Our group

Our group

The Surface Science Laboratory was founded in 1997 as one of the first divisions in the newly founded Materials Science Department at TU Darmstadt and was headed by Prof. Dr. Wolfram Jaegermann until March 2020. Since April 2020, Prof. Dr. Jan Philipp Hofmann is leading the Surface Science Laboratory.
Our research is oriented towards the fundamental understanding of energy materials and devices. We study the energetics, structure, and (dynamic) processes at surfaces and interfaces of materials used in electrolysers, solar cells, and batteries. For this, we use integrated ultrahigh vacuum systems which combine different thin film preparation techniques and surface analysis tools. Next to vacuum experiments, we aim at understanding materials and devices during operation under realistic conditions using advanced spectroscopic and structural methods.