A new research network aims to understand and design the surfaces of complex metallic solid solutions with atomic precision.

The surfaces of complex mixed crystals consisting of five or more elements display many desirable properties that are crucial for the energy transition as well as for a number of other applications. In order to harness them for the development of high-performance electrocatalysts in the future, these surfaces must first be precisely understood and controlled at an atomic level. This is the aim of the new Collaborative Research Center 1625 “Atomic-scale understanding and design of multifunctional compositionally complex solid solution surfaces”, which has been approved by the German Research Foundation.

The network is coordinated by Professor Alfred Ludwig at Ruhr University Bochum and will initially be funded for four years with around nine million euros.

“By establishing this new Collaborative Research Centre, we are boosting one of the most prominent research areas at both Ruhr University Bochum and University Alliance Ruhr,” says a delighted Professor Martin Paul, Rector at Ruhr University Bochum.