DEPARTMENT OF
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
DEPARTMENT OF
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
Director: Martin Wolf
Emeritus: Gerhard Ertl
Research Groups
Atomic-Scale Microscopy & Spectroscopy
Akitoshi Shiotari
Dynamics of Correlated Materials
Laurenz Rettig
Lattice Dynamics
Alex Paarmann
Nonlinear Chemical Imaging
Alexander Fellows
Nonlinear Interfacial Spectroscopy
Martin Thämer
Ultrafast Core-Level Spectroscopy
Ugaitz Elu
Max Planck Fellow
Structural & Electronic Surface Dynamics
Ralph Ernstorfer (also at TU-Berlin)
Support Group
Technicians Group
Marcel Krenz
ERC groups
Ultrafast Scanning Probe Microscopy
Melanie Müller
Emmy Noether Groups
THz Structural Dynamics
Sebastian Maehrlein
Associated Groups
Liquid-Vapor Interfaces (FHI AC)
Hendrik Bluhm
Nanoscale Surface Chemistry (IMS)
Takashi Kumagai (former website)
Terahertz Physics (FU Berlin)
Tobias Kampfrath (former website)
Electron Dynamiχ (HU Berlin)
A. Julia Stähler
... further Former Groups
Events & Seminars
Tue., 1 Dec. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Special Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
Michael Zürch
(University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
Exploring Materials with High Harmonic Spectroscopies
Tue., 1 Dec. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Special Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
Exploring Materials with High Harmonic Spectroscopies
Michael Zürch 
(University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
Wed., 2 Dec. 2026, 9:15 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level
Wed., 2 Dec. 2026, 9:15 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level
 
Thu., 3 Dec. 2026, 9:00 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level - Part 2
Thu., 3 Dec. 2026, 9:00 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level - Part 2
 
News
  • Akitoshi Shiotari has been appointed as Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo, Japan
    His lab will bridge pico- and macro-scales in surface physical chemistry
  •
    Vector-Field Imaging of Propagating Phonon Polaritons
    Nonlinear Sum-Frequency Generation Microscopy as New Imaging Tool for Polaritons
  •
    Youngwook Park appointed as Assistant Professor at POSTEC, South Korea
    His group will explore single-molecule manipulation and surface synthesis
  •
    Observation of Angular Momentum Transfer between Lattice Modes
    Demonstration of preparation, transfer, and conservation of angular momentum among phonon modes
  •
    Twisting Water
    Nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy and simulations reveal the importance of the molecular twist of interfacial water
  •
    Extending Extreme Optical Anisotropy Beyond its Current Frequency Boundaries
    Observation of spectral tuning of highly directional phonon polaritons by isotopic substitution
    Research
    Research in the Department of Physical Chemistry focusses on the dynamics of elementary processes in solids and at surfaces, in particular, ultrafast dynamics of electronic excitations, electron-phonon coupling and interfacial charge transfer, surface reactions and molecular processes at interfaces as well as light-matter interaction at the nanoscale.
    Events & Seminars
    Tue., 1 Dec. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Special Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
    Michael Zürch
    (University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
    Exploring Materials with High Harmonic Spectroscopies
    Tue., 1 Dec. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Special Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
    Exploring Materials with High Harmonic Spectroscopies
    Michael Zürch 
    (University of California at Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
    Wed., 2 Dec. 2026, 9:15 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
    Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level
    Wed., 2 Dec. 2026, 9:15 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
    Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level
     
    Thu., 3 Dec. 2026, 9:00 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
    Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level - Part 2
    Thu., 3 Dec. 2026, 9:00 am  -  Symposium  -  FHI Library
    Symposium on Reactions and Dynamics at Interfaces: Bridging Theory and Experiment at the Multiscale Level - Part 2
     
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