image: David Scheschkewitz, spokesperson of the new Research Training Group Ec=m2
Credit: Saarland University/Thorsten Mohr
Everything in the world is chemistry. All materials are composed of atoms, whose positively charged nuclei are surrounded by a greater or lesser number of negatively charged electrons. 'A covalent bond is nothing more than an electrostatic interaction between atoms that is mediated by electrons,' explained Professor David Scheschkewitz. 'In essence, chemistry is the science of moving negatively charged electrons in a controlled way in order to change, break or create new bonds,’ said Scheschkewitz, who holds the chair in general and inorganic chemistry at Saarland University. Everything else that makes up the allegedly complex scientific discipline of chemistry can be derived from this one fundamental underlying principle. And this principle can be found at work throughout nature, where atoms are linked together by covalent bonds to form the vast array of molecules that comprise much of the living and non-living material in our world.
By contributing funding to thirteen research groups from three departments in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology at Saarland University, the new Research Training Group Ec=m2 (‘Engineering Covalent Bonds in Molecules and Materials’), whose spokesperson is Prof. Scheschkewitz, provides an excellent research environment for future generations of doctoral students interested in understanding how strong covalent bonds can be modified in novel ways.
'We've known about covalent bonds for more than 100 years. And for most of that period, the strength of a covalent bond was thought to be only modifiable to a slight degree because the forces holding the atoms together were considered simply too great. So, for a long period, the chemical research aimed at developing new materials with novel properties tended to focus on weaker forms of bonding,' explained David Scheschkewitz. However, over the last two decades it has become increasingly apparent within chemical science that the strength of covalent bonds can indeed be manipulated.
'This insight forms the starting point for our Research Training Group (RTG), where doctoral students will be undertaking research that aims to give us a better understanding of covalent bonding and the factors that influence its stability. Ec=m2 will be a research environment that equips young scientists with the tools and methods they will need in their later careers,' said Scheschkewitz. The research conducted in the new RTG will add another promising approach to the design of novel materials. This approach could, for example, be used to create and develop materials with specific magnetic, electrical or optical properties.
Saarland University President, Ludger Santen, was also very enthusiastic about the news: 'Establishing this new Research Training Group at Saarland University is testament to the longstanding research excellence and quality of the academic teaching at the Department of Chemistry. My congratulations to our colleagues in the chemistry department and the other participating disciplines on this outstanding success.’
The new RTG will receive around €6.3 million in funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG). The funding, which starts in April 2025, is for an initial period of five years. The DFG grant should enable twenty doctoral research positions to be funded. The decision to extend funding for an additional four years will be made by the DFG towards the end of the first funding period.