Nickel Group

Decoding matter by x-rays

We study the structure and function of advanced materials. Our special interest is to understand the mechanisms which guides the nucleation, growth, and assembly of complex materials and their structural response to external stimuly. For this purpose, we build and maintain a state-of-the-art x-ray lab at LMU and we employ synchrotron radiation at large scale research facilities such as DESY and ESRF for experiments. X-rays allow us to observe involved atomic and molecular processes with Angstrom resolution. This enables us to study the nucleation of semiconductor quantum dots and metallic nanoparticles in solution, the folding and unfolding of DNA origami, actuation of photoswitchable lipids, and the formation of organic thin films. These materials are expected to contribute to the great challenges in energy and health.

We continuously offer master and bachelor thesis for these topics. You will learn how to use x-ray diffraction techniques and advanced optical characterization methods. Many of our projects involve recording of experimental data by instruments that we build ourselves from highly specialized modules within a Master or PhD thesis. We collect large data sets in our x-ray experiments due to the availability of x-ray detectors with many pixels. You will learn about data processing and data analysis by scientific software.

Theses collection

Collection of all PhD/ Master/ Bachelor Theses etc. of the Nickel Group