Ionic Liquid Interfaces

Hans-Peter Steinrück

Physical Chemistry, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Egerlandstraße 3, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany

 Abstract：

        Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts with melting points below 100 °C. Typically, they are characterized by an extremely low vapour pressure. Since their physical and chemical properties can be tailored over a wide range, they represent a fascinating class of liquid materials with interesting applications in catalysis. Two important concepts in this context are Supported Ionic Liquid Phase (SILP) and Solid Catalyst with Ionic Liquid Layer (SCILL). In both, a high surface area solid substrate is covered with a thin IL film. In SILP, the film contains a homogeneously dissolved transition metal complex; in SCILL, the film modifies catalytically active surface sites at the support. The interfaces of the IL with the gas phase and with catalytic surfaces are thus of critical importance. They can be investigated in great detail under well-defined ultrahigh vacuum conditions using surface science methods like angle-resolved XPS, STM, AFM, molecular beams and MD calculations. Two examples will be discussed. The first addresses how the selectivity of hydrocarbon hydrogenation reactions can be tailored by an ultrathin IL film, and the second introduces the “buoy concept”, that is, the tailoring of the enrichment of metal complexes at the IL/vacuum interface.

Introduction

    Hans-Peter Steinrück did his PhD in physics at TU Graz 1985, was postdoc at Stanford University 1985/86, received his Habilitation at TU München 1992, and became Professor of Physics at Würzburg University in 1993. From 1998 to 2025, he held a chair of Physical Chemistry at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), and since 2025 is Senior Professor at FAU. He was/is Guest Professor at USTC/Hefei and Soochow University/Suzhou in China, holds a honorary doctorate degree from Szeged University in Hungary, is member of the European Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea, and is Fellow of APS and AAAS. In 2016 he received an ERC Advanced Grant, in 2017 the AVS Medard W. Welch Award in the USA, in 2019 the Morino Lectureship in Japan, and in 2021 the Henriette-Herz-Scout distinction of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany. His research focusses in surface and interface science, from ionic liquids, porphyrins, liquid metals and liquid organic hydrogen carriers to chemically modified graphene. He published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers.

2026年10月23日，14：00

五室大会议室