The Kersting Groups research pursues various topics. Synthesis and properties of diverse coordination compounds are observed.
Research Topics
In the field „Bioinorganic Chemistry” we investigate the mechanisms of metallo-enzymes by using biomimetic model compounds. With those studies we gather information about fundamentals of enzymatic catalysis and apply them for the development of new catalysts for organic transformations.
The research topic „molecular magnetism” aims for the construction of magnetic materials. The background of this project is found in the extensive worldwide research interest in the field of molecular magnetism. Our investigations try to understand and control magnetic behavior on a molecular scale in order to combine specific magnetic properties with additional interesting features. The knowledge gained in this process will ultimately be used to build coordination compounds that can be used as functional building blocks in nanotechnology.
The project „supramolecular chemistry” deals with host/guest-chemistry of metalated container molecules. The development of preorganizing container-compounds has been proven a attractive research topic for its manifold practical applications (e.g. green chemistry, inorganic-organic hybrid materials). The aim of our studies is to build up molecular cages in the range of nanometers which are able to bind (macro-)molecules by high affinities using complementary binding sites. Secondary interactions introduced by the matrix can create new properties which cannot be observed in isolated states of the compounds ("new state of matter"). Quantummechanical calculations carried out by our group are highly important in this project.
The field of „Photophysical Properties of Coordination-Compounds” investigates the properties of diverse transition metal- and lanthanid metal complexes. Properties such as photochromy, thermochromy and luminescence are observed using various methods and tested in applications such as fluorescence probes.