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Welcome! Prof. Raphaële Clément will join our institute as the new Director of the Department of Electrochemical Materials, starting July 1, 2026. With her outstanding expertise in solid-state chemistry and energy storage, she brings exciting new perspectives to our research community. We are proud and thrilled to welcome her to the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research!

Institute building of the MPI-FKF with the precision laboratory, photographed from across the lake so that the institute is reflected in the water.

Internationally connected – locally rooted At the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research on the outskirts of Stuttgart, scientists from around the world explore the materials of the future.

Collage of various photos showing experiments and scientists.

Understanding materials. Shaping the future.
From batteries and superconductors to next-generation electronics, our scientists explore how the tiniest building blocks of solids—metals, ceramics, and crystals—determine their unique properties. At the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, we investigate matter at the nanoscale to unlock the potential of tomorrow’s technologies.

Photo of Prof. bettina Lotsch, being awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award of the DFG. In her hand she is holding a 3d-printed model of a cov molecule.

We are delighted to congratulate Professor Dr. Bettina Valeska Lotsch, Director of the Nanochemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, on receiving the 2025 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize.

Artistic representation of the experimental setup for the quantum Hall effect, accompanied by lab notebook entries and Klaus von Klitzing’s Nobel Prize medal.

The quantum Hall effect was discovered in 1980 by Klaus von Klitzing at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. It occurs when electrons move through extremely thin semiconductor layers at very low temperatures and under strong magnetic fields. Under these conditions, an astonishing phenomenon emerges: electrical resistance does not change continuously, but in precise, quantized steps—always a multiple of a fundamental constant.
This quantization is so exact that it now serves as the basis for defining the electrical unit ohm. The discovery was not only a breakthrough in fundamental physics but also revolutionized precision measurement—earning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1985.

Research News

Collection of graphs illustrating hydrogen and deuterium uptake at sites 1 and 2, across temperatures 30 K and 60 K, with cell volume analysis.

Breaking Barriers in Hydrogen Isotope Separation

July 11, 2025

X-Ray Diffraction

A team of researchers from Tohoku University, Max Planck Institute, and international collaborators has unveiled a new material that could transform how we separate hydrogen isotopes — a process…

A laser interacts with a graphene lattice, creating wave patterns and electronic effects.

Catching hot electrons in a single molecule

May 28, 2025

Quantum Microscopy and Dynamics

Efficiently utilizing the hot carriers – electrons and holes whose energy distribution deviates significantly from the equilibrium distribution, is the key to a broad range of emerging applications…

A battery filled with molecules floats in water. Light shines down from above, revealing chemical structures. Three smaller batteries emit lightning bolts.

Sunlight in – power out, long after sunset

May 20, 2025

Nanochemistry Solar Batteries

Researchers develop a high-capacity solar battery based on a porous organic material storing solar energy for hours

Unveiling the relationship between charge order and the pseudogap in a homogeneous high-temperature superconductor

April 17, 2025

Solid State Spectroscopy

Our team at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, has uncovered a…

When p orbitals do the wave

April 09, 2025

Quantum Materials

Scanning tunneling microscopy visualizes signatures of p-orbital texture in the charge-density-wave state of the topological semimetal candidate CeSbTe

Nanoscale Mapping of Magnetic Auto-Oscillations with a Single Spin Sensor

February 07, 2025

Nanoscale Science Quantum Sensing

Spin Hall nano-oscillators convert DC to magnetic auto-oscillations in the microwave regime. Current research on these and similar devices is dedicated to creating next-generation energy-efficient…

Advancing Porous Material Design: The Fusion of Metal-Organic and Covalent Organic Frameworks

January 27, 2025

Nanochemistry

Nat. Synth (2025)

January 27, 2025

Nanochemistry

Electrical transport and simultaneous x-ray (neutron) scattering. Schematic of the experimental setup for in situ scattering and resistance measurements. The samples are placed in an atmosphere-controlled chamber connected to a vacuum pump and gas mixtures.

Understanding the Role of Hydrogen and Oxygen in Electronic Phase Changes of Nickelates

January 14, 2025

Solid State Spectroscopy

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. This makes it attractive for use in sustainable technologies, such as energy storage and fuel cells, but also in novel electronic components. In…

World's first center for solar batteries

December 08, 2024

Nanochemistry Solar Batteries

The world's first center for solar batteries and optoionic technologies is being established in Bavaria. The Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Society (MPG) have set the course…