Research
Our general research context lies in the solid-state chemistry section. Areas of research are: oxotellurates, borates, boro-germanates, and intermetallic compounds.
In recent years, my research group was mainly involved in the investigation of tellurate materials. In the scope of an FWF project, innovative synthesis strategies for the development of new high-pressure oxotellurate compounds are investigated. The focus is on the synthesis at special multianvil high-pressure/high-temperature conditions, the elucidation of the crystal structure using X-ray methods, and, in particular, on the properties of these new materials.
Ambient conditions are important for the synthesis of appropriate precursor materials. Transition metal tellurates often exhibit multiferroic phenomena, i.e. several simultaneously occurring states of order such as ferromagnetism in addition to ferroelectricity or piezoelectricity, which can be influenced by changes in the magnetic or electric field. Other materials are highly interesting with respect to their nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. In the field of alkali metal tellurates lithium- or sodium-ion conductivity are of special interest for us. The investigation of such phenomena will be carried out in collaboration with external partners or institutes.