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News
A diary of some remarkable events in the Surface Physics group…
Zoom! Celebration
As is tradition in our group, we celebrate happy news. What, exactly, we celebrate today is embargoed for the time being. Also, we are under lock-down because of coronavirus. Neither of these things stops us - cheers!
3S*20 a Big Success
2020-March-06
Every two years, members of our institute organize the legendary Symposium on Surface Science 3S in St. Christoph am Arlberg, Austria. This year we are represented by a particularly large delegation. We discuss and present cutting edge science (including 2 lectures and 6 posters from the surface physics group) and we are having a great time skiing in the Austrian Alps.
Iris Has a Baby
Visiting Professor from Chile
- Patricio Häberle, a visiting professor from Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria in Valparaiso is back! He will spend his sabbatical in our surface physics group.
Open Position in UHV ncAFM
2020-Jan-09
- With Martin Setvin scheduled to leave us in July, we are looking for a replacement (6-year position). For more info, see the ad. If you are possibly interested in applying, contact us directly. email: [email address: lastname @ this server · enable javascript to see it] ⋅ Phone: +43-1-58801-13425
IWOX-12 Poster Prize to Giada
- Several members of the surface physics group attend the International Workshop on Oxide Surfaces, IWOX-12 in Lake Placid, USA. Giada Franceschi receives the coveted poster prize. In the photo you can see her with the IWOX-12 organizers, Dario Stacchiola and Zdenek Donahlek. Well done, Giada!
Science: Board of Reviewing Editors
- The new year brings new responsibilities: Ulrike Diebold is appointed to the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science Magazine.
Post-docs Give a Farewell Party
- After spending a good year at the surface physics group, our friends from China are moving on to greener pastures. Zhizhang Wang will assume his new position at Xianmen University, and Hao Chen will start a post-doc at Berkeley. We learned a lot from them, and they also learned something from us - for example how to throw a party.
Merry Xmas
- At this year's IAP Xmas party, we take the opportunity to take a snapshot of our group & friends. We also take the opportunity to wish everyone who is reading this entry a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!
Loschmidt-Prize for Jan Balajka
- Jan Balajka is one of two recipients of this year's Loschmidt Prize. This prize is awarded annually by the Austrian Chemical Physics Society CPG for an outstanding PhD thesis. Jan Balajka received his doctorate in 2018; his thesis is entitled “Interaction of Titanium Dioxide Surfaces with Liquid Water”. He is currently a post-doc at Cornell University, USA. Congratulations!
ERC Grant for Gareth Parkinson
Gareth Parkinson receives a prestigious 'Consolidator Grant' from the European Research Council, ERC for his project entitled “E-SAC: Evolving Single-Atom Catalysis: Fundamental Insights for Rational Design”. He will utilise the tools of surface science to design and investigate systems, where the size of catalytically active nanoclusters is pushed to the ultimate limit: single atoms. Gareth has been working on this general theme for several years, funded by an FWF START prize that he received in 2015. In E-SAC, Gareth and his team will significantly expand the types of materials and reactions studied. They will devise experiments that connect ultrahigh vacuum surface science with 'realistic' conditions and environments.
Press release TU Wien (in German)
Science Prize of the City of Vienna 2019 goes to Ulrike Diebold
Since 1947, the City of Vienna has been awarding its Science Prize. The list of winners includes renowned scientists such as Lise Meitner, Erwin Schrödinger, and Viktor E. Frankl. This year the prize goes to Prof. Ulrike Diebold from our Institute of Applied Physics (Press release of the city of Vienna (in German)). During the award ceremony at Vienna's city hall, she was introduced with a short video (in Viennese German).
Recognition, Cash, and Career Advancement for Martin Setvin
2019-November-15
For his outstanding habilitation thesis, Martin Setvin receives the 'Förderpreis des Kardinal Innitzer Studienfonds', which is awarded annually by the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Schönborn. Setvin is also a recent recipient of a prestigious GACR EXPRO grant, which supports excellence in fundamental research. His project “Ferroelectric Perovskites for Energy Conversion” was funded with 1.3 M Euros. He will use this money to build his research group when he assumes his professorship at Charles University in Prague.
Doctor Honoris Causa
2019-November-14
Ulrike Diebold receives an honorary doctorate from the Brno University of Technology (VUT), in a ceremony as part of the celebrations of the university's 120th anniversary. The ties between TU Wien and VUT have become even stronger!
Jesus comes from Prague
2019-October
Jesus Ruben Lopez Redondo, a PhD student at the nanosurf lab in Prague, visits us for three months within the Erasmus+ program. He is working with Martin Setvin on the q+ machine.
Group Hike: Myrafälle
2019-September-27
We go hiking. Under the expert guidance of Michael Schmid, we take the train and, after a little bit of uphill and downhill, enjoy a relaxed lunch before we conquer the Myra Falls in Lower Austria.
Hao: New Life, New Wife
2019-September-25
Hao Chen, who spent the last year of his PhD studies with us, defends his thesis in Dalian. He will stay a few months in our group as a post-doc to wrap up his experiments on In2O3. Also, on his short trip back home to China he got married. Congratulations!
Academia Europaea
2019-September-18
Ulrike Diebold is elected to membership in the Academia Europaea
New Masters
2019-Summer
This summer, three people got even more involved with the surface physics group: David Rath, who calculated the best configuration for an IRAS setup in his Masters thesis, is back to produce such a setup for real. Nico Resch starts his Masters thesis working with Gareth on single-atom-catalysis-related things. And Sebastian Brandstetter is excited to start a Masters thesis within an FFG-funded project joint with the Valtiner group and Berndorf Ges.m.b.H looking at stainless steel. (Well, not really: single crystals that have the composition of stainless steel, of course.)
Honza
- Jan Hulva, aka Honza, defends his PhD thesis “Studies of Adsorptionon Magnetite (001) Using Molecular Beams”. Prof. Hajo Freund from the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin acts as the external examiner. From Honza's extensive body of results we learn a lot about single atom catalysis - his thesis is truly something to be proud of. Congratulations!
Triple Defense!!!
2019-Apr-29
- Jonas Gloss, Jiri Pavelec, and Peter Lackner successfully defend their PhD theses entitled, respectively, “Metastable iron-nickel thin films”, “Surface chemistry setup and adsorption of CO2 on Fe3O4(001)”, and “Surface science studies on zirconia thin-film model systems”. They shine during the defense, and even more so afterwards. Congratulations!
How to be precise
2019-Apr-26
- Our paper "Pushing the detection of cation nonstoichiometry to the limit" by Michele Riva et al. appears in Physical Review Materials, where it is featured as Editor's Suggestion. We show how one can use STM to detect minute changes in the composition of complex oxide materials. By quantitatively evaluating surface structures of SrTiO3(110), and exploiting their exquisite sensitivity to stoichiometry changes, we can determine the composition of the deposited material with a sensitivity of 0.1%, at least ten times better than other customary techniques.
Grillplatz 11
2019-Apr-24
- For a change the weather is nice as we head out to our favorite BBQ place at Donauinsel. This time we are joined by our friends from Sweden, Edvin Lundgren and Lindsay Merte, who came to take advantage of the cool capabilities of our q+ AFM.
Spring Kebap
Senior Scientist Michele Riva
2019-Apr-15
- Michele Riva assumes his new duties as senior scientist. He will spearhead our efforts in the epitaxial growth of complex metal oxides, and support the surface physics group and IAP. Congratulations, Michele!
International Brain Circulation
- Lots of coming and going in the surface physics group during the past few months: Jian Xu (a) returns to his home university in Chongqing, China. Zhiyu Zou (b) assumes a post-doc position at the University of Florida. Sebastian © takes off a week from his high-school studies to check out the lab live of physicists. Jakub Holobrádek (d) from TU Brno starts his Erasmus work with us, and so does Martin Štubian (e) and Radek Caesar (sorry, no picture available). Amy Brandt (f) from the University of South Carolina visits us for three months, and Manuel Ulreich (f) from Austria starts his Masters thesis work. It is great to welcome so many fresh faces, and we bid our outgoing colleagues a heartfelt farewell.
Polarons Catch Editor's Eye
- Together with our DFT friends at Uni Wien, Michele Reticcioli and Cesare Franchini, we publish our findings that polarons can localise on CO molecules adsorbed on TiO2(110). The editors of Physical Review Letters like our paper and feature it as 'editor's choice'.
The article: Reticcioli et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 016805 (2019) ⋅ arXiv:1807.05859
Tableau Vivant Challenge
- Every year a different working group organizes the Institute's Christmas party. This year the Schütz biophysics group came up with a special task: To re-create a famous painting, in the fine tradition of tablau vivant. We have a lot of fun mimicking Lady Liberty, but our efforts are not good enough to win the coveted top prize.
Peter Varga 1946-2018
- With great sadness we announce that our colleague Peter Varga has passed on October 27, 2018. Peter Varga was the founder and longtime head of the Surface Physics Group at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP), and he shaped it into one of world's leading centers of surface physics. Having retired as Professor at the TU Wien in 2011, he nevertheless remained an active member of our group and also kept contact with our friends in Brno where he had a “PostProf” position at CEITEC.
His funeral took place on Monday, November 5, 2018 in Maria Enzersdorf (Romantikerfriedhof, Grenzgasse 7). The Institute of Applied Physics mourns the loss of a long-time colleague and a good friend!
Peter Varga: Obituary, Nachruf, List of Publications.
Stijn Mertens Moves to Lancaster
- Stijn Mertens received a call as senior lecturer to the University of Lancaster, U.K., where he will be part of Energy Lancaster. He has spent 6 years at our institute. Amongst other activities, he built our electrochemistry lab, taught a popular course on electrochemical surface science, and conducted excellent research. We wish you all the best at your new position, Stijn!
Two New Group Members from China
- This month, two new group members join us from China: Post-doc Zhizhang Wang will work with Martin Setvin on our q+ machine, and Hao Chen, a PhD student from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics is strengthening our surface chemistry expertise. Welcome!
Joint Project with CEITEC Brno
- Together with CEITEC Brno we are involved in a so-called H2020 Twinning Project, called 'SINNCE' (Strenghtening Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research at CEITEC). We are looking forward to a continuing and even more fruitful collaboration with our friends in Brno.
ÖPG Students' Award for Sabrina Mayr
- At the Annual Meeting of the Austrian Physical Society (ÖPG), Sabrina Mayr was awarded the Students' Award for the best master thesis. Her thesis Studies of Few-Monolayer Zirconia Films and Metal Nucleation on Zirconia Surfaces was carried out in the Surface Physics Group. Amongst many other achievements, Sabrina obtained the by far best STM images of zirconia surfaces in the world. One paper based on her work is already in press, further ones will follow. Congratulations Sabrina!
FWF turns 50, and IAP members (and many friends) help celebrating
- The Austrian Science Fund, FWF, celebrates its 50th anniversary with the BE OPEN Science & Society Festival. This 5-day event takes place at Maria Theresien Platz in Vienna. Science in Austria is featured in 18 pavilions. We are responsible for pavilion 18 on materials research. IAP members from the Surface Physics, Biophysics, Interface Physics, and Atomic Physics groups, together with colleagues from Materials Chemistry, Synthetic Chemistry, and friends from the Nanophysics group in Graz share their enthusiasm for fundamental research in materials science, and we try to entertain and educate the general public as best we can.
New Post-doc: Francesca Mirabella
- Francesca Mirabella joins our group. She comes to us from the Fritz-Haber-Institute in Berlin, and will work on the A-LEAF project. Welcome!
Jan Balajka Defends his PhD Thesis
- Jan Balajka successfully defends his PhD thesis entitled “Interaction of Titanium Dioxide Surfaces with Liquid Water” with Prof. Miquel Salmeron from Berkeley acting as a most knowledgeable opponent. Jan passes with distinction, and they both pose for a picture at the UHV system 'Omega' that was Jan's sorrow and joy for the past few years. Congratulations!
The Joys of Attending Conferences
- Our group has a strong showing at this year's ECOSS conference in Aarhus, Denmark. We present many talks, learn a lot of new science, make new friends, and enjoy each other's company.
The Importance of Trace Impurities and how to Avoid them
- Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is highly versatile material, used, e.g., for self-cleaning mirrors. When bringing one of its surfaces in contact with water, researchers around the world have observed a structure that was interpreted as ordering of water molecules or caused by carbon dioxide dissolved in the water. Jan Balajka and colleagues of the IAP surface physics group, together with Melissa Hines (Cornell University) could disprove these ideas. They have used what is probably the purest water drop on Earth, created from an icicle in ultrahigh vacuum (see photo). Surprisingly, the TiO2 surface structures turned out to come from trace impurities in the atmosphere such as formic acid, present in concentrations of only 1:1000000000! These results were published in the prestigeous journal Science.
The article in Science ⋅ Abstract with access to full text
Perspective Article by Jeong Young Park
TU Press release in English and German
Media coverage: Der Standard ⋅ ORF Science ⋅ Süddeutsche Zeitung ⋅ Die Welt ⋅ Die Zeit ⋅ Stern ⋅ New Scientist ⋅ phys.org ⋅ wissenschaft.de ⋅ chemie.de ⋅ Chemistry World, U.K. ⋅ ChemEurope ⋅ Live Science, U.S.A. ⋅ Index, Hungary ⋅ New Scientist, U.K. ⋅ Sciences Avenir, France⋅ BBC Mundo⋅ c&en news
The Group Takes a Hike
- For our 5th Annual Group Outing we take public transport to Puchberg/Schneeberg and hike up to the Edelweisshütte. After a hearty lunch, some more hiking, and a relaxed coffee break, we return to Vienna: full of fresh air, tired, yet with a feeling of great accomplishment. Once again, Michael acted as a most fabulous tour guide.
Visit from UK: Paul
- Paul Ryan from Imperial College London and Diamond Light Source, UK, visits for a few months. He is working with Gareth on the single-atom catalysis project.
Building Bridges with Water Molecules
- Our paper about water adsorption on Fe3O4(001) has been published in PNAS. We are particularly proud of this work it was a very complex problem and it took the best of our capabilities in imaging, spectroscopy and theory to unravel. In the picture you see on of the structures formed in which water molecules adsorb on the surface Fe cations, with additional molecules bridging the gaps in a periodic fashion. Congratulations to all involved!
The paper can be found here: “Water agglomerates on Fe3O4(001)”PNAS (2018)
and the usual brilliant write up from Florian Aigner here: TU Webpage article.
It was picked up by news media der Standard, apa
Dr. Daniel Halwidl
- Daniel Halwidl successfully defends his PhD thesis entitled “Surface Science Investigations on Single-Crystalline Ruthenates”. In the photo he poses with dissertation advisor Ulrike Diebold, co-advisor Michael Schmid, and external examiner Prof. Niklas Nilius from the University of Oldenburg. Congratulations!
Habilitation Martin Setvin
- Martin Setvin successfully defends his habilitation thesis. Soon he will receive the 'venia legendi', the right to teach and to independently supervise bachelor, master, and PhD theses at TU Wien. Congratulations!
Bakeout
- In order to achieve excellent ultrahigh vacuum, a bakeout of the vacuum chamber is required that can last up several days. Sometimes this makes the security personnel in our building nervous. To prevent them from raising alarm, and calling us – typically in the middle of the night on weekends – Zhiyu designs this most helpful sign.
Spring Kebap: Record Turnout
- Spring is finally here. Following our annual tradition, we take advantage of one of the first warm days to storm our favorite kebap stand at Naschmarkt. Everyone comes along to hang out at the park and eat.
Vibration Isolation Patent
- The Surface Physics Group has patented a device for suspending a load in a vibration-insulated manner, designed for high-resolution microscopy and nanotechnology. While other similar instruments are usually placed in the basement of a building in a quiet environment, the low-temperature non-contact AFM/STM at the IAP/TU Wien suspended according to the invention delivers excellent performance in spite of its place in the 5th floor of a building in downtown Vienna! The patented vibration isolation system also features accurate levelling even under changing load distribution during operation.
For more information, see the TU press release (English, German), the Youtube movie, article in Der Standard or the
Feature in Nature on high-performance microscopy
Visiting Professor from Chongqing, China
- Professor Jian Xu (徐健) from the Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering, Chongqing University, joins our surface physics group. Jian will stay with us for one year to get his fingers dirty with UHV-based surface science experiments. A warm welcome!
Two Master Theses Defended
- Jakob Hofinger and Sebastian Moser both pass their final exam. Their masters theses dealt with PLD growth of In2O3 and SrTiO3, respectively, and in both cases Michele and Giada were a big help.
Congratulations to Jakob, Sebastian, and the PLD team!
DPG - Post-deadline Talk
- Melissa Hines comes all the way from the US to give a super-entertaining talk in front of a fully-packed auditorium during the post-deadline session at the DPG Meeting in Berlin.
DPG - German Physics Society Meeting 2018
- The surface physics group has a strong presence at this year's Spring Meeting of the DPG in Berlin. We report on our research results in 3 invited talks, 11 contributed talks, and 2 posters. In order to make the trip affordable, some of us bunk up in a big flat.
Gaede-Prize for Gareth Parkinson
- Gareth Parkinson is awareded the Gaede Prize at the Spring Meeting of the German Physical Society in Berlin, Germany. This prize is given out annually to a young scientist who has made outstanding contributions to the field of vacuum science and technology.
Congratulations!
Three Group Members Placed Amongst the Top Three
- As in previous years the poster introduction session was a special highlight at the Symposium of Surface Science, 3S'18. Based on the creative and entertaining way they presented their scientific results, Honza, Matthias, and Roland scored top points.
Erasmus!!!!!
Avoiding the Polar Catastrophe
* Ionic crystals - materials that are composed of positively and negatively charged ions - can be put into a highly unfavorable situation. When split in half along certain crystallographic directions the electrostatic energy diverges. To alleviate this so-called polar catastrophe, materials can react in a variety of ways. In a recent paper, Martin Setvin and co-workers from the Surface Physics group and from the University of Vienna show the surface of a KTaO3(001) single crystal after cleaving, heating, and exposure to water vapor. Six different mechanisms to compensate polarity are encountered. One of the most pretty solutions, a nano-labyrinth with 4-5 atom-wide walls, is shown in the image on the right.
The article in Science ⋅ Abstract with access to full text
TU Press release in English and German
Media coverage: die Presse ⋅ APA ⋅ Welt der Physik
"JSPS 141st Committee Award" for Peter Varga
* During the opening ceremony of the ALC'17 conference in Kauai/Hawaii today Peter Varga received the Award of the 141st Committee on Microbeam Analysis of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Sciences (JSPS) for (quote) ”… his distinguished contribution on the clarification of surface phenomena by atomic level investigation and the development of novel functional materials.” Congratulations, Peter!
Mandana Joins the Group
- Mandana Azmi starts her appointment at IAP. She will pursue her PhD in electrochemical surface science under the guidance of Stijn Mertens.
Lighting Up the Library
- The TU library is celebrating its 30th anniversary. As part of the festivities, some stunning research results are projected onto the big owl that adorns the corner of the library building. The nice work by Stijn Mertens et al. on electrochemical switching of friction was chosen as one of the show cases.
Flora: Mysteries of Tantalate
- Second successfully-defended Masters thesis this month: Flora Poelzleitner worked on “Polarity compensation on KTaO3(001) surfaces”. Her research results were included in our paper on the polar catastrophe, see the news entry above.
Sabrina: Caesar of Zirconia
- Sabrina Mayr successfully defends her Master's thesis on “Studies of Few-Monolayer Zirconia Films and Metal Nucleation on Zirconia Surfaces”. The group and her family celebrate the happy occasion and, in best Italian tradition, place the well-earned laurel wreath on her head.
Kardinal Innitzer Award for Gareth Parkinson
- For his outstanding habilitation thesis, Gareth Parkinson is awarded the 'Förderpreis' of the Kardinal Innitzer Studienstiftung. The award ceremony took place at the formidable Episcopal Palace, located in the center of Vienna. Gareth's family came all the way from England to celebrate.
Video: Vibration Isolation for High-Resolution Microscopy
- How to achieve scanning probe microscopy with sub-picometer resolution in the 5th floor of a building in busy downtown Vienna? The Surface Physics Group has devised a solution by suspending the machine from a frame or the ceiling, with highly accurate levelling and a performance that rivals very expensive active vibration control systems, at much lower cost (patent pending). Watch the Youtube movie.
Visiting Professor from Cornell
- Prof. Melissa Hines of Cornell University, USA is staying with us this fall. Melissa is a renowned surface chemist and, amongst other things, she is interested in TiO2. We warmly welcome her and wish her - in fact, all of us - a productive stay.
Featuring Polarons: PRX and Nature Reviews
- For a long time the (1×2) reconstruction of one of our favorite materials - rutile TiO2(110) - has puzzled us, and many of our colleagues world-wide. Based on Martin Setvin's beautiful STM/AFM results, our DFT friends at the University of Vienna have figured out that polarons are of essence. Our paper, which appeared in PRX earlier this month, has caught the eye of one of the editors of Nature Reviews.
How to Sputter-Deposit Ultrathin Films
- In surface science it is essential to cleanly grow ultrathin films with a carefully-controlled thickness of less than one monolayer. For some materials (zirconium, say), this is difficult: Even though the melting point is exceedingly high, the vapor pressure is low. To circumvent this problem we have refined a UHV-compatible sputter deposition source. Read here how our source works and how well it performs.
Tenure for Gareth Parkinson
- We are extremely pleased to learn that Gareth Parkinson has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. He will continue his highly-successful research into the surface science of heterogeneous catalysis together with his growing surface physics subgroup focused on iron oxides.
Erasmus Forever!
- This year our group hosted again three Erasmus students from TU Brno/CEITEC. As always, it was an extremely pleasant and productive experience for us: Michal Andrýsek worked on the growth of metastable ferromagnetic iron layers, and Tomáš Axman and Mojmír Komora designed and tested a high-pressure cell and a UHV-compatible liquid doser, respectively.
Habilitation for Stijn Mertens
- Stijn Mertens successfully defends his habilitation thesis. This is the last step towards receiving the venia legendi, the right to teach and to officially supervise graduate students at TU Wien. Congrats, Stijn!
Matthias Müllner Gets Married
- We extend our warmest congratulations to Matthias and Tini, who tied the knot this weekend, and we wish them a great honeymoon trip together with their daughter Sophie.
Zhiyu Zou for Zirconia
- We welcome a new post-doc, Zhiyu Zou, to our group. Zhiyu comes from Trieste, where he worked on graphene-based systems. At TU Wien, he will strengthen our efforts to better understand the fundamental surface properties and chemistry of zirconia.
Group Outing
- Now it is seriously a tradition: July has arrived and we need to get out of the city for some fresh air and exercise. Our 4th Annual Group Outing brings us to Payerbach, where we hike in the beautiful mountain area of Lower Austria.
Promotion "sub auspiciis" for Roland Bliem
- Roland Bliem graduates with a "promotio sub auspiciis praesidentis rei publicae"”. This honour is based on top academic performance and is awarded to only a handful of PhD students in the whole country. With a GPA of 1.0 (the best grade on Austria's 5-point scale) from high school all the way through his studies at the university, Roland is one of the selected few. A big day for Roland, the institute, and the surface physics group.
TU press release (in German) der standard Tiroler Tageszeitung
Intrepid in Inclement Weather
- We decide that a barbecue at Donauinsel might be a good idea. Martin Setvin reserves a Grillplatz and brings coal and his young family. It rains a bit. Nevertheless everyone comes out, and we are having a great time.
Florian: A Glorious Finish and A Fresh Start
- Florian Kraushofer successfully defends his Masters thesis, and he has already landed a job: on Monday he will start as a PhD student with Gareth.
Vienna March for Science
- On April 22, people around the world gather to support science and to acknowledge the critical role it plays in each of our lives. Members of the surface physics group & friends do their share by joining the Vienna March for Science.
Igor Joins the Group
- Igor Sokolović has decided to pursue his PhD degree with us. He is supported by the doctoral programme Solids4Fun and will work with Martin Setvin on our new q+ AFM. Here you can see him getting his fingers dirty (well, not in the literal sense) while building sensors for the microscope.
Traditional Spring Kebap
2017-March-28
- Earlier than usual, spring has arrived this year. Temperatures will reach 25°C here in Vienna on the weekend, so we hurry to eat our traditional spring kebap before summer arrives. Our Erasmus students from Brno university meanwhile relax while driving their new car.
Switching Oxygen Molecules On and Off
- The oxygen molecule O2 is chemically inert (except at high temperatures), but becomes reactive when an additional electron gets added. This process happens in biology, catalysis and can be also triggered by light on some surfaces. Martin Setvin of the Surface Physics Group managed to switch oxygen molecules adsorbed at a titanium dioxide surface back and forth between the non-reactive (neutral) and reactive (O2-) state and examine them in detail using non-contact atomic-force microscopy (nc-AFM) with the tiny tip of a so-called qPlus sensor (image). The results were published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS).
Publication in PNAS
TU Press Release in English and German
Media Coverage: APA · Der Standard · ORF · MyScience · Chemie.de
Tutorial Review on Surface Defects in Bulk Oxides
- Some of us write a tutorial review on surface defects on bulk oxides, and how to characterize them with atomically-resolved Scanning Probe Microscopy. The article will be published in the journal Chem. Soc. Rev. Here you see a photo of the authors. (Taking the photo was a bit difficult, as co-author Margareta Wagner is spending a year at the Steinrück group in Erlangen, Nürnberg. With a little help from skype we manage nevertheless.)
TU Ball 2017
- Every year our university celebrates its traditional ball at the Hofburg palace. The surface physics group participated enthusiastically, and met up with friends, colleagues, and visitors.
Degree for Iris
- Today Iris Dorner finished her Masters studies. In her masters thesis, she helped us to improve our EC-STM, and here we help her celebrate her degree. Congratulations!
Research Funding is A-Comin'
2016-December-23
- In recent weeks, several of our research proposals were approved for funding: The group is part of the consortium of the H2020 project A-LEAF (“An Artifical Leaf: A Photo-electro-catalytic Cell From Earth-Abundant Materials for Sustainable Solar Production of CO2-based Chemicals and Fuels”). In a joint Belgian/Austrian Research Project, Stijn Mertens & friends will investigate the
“Boron nitride nanomesh for actuated self-assembly”, and the WWTF will fund our work on “Modeling and Design of Epitaxially Strained Nanoislands” as part of the 'Mathematics and..' initiative. We are set for a Happy New Year 2017!
Grp Goes Brno
- A division of TU surface physicists heads out to Brno to inspect the new lab facilities at CEITEC, discuss possible future collaborations, and taste local beers.
Oscar Defends his Dissertation
- Oscar Gamba, who worked with Gareth for several years, receives his Ph.D. degree Thanks to his research, we now understand the surface chemistry of magnetite much better.
Habilitation Gareth Parkinson
- Gareth Parkinson successfully defends his habilitation and our institute gains a newly-minted 'Dozent'. Congratulations!
Bilge Returns to MIT
- Prof. Bilge Yildiz is saying good bye with a nice farewell party. She has been visiting with us for a good (in fact: very good) year. We are sad to see her leave, but have many ideas for continued and future collaborations. Also, Roland will be joining her soon at MIT.
A Big Week for Roland
- Roland Bliem defends his PhD thesis entitled “Single Metal Adatoms at the Reconstructed Fe3O4(001) Surface”. His paper on Pt dimers appears in PNAS – see the next entry. Most importantly, he just got married!
We wish the beautiful couple much happiness and continued success.
The Pairing and Separation of Pt Atoms
- Sintering - the aggregation of catalytically active, metallic nanoparticles into bigger clumps - is one of the major causes of catalyst de-activation. This is particularly important in the emerging field of single-atom catalysis, the main research topic of the START project of Gareth Parkinson. A detailed STM and DFT study, mainly conducted by Roland Bliem, and published in PNAS, shows how single Pt atoms on the Fe3O4(001) surface are made mobile by CO, and how they merge into bigger clusters. Interestingly, the smallest cluster, a Pt dimer, is stabilized by the CO molecules. When the sample is heated, and the CO desorbs, and the two Pt atoms separate again.
Original Publication
TU press release ·
Der Standard ·
Tiroler Tageszeitung
Zdenek Jakub
- Zdenek Jakub joins the group as new a PhD student. He is no stranger to us, though: Zdenek studied at the TU Brno and already worked with us as an Erasmus student and during his Masters thesis. We are very happy that he joined us now officially!
Making it Stick on the Cover of Nature
- The article "Switching stiction and adhesion of a liquid on a solid" by Stijn Mertens et al. is featured on this week's cover of Nature Magazine. The work describes dynamic contact angle measurements of a single drop of 0.1 M HClO4 on a single layer of BN supported on Rh(111). Friction can be changed reversibly by applying an appropriate electrochemical potential that leads to the intercalation of H between BN and the Rh.
The Group Bikes
- This year, our annual group outing brings us to the beautiful area around Neusiedlersee. We bike a lot (some of us even more than others), quench the resulting thirst, taste local foods, hang out in the shade, and a few brave people even go swimming in the lake. Overall, everyone was having a good time.
Christian Doppler Award for Roland Bliem
- Roland Bliem, a PhD student in our group, has received the Christian-Doppler-Preis 2015 in the category Physics for his work on metal adsorption on the magnetite (001) surface. The Christian-Doppler-Preis is the science award of Roland's home province Salzburg, awarded biennially to researchers under 40 years of age. It is named after the famous physicist Christian Doppler who was born in Salzburg in 1803.
Salzburger Nachrichten
Aktuelles TU Wien
Dr. Stefan Gerhold
* Stefan Gerhold successfully defends his PhD thesis entitled “Surface Reactivity and Growth of Strontium Titanate (110)”. Afterwards he celebrates with examiner Prof. Wolf Widdra, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, and advisor Ulrike Diebold.
Martin^3
- Martin Calkovsky (center) from Brno University of Technology joins us as an Erasmus student for one semester. In order to tell him apart from 'Tech Martin' (left) and 'Czech Martin' (right) we decide to affectionately call him 'Martin Jr.'
Visiting Prof Picks Up Local Traditions
- Bilge Yildiz, our visiting professor, has learned that her latest research results have been accepted for publication in Nature Materials. As is customary in our group, this happy news deserves some serious celebration. Abhorred by the idea of warm champagne, we are quick (perhaps a bit too quick) to help out with a little lN2. The resulting, somewhat unorthodox, state of matter of the celebratory beverage does not prevent us from partying on, with Bilge's group partaking per skype.
PRL Features 30 Years of STM (and we made the list)
2016-May-4
- To commemorate 30 years of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, Physical Review Letters has put together a collection of prime articles using this technique. The feature "Scanning Probe Microscopy: From Sublime to Ubiquitous" is a great read. Admittedly we are a tad proud to be listed among these great works.
Jake is Done
- Jong Il Jake Choi successfully defends his PhD thesis entitled “Studies of Zirconia Surfaces On the Atomic Scale”. Congratulations, Dr. Choi!
Clusters, Clusters, Everywhere...
- Our comprehensive study of metal adatoms and clusters on ultrathin zirconia films is accepted for publication in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
Spring has Sprung
- First nice day of the year. Following our tradition we venture out to Naschmarkt, where we greet the season with a kebap lunch.
Valuable Addition from Italy
- Giada Franceschi, a physics student from Polimi in Milano joins us for a 6 months. She is working on her Masters thesis, performing growth and surface experiments using our Laser MBE.
Martin Setvin: Ertl Award Finalist
- The surface physics group shows a strong presence at this year's Spring Meeting of the German Physics Society in Regensburg, Germany. Most prominently, Martin Setvin is selected as a finalist for the Gerhard Ertl Young Investigator Award, and gives a brilliant talk summarizing his research on fundamental photocatalytic processes. Well done, Martin!
Laser MBE has Arrived
- The first paper reporting results from our Laser MBE setup will appear soon: Stefan Gerhold et al., “Adjusting Island Density and Morphology of the SrTiO3(110)-(4×1) Surface: Pulsed Laser Deposition Combined with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy” shows what happens during the very initial stages of homoepitaxial growth. Our new toy works well and more exciting results are in the works. Stay posted!
More on Fe3O4
- The manuscript “Fe3O4(110)-(1×3) Revisited: Periodic (111) Nano-Facets” by Gareth Parkinson et al. will appear as a Letter in the journal Surface Science. We celebrate with beer and 'burgers.
Collaborations are Paying Off
2016-March
- We happily report that four manuscripts have been accepted recently. Each paper has resulted from an extended collaboration. The one entitled “Interplay between steps and oxygen vacancies on curved TiO2(110)” by L. Alejandro Miccio et al., will appear in the journal Nanoletters. Former Post-doc Zhiming Wang is the first author of “Itinerant polaronic carriers in a SrTiO3-based two-dimensional electron gas”, to appear in Nature Materials, and of “Transition from Tetrahedral to Octahedral Coordination for High TiO2 Coverages of the (110) Surface of Strontium Titanate”, which is accepted for publication in Nanoletters. The group of Juan de la Figuera was leading the collaboration on “Co on Fe3O4(001): Towards precise control of surface properties”, published in The Journal of Chemical Physics. Congratulations to all co-authors!
Workshop Celebration
- Our excellent technicians help Michael with realizing his ingenious ideas. We warmly thank Rainer, Martin, Herbert, and Marie, and we eat lots of cake.
Oleg Gives Pizza Talk
- Our visitor from the prestigious Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Oleg Feya, gives one of our pizza talks. He entertains us with stories about the founding fathers of his university, and explains how the program package USPEX can be used to predict structures.
TU Ball
- Each year our university celebrates its traditional ball in the fabulous Hofburg Palace. Some of us dress up in our finest and go out for a few elegant rounds of Viennese waltz. We meet up and, after a while, we also spot Jiri and his dancing partner prancing through the halls.
How many physicists does it take...
Zbynek Novotny receives Loschmidt Prize
- Dr. Zbynek Novotny is one of two recipients of this year's Loschmidt Prize. This prize is awarded annually by the Austrian Chemical Physics Society for an outstanding PhD thesis. Zbynek received his doctorate in 2013 under the guidance of Prof. Ulrike Diebold; his thesis is entitled “The Fe3O4 Surface as an Adsorption Template”. He is currently a post-doc the Pacific Northwest National Lab in Washington State, U.S. Congratulations, Z!
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