprocesses are still unknown. "In the past, although scientists wentto great lengths examining countless molecules optically, there wasgenerally no systematic variation of aggregates," says Brixner. Inmany cases, therefore, current knowledge is inadequate for aprediction of the properties of a complex system based on theproperties of the underlying molecular building blocks. Better understanding of internal processes This is where the work of the W zburg research group will begin:the group will spend the next three years closely studying theinteractions between light and matter in molecular aggregates."Once we are familiar with the fundamental rules of theinteractions, it should be possible to produce a new generation ofmaterials that exceed those we have today," states Brixner. The W zburg research group possesses the knowledge and technologyrequired for this research. Its members come from the fields oftheoretical, physical, and organic chemistry as well asexperimental physics; they have the necessary expertise in all therequisite research methods and in the respective equipment anging from spectroscopy to photoconductivity measurement. Thebundling of available experimental and theoretical resources willenable "unique cooperative research in the area of light-matterinteraction". The German Research Foundation (DFG) has decided to set up a totalof six new research groups and one clinical research group. Theseresearch consortia should provide scientists with the opportunityto "address current and urgent issues in their fields and todevelop new methods for tackling them", according to a DFG pressrelease. The foundation currently funds 191 research groups. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Microfiber Travel Towel Manufacturer , Custom Reusable Shopping Bag Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Microfiber Glasses Cleaning Cloth.
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