Resarch Center

Chemical Sciences and Sustainability

The Chemical Sciences and Sustainability research center is the pacemaker for pioneering research into the understanding of chemical reactions, processes and products at the molecular level. The focus is on innovative, eco-friendly and commercially competitive technological applications in various areas of chemistry – from building materials through to pharmaceuticals.

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Sadowski, Director

Portrait of Prof Dr Gabriele Sadowski from the Technical University of Dortmund.

“NRW is a chemistry hub: over a third of the total turnover of the chemical industry in Germany is generated here and it secures 90,000 jobs. Due to the phase-out of fossil fuels, which are used for energy production and as raw materials for chemical products, the chemical industry is facing major challenges, which we are addressing in the Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability. Another area of focus is reducing the carbon footprint in the production of concrete, for example, which currently accounts for 8% of CO₂ emissions and 10% of industrial wastewater worldwide. To achieve our goals, top international scientists at three universities and in various disciplines cooperate in the Research Center."

Interdisciplinarity

A row of test tubes with different colored liquids, a hand is filling something with

The Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability brings together expertise from various scientific and engineering disciplines:

Chemistry
Physics
Chemical Engineering
Geochemistry
Civil Engineering

Infrastructure and Joint Projects

The Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability has two research buildings with specialized equipment at its disposal, among other facilities:

Front view of the modern research building

ZEMOS: Center for Solvation Science

Graphic of a modern research building with a reddish facade

CALEDO: Center for Advanced Liquid Phase Engineering Dortmund

A cluster of excellence and two collaborative research centers (CRC) / transregios (TR) ensure world-class cooperation across various locations:

Close-up of a laboratory vessel in which a red and a yellow liquid are mixed, in the background other vessels with colored liquids

RESOLV Cluster of Excellence

Close-up of an oxycatalyst in the laboratory with a manometer in the centre.

CRC/TR 247: Heterogeneous Oxidation Catalysis in the Liquid Phase

The illustration shows a red-blue colour gradient, which represents an oscillating current between an electron reservoir and two quantum dots. The Y-axis shows the time, the X-axis the energy of the electrons. Jumps on the right-hand side are recognisable due to a sharp edge of the electron reservoir. The illustration is based on theoretical calculations and visualises a phenomenon of quantum mechanics.

CRC 1242: Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Condensed Matter in the Time Domain

Graphic representation of a laboratory flask with a leaf in front of it on a light blue background and a dark blue UA Ruhr wave in the lower area.

Graduate college 2376: Confinement-Controlled Chemistry

Non-university Partners and Transfer Institutions

The Research Center Chemical Sciences and Sustainability maintains a strong network within the Ruhr metropolitan area and cooperates with the following partners in North Rhine-Westphalia: