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]

For our annual group excursion, we swapped the lab for the Franconian countryside and hiked around 10 km from Würzburg to Veitshöchheim. After a well-earned picnic together, the afternoon was spent exploring the palace gardens, playing minigolf, and enjoying the sunshine before taking the boat back to Würzburg along the Main. [Read more]

We are happy to share that Daniel successfully presented his Bachelor’s thesis entitled “Synthesis and characterization of core-substituted perinones as functional pillars for layered metal oxide frameworks.” We thank Daniel for his contributions to the project and wish him every success in his future academic and professional endeavors.

We are delighted to welcome Kuzey Önçeken to the UnterlassLAB. Kuzey is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Türkiye. He joined our group for an internship in late June 2026 as part of the Erasmus+ Program. In his project, Kuzey works with Celine Kuchler on the synthesis and characterization of waterborne high-performance coatings. [Read more]

Our latest publication is now available as a ChemRxiv preprint. In this work, we present a classroom-friendly approach to hydrothermal synthesis that introduces students to green chemistry using only water as the reaction medium and a standard kitchen pressure cooker. The study combines sustainable organic synthesis with key concepts such as cyclocondensation reactions, the properties of high-temperature water, and the quantitative assessment of reaction greenness using the EcoScale. [Read more]

We recently welcomed Prof. Dr. Nick Virgilio from École Polytechnique Montréal as a Guest Professor at the Chair of Chemical Technology of Materials Synthesis at Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg. During his visit, Prof. Virgilio engaged in scientific discussions with PhD students from our group and with scientist from the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC, fostering exchanges on current topics in polymer science and materials engineering. [Read more]

We are thrilled to welcome Elisha and Raphael, who joined the group in April to work on their Bachelor theses. Elisha works on the synthesis layered metal oxide-based inorganic-organic hybrid materials, while Rafael’s work focuses on covalent organic frameworks. We are very happy to welcome both and wish them lots of successful materials syntheses! [Read more]

We are inviting applications for a MSc research internship in organic chemistry at the Chair of Chemical Technology of Materials Synthesis, Julius Maximlian University of Würzburg. This project focuses on the synthesis of novel small molecules targeting Liver Receptor Homolog-1 (LRH-1), a biologically important protein involved in metabolism, inflammation, and cancer-related signaling pathways. [Read more]

Celine, Florian and Frank recently performed XAS measurements at the DESY (Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron) in Hamburg, Germany. The experiments focused on analyzing the local structure and electronic properties of their samples using synchrotron radiation. The beamtime allowed the team to collect high-quality data and further advance their ongoing research. In addition, the stay at DESY provided a good opportunity for exchange and hands-on experience with synchrotron-based techniques. [Read more]