EXC 2033:  RESOLV (Ruhr Explores Solvation)

• Subject Area: Physical Chemistry ; Analytical Chemistry ; Molecular Chemistry ; Condensed Matter Physics ; Process Engineering, Technical Chemistry
• Term: since 2019
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390677874

The Cluster of Excellence RESOLV launched Solvation Science as a new interdisciplinary field of research that provides a much-needed unifying framework for the understanding of solvation processes. The majority of chemical reactions, including many that are central to important industrial processes, and virtually all biological processes, take place in solution. RESOLV transcends the traditional view that considered solvents as being inert media in which molecular processes take place. The paradigm underlying RESOLV is to consider solvent molecules as active species, rather than just being passive spectators. Future challenges in Solvation Science are to tackle chemical processes far beyond homogeneous bulk phases, thermal equilibria, and ambient conditions. RESOLV will take up these emerging challenges and focus its research on: local solvent fluctuations in heterogeneous systems (AreaI), solvent control of chemical dynamics and reactivity (AreaII) and solvation under extreme conditions (Area III).In Area I, RESOLV will introduce local concepts for solvation thermodynamics as well as site-specific polarity and local pH scales in nanoheterogeneous environments. Fundamental to the progress that we aim to achieve will be the synergistic combination of experiments addressing local solvent properties with theoretical approaches. These concepts promise to have a strong impact on advancing molecular recognition and (bio-)electrocatalysis.In Area II, RESOLV will address dynamical aspects of solvation as well as 'solvent shaping', and will proceed to time-resolved techniques. Our goal is to tackle complex reacting systems in solution at the molecular level. This will lay the foundation for developing innovative synthesis strategies and boost the transfer of these results into bio- and process technologies.In Area III, RESOLV will consider high pressure, low temperature, and nanoconfinement as key stressors for the solvent that enable us to rigorously modulate solvation properties without changing the chemical identity of the solvent. Advancing the understanding of solvation under extreme conditions will open up new applications, ranging from organocatalysis and enzymology to increasing the shelf life of bioproducts.RESOLV will implement long lasting institutional changes by (i) establishing new professorships in Solvation Science, in particular at the TU Dortmund, (ii) providing a science-driven integrated graduate program in Solvation Science from BSc directly to PhD for the next generation of researchers in academia and industry, (iii) fostering entrepreneurship, (iv) promoting institutionalized opportunities for Early Career Researcher groups, (v) taking action to provide an environment which retains and supports a diverse range of talents in science, and (vi) setting up an innovative transfer ecosystem to facilitate the transfer of basic science into key technologies.

• DFG Programme: Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Co-Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dortmund
• Participating Institution: Universität Duisburg-Essen; Fakultät für Physik; Arbeitsgruppe Experimentelle Physik; Fraunhofer-Institut für Umwelt-, Sicherheits- und Energietechnik (UMSICHT); Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Max-Planck-Institut für Nachhaltige Materialien GmbH (MPI SusMat)
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Martina Havenith-Newen
• Participating Researchers: Professorin Dr. Enrica Bordignon; Professor Dr. Uwe Bovensiepen; Professor Dr. Guido Clever; Professor Dr. Lukas J. Gooßen; Professor Dr. Stefan Huber; Professor Dr.-Ing. Stefan M. Kast; Professor Dr. Rasmus Linser, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Benjamin List; Professor Dr. Dominik Marx; Professorin Dr. Karina Morgenstern; Professor Dr. Frank Neese; Professor Dr. Jörg Neugebauer; Professor Dr. Patrick Nürnberger; Professor Dr. Poul Bering Petersen; Professor Dr. Nicolas Plumeré; Professorin Dr. Gabriele Sadowski; Professorin Dr. Elsa Sanchez Garcia; Professor Dr. Wolfram Sander; Professor Dr. Wolfgang Schuhmann; Professor Dr. Lars Schäfer; Professor Dr. Metin Tolan; Professorin Dr. Kristina Tschulik; Professor Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Weidner; Professor Dr. Roland Winter