Research Area

Chemistry

Research Area

Chemistry

25. September 2024
Medicinal Chemistry

Animal venoms: The key to the brain?

From scorpions to cone snails: Markus Muttenthaler from the Faculty of Chemistry studies animal venoms to improve drug transport to the brain. Always on the go, the researcher finds material for analysis in the Amazonian jungle or Australian reef.
22. February 2024
Water management

AI detects river pollution

Various human activities affect the quality of our lakes, rivers, groundwater, and oceans. When harmful chemicals enter our waters, it is crucial that these are identified as soon as possible. This is at the core of the "SWAIN" project, which is taking a totally new approach using artificial intelligence.
24. January 2024
Environmental sciences

PFAS: Chemicals for eternity?

Made to last forever, used on a daily basis and often highly toxic: PFAS, a group of extremely stable industrial chemicals, are seen as the next big environmental problem of our time. We asked environmental scientist Thilo Hofmann: Is there still hope?
18. January 2024
Guest article by
Robert Woodward
Rudolphina Experts: Drinking water supply

Clean and reliable water: Looking to the sky for answers

Airborne treasure: The atmosphere is an often overlooked reservoir of fresh water. Materials chemist Robert Woodward and his team developed a novel approach to tap into this precious resource in even the driest locations on Earth.
19. December 2023
Semester question

"If we want a future it will be material"

In the interview, material scientist Mark Miodownik from UCL, who will deliver the keynote address at the panel discussion on the semester question on January 15th, explains what matters today in the development of new materials.
19. December 2023
Microbial Biochemistry

New drugs against infectious diseases

From the flu to the coronavirus – recent years have shown that infectious diseases are a tremendous problem. In the video, biochemist Thomas Böttcher explains the role that new biologically active molecules will play in medicine and what drives him as a researcher.
13. December 2023
Solar energy revolution

Excited by light

Mimicking 'plant power' through artificial photosynthesis: an approach that could drive the solar energy revolution. Researchers at the University of Vienna are in a bid to chase this dream by trying to capture the sun's energy and storing it in chemical compounds. A report on how this works and why computer simulations are indispensable in the process.
14. November 2023
Materials for the energy transition

Supercomputer, Schrödinger and the energy revolution

How can we sustainably scale up the production of hydrogen and synthetic fuels for the post-fossil energy world? Advances in materials science could hold the key. Physicist Georg Kresse and his team use computer simulations to enable the necessary breakthroughs.
7. November 2023
Guest article by
Jia Min Chin
Rudolphina Experts: Materials inspired by nature

Where nature shows science new ways

When looking for inspiration for the development of new materials, it is worth taking a look at nature. In her guest article, materials chemist Jia Min Chin reveals the tricks that flora and fauna have in store for the materials of the future.
19. October 2023
Electrochromic materials

A chemical signature of authenticity

A new smart ink based on electrochromic materials could not only prevent the forgery of event tickets, but also facilitate the monitoring of sensitive products and resources such as blood reserves. The applications for this innovative material are almost endless, says one of the developers, chemist Laura Maggini.
11. October 2023
New Materials

What the future is made of

New materials are considered very promising for solving the acute challenges of our time, but they also create new problems. We take a closer look at those materials that have shaped us and those that are yet to come.
27. April 2023
Inorganic chemistry

The influence of structure

Materials chemist Jia Min Chin is researching how the structures of materials affect their function and how chemistry can influence the sustainability of future materials.
17. February 2023
Climate science and permafrost soils

When thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gas

There is hardly any other region where climate change is as noticeable as in the Arctic. At the Arctic Science Summit Week 2023, which is currently taking place at the University of Vienna, 700 international Arctic researchers are putting their heads together. One of them is Andreas Richter from the University of Vienna: he and his team experienced the explosive nature of the topic at first hand a few months ago during field research in the Canadian Arctic. Read more in the guest article.
29. November 2022
Innovative vaccination technology

Vaccine patch without pinprick

The therapies of the future are being developed in Christoph Rademacher's laboratory at the University of Vienna. He is currently researching a vaccine patch for home use – and is relying on cooperation with industry.
6. October 2022
Climate science and permafrost soils

When thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gas

Three weeks in the Canadian Arctic: Ecosystem researchers from the University of Vienna collected soil samples in northwestern Canada. They are investigating how the nitrogen bound in permafrost is processed by microorganisms when these permafrost soils thaw. What happens in the process could exacerbate climate change.
21. May 2021
Cellulose

Foam without plastic

The production of degradable materials, ranging from packaging to insulating material, is one of the major challenges of our time. In an EU project, Alexander Bismarck from the Department of Materials Chemistry is developing polymer foam made from cellulose – using the cultural technique of bread baking.