The Research
Group at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany)
The Erlangen group is located at the Institute for Inorganic Chemistry,
University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, in Erlangen (Germany). The
institute is responsible for research and teaching of inorganic,
analytical, organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry. It consists of
two chair holders at the full professor level and 4 associate
professors, each with their own research group (www.anorganik.uni-erlangen.de). The institute has over 100 technical
and scientific staff members including numerous graduate and
post-graduate students. The research group of Rudi van Eldik (the Chair
holder for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry) presently consists of 8
post-docs, 18 PhD and 4 Master students from 10 different countries.
The group specializes in mechanistic studies in inorganic,
organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry, with special emphasis on the
application of high pressure thermodynamic and kinetic techniques. The
latter enable a more detailed insight into the nature of the transition
state of a chemical process and assists the fundamental elucidation of
the underlying reaction mechanism. Processes that are presently being
studied within the group include:
- Activation of small molecules such as NO, O2, O2-,
H2O2, CO2, SO2 and alkanes
by model transition metal complexes.
- Binding, transport and activation of small molecules such as NO, O2,
H2O2 and CO2 by proteins and enzymes
such as hemoglobin, cytochrome
P450 and carbonic anhydrase.
- Electron transfer reactions between model complex systems and
biological redox partners including long-distance electron transfer
processes.
- Steric and electronic tuning of substitution reactions of
complexes of inert metal ions such as Co(III) and Pt(II) for catalytic
and biological application.
- Application of supercritical fluids and ionic liquids in
catalytic processes.
- Treatment of gaseous effluents of SO2 and NO in
homogeneous
catalytic systems.
The work is carried out in collaboration with leading scientists in
Poland, USA, South Africa, England, Russia, Georgia, Australia, Sweden,
Spain, Israel, Egypt, Hungary, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Canada and
Switzerland. The work is financed by numerous grants from the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fonds der Chemischen Industrie, Max-Buchner
Forschungsstiftung, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, DAAD, NATO
Scientific Affairs Division, European Community, and collaborations
with industry.