With the aim of advancing integrated CO₂ capture and electrochemical conversion, researchers from the Interface Science Department of the Fritz Haber Institute investigated how the concentration of KHCO₃, a typical CO₂ capture medium, controls the electrochemical conversion of CO₂ on copper in a membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) electrolyzer.
 

Researchers from the Molecular Physics and Physical Chemistry Departments of the Fritz Haber Institute have shown how two highly synchronized infrared (IR) laser beams can control molecules as they switch between different structural conformations. Their technique provides a new window into how molecules rearrange themselves during chemical reactions, offering fundamental insights into the microscopic processes that govern chemistry.

An international team of researchers from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) directly observed how angular momentum is transferred and conserved within a crystal lattice. Using intense terahertz laser pulses, the researchers were able to selectively control these processes, which unveiled a surprising effect: during the angular momentum transfer, the direction of rotation reverses – caused by the rotational symmetry of the material. The results provide new insights into the foundation of magnetism and open up possibilities for tailored control of quantum materials.

CECAM Flagship Workshop
September 14-17, 2026

Special Symposium for the 40th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize Award to Prof. Ernst Ruska for the Invention of the Transmission Electron Microscope on Nov. 23, 2026 at Harnack Haus Berlin.