Carl Zeiss Foundation donates EUR 850,000 to research structure concept ELYSION at Mainz University

Over the next four years, the Carl Zeiss Foundation will be providing support in the form of EUR 850,000 to the Advanced Lab for Electrochemistry and Electroorganic Synthesis (ELYSION), a unique collaborative research concept based at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany.

The use of electricity as a catalyst in chemical reactions is one of the most sustainable methods of synthesizing materials and chemical compounds. The accompanying development of electrolytic conversion techniques and new types of electrodes will make it possible to overcome the existing frontiers of this future-oriented approach.

“ELYSION is a conceptional measure that is designed to shift the focus of our current activities in the field of polymer science onto electroconversion and electroactive materials,” stated Professor Siegfried Waldvogel, acting director of the JGU Institute of Organic Chemistry.

“The establishment of this unique screening laboratory for electrosynthesis and the evaluation of new types of electrode materials for electrolytic conversions will help address a vital need with regard to electrosynthesis. Thanks to the availability of high-performance mass spectrometry equipment directly coupled to the electrosynthesis test cells, it will be possible to significantly accelerate the screening process of electrosynthetic techniques.”

A central pool of equipment for electrosynthesis and the expertise by a key scientific consultant will be provided. This measure will simplify the implementation and analysis of electrochemical methods.

ELYSION combines the expertise of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz as well as that of the Mainz-based Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.

An independent committee of researchers and representatives of industry drawn from throughout Germany will help ensure the scientific quality of projects and the performance of the laboratory.

http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/19525_ENG_HTML.php – press release