We are happy to welcome Cosima Sauer, who joined UnterlassLAB for a research internship in October 2026. Cosima is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Chemistry at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. During her internship, she will explore the synthesis and characterization of water-soluble precursors and their processing into high-performance polymer films. We look forward to working with Cosima and wish her a successful research experience with our team! [Read more]

We are happy to share that our publication “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-free water-based, scalable inorganic-organic sol-gel coatings for hydrophobic and stain-resistant textiles”, has been accepted in Journal of Materials Chemistry A. Congratulations to first author Tamara Piock and all co-authors! The study presents a fully water-based approach to hydrophobic and stain-resistant textile coatings without the use of PFAS or organic solvents. [Read more]

Alessandro and Celine recently visited BESSY II, the synchrotron radiation facility operated by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), to perform in situ small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) experiments. Their measurements focused on investigating the formation and structural evolution of our materials, providing valuable insights into the processes involved. Beyond the experiments, the beamtime offered a great opportunity to exchange ideas, engage in scientific discussions, and gain further hands-on experience with synchrotron-based scattering techniques. [Read more]

Celine attended the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Congress 2026, organized by the German Society for Materials Sciences (DGM), and held in Darmstadt, DE. As part of the Symposium “Materials Acceleration Platforms: Digital Workflows for Accelerated Material Discovery and Deployment“, Celine presented her recent research in a talk entitled “Development of a Material Acceleration Platform for the Preparation and Characterization of Polyimide Films”. [Read more]

We are happy to share a new publication, “Microbiome-host communication via vaccenic acid modulates LRH-1/NR5A2 activity and ameliorates metabolic liver disease“, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. This work results from a collaboration with Prof. Thomas Brunner and colleagues at the University of Konstanz and other partner institutions. The study identifies the bacteria-derived fatty acid vaccenic acid as a novel activator of the nuclear receptor LRH-1, revealing a new mechanism through which the gut microbiota can influence host metabolism and ameliorate metabolic liver disease in a preclinical model. [Read more]

Miriam gave a plenary lecture at the GDCh Conference on Inorganic Chemistry in Jena. The conference brought together researchers from across the inorganic chemistry community and provided a wonderful setting for scientific exchange, inspiring discussions, and catching up with colleagues. Following an exciting program of lectures, Miriam presented a talk entitled “Hydrothermal Synthesis as a Platform Method for Materials Chemistry” and enjoyed a lively discussion with the audience afterwards. [Read more]

After two months in our lab, the time has come to say goodbye to Kuzey! During his Erasmus+ internship, Kuzey worked together with Celine on the synthesis and processing of waterborne high-performance polymers, concluding his time with us by presenting his project and the work he carried out during his stay. [Read more]

We are happy to welcome Joël, who joined the lab for a research internship. His project explores synthetic strategies toward molecules designed to target liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1). Joël is currently pursuing his master’s degree in chemistry at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. We are very happy to have him with us and wish him a great and productive time in the lab! [Read more]

We are pleased to share that both Rafael and Elisha successfully defended their Bachelor’s theses. Rafael presented his work entitled “Towards Polypyrrone-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks”, while Elisha presented her thesis “Polyimide-Intercalated MnO₂ via Chemical Oxidation Strategies”. Both did a great job presenting their research and engaging in the subsequent scientific discussion. [Read more]

What if students could explore crystal structures not only on a page or screen, but walk around them, rotate them, scale them, and investigate them together in augmented reality? A new peer-reviewed book chapter by Timon Saatzer, Sabrina Syskowski, Miriam M. Unterlass, and Johannes Huwer presents the results of an exploratory study on the use of head-mounted augmented reality (AR) in solid-state chemistry teaching. [Read more]