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
Mon., 10 Aug. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Online Seminar  -  Seminar Link
Yevhenii Vaskivskyi
(Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia )
Non-equilibrium States and Times in 1T-TaS₂ on the Atomic Scale
Mon., 10 Aug. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Online Seminar  -  Seminar Link
Non-equilibrium States and Times in 1T-TaS₂ on the Atomic Scale
Yevhenii Vaskivskyi 
(Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia )
Mon., 14 Sep. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
Hyungjun Park
(The University of Tokyo, Japan)
Observing Intermediates of a Single-molecule Deoxygenation Reaction in a Plasmonic STM Junction
Mon., 14 Sep. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
Observing Intermediates of a Single-molecule Deoxygenation Reaction in a Plasmonic STM Junction
Hyungjun Park 
(The University of Tokyo, Japan)
News
  • 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
  •
    Melanie Müller appointed as Professor at Universität Bonn
    Her group explores ultrafast dynamics and nonequilibrium behavior at the angstrom scale
  • Water at Charged Interfaces
    Depth-resolved vibrational spectroscopy reveals interfacial water structures at charged interfaces
  •
    Laurenz Rettig appointed as Professor at the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
    His group studies ultrafast optical control of quantum materials and spin dynamics.
    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
    Mon., 10 Aug. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Online Seminar  -  Seminar Link
    Yevhenii Vaskivskyi
    (Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia )
    Non-equilibrium States and Times in 1T-TaS₂ on the Atomic Scale
    Mon., 10 Aug. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Online Seminar  -  Seminar Link
    Non-equilibrium States and Times in 1T-TaS₂ on the Atomic Scale
    Yevhenii Vaskivskyi 
    (Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia )
    Mon., 14 Sep. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
    Hyungjun Park
    (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
    Observing Intermediates of a Single-molecule Deoxygenation Reaction in a Plasmonic STM Junction
    Mon., 14 Sep. 2026, 11:00 am  -  Department Seminar  -  Room G 2.06
    Observing Intermediates of a Single-molecule Deoxygenation Reaction in a Plasmonic STM Junction
    Hyungjun Park 
    (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
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