Gerhard Ertl
Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science
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Primary Section: 14, Chemistry Membership Type:
International Member
(elected 2002)
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Research Interests
My research concentrates on chemical processes occurring at the interface of solids and gases or liquids (electrolytes). Elementary steps of the reaction dynamics are investigated by the use of ultrafast laser techniques. Studies on the mechanisms of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions are performed with clean single crystal surfaces as model systems. Coupling of (nonlinear) reaction kinetics with transport process, such as surface diffusion of adsorbed species or migration of ions in an electrolyte, may give rise to spatio-temporal pattern formation, as studied both experimentally and theoretically. Structuring of electrode surfaces down to the nanometer scale is achieved by application of short voltage pulses.
