Fascinating phenomena emerge on surfaces of both artificial materials and biological organisms: properties of matter change, reactivity increases, and multifunctional traits arise when materials interact with their external environment.
The SPIS lab studies surface energy conversion, spontaneous charging, physico-chemical interactions, catalytic reactions, and photoreactions like plasmonic effects. Our aim is to bridge the gap between the fundamental understanding of surface effects and their potential in integrated applied systems like robotics as well as in natural processes.
We focus particularly on spontaneous charging processes through liquid and solid contact electrification on artificial materials and on biological surfaces like plant leaves. We investigate how to analyze, how to tune the effects for example through surface functionalization, and how to exploit them as electrical and chemical energy source. Our goal is to develop bioinspired and biohybrid integrated systems, such as soft robots and sensors capable of using wind and rain as reliable micropower sources, and to understand how nature itself copes with charging processes and their consequences.
Our work requires crossing fields and fostering new technology at the forefront of science. Please contact us if you are interested in joining or visiting our group.

Our research has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the  Horizon Europe (HORIZON) research programme (project EpiC, ID: 101124721).