Research Interests

Astro- and Prebiotic Chemistry

Many reactive molecules have already been detected in the interstellar medium by microwave spectroscopy. A particularly less explored compound class are reactive imines, which are often short-lived under ambient terrestrial conditions but can be stabilized by the low temperatures and pressures in space. In interstellar environments, imines can form efficiently via barrierless gas-phase reactions and through UV-driven photochemistry in icy grain mantles. Because imines are key intermediates on chemical pathways toward more complex, biologically relevant compounds, understanding their formation, stability, and reactivity helps to constrain how prebiotic reaction networks may have operated in space and how they could have contributed to the chemical inventory of the early Earth.

Selected publications:

Reactive Intermediates and Matrix Isolation Spectroscopy

Reactive intermediates play a key role in virtually every chemical reaction. Understanding their stability and reactivity is essential for elucidating reaction mechanisms and for the rational fine-tuning of chemical transformations. Typical highly reactive intermediates include carbenes, radicals, and nitrenes, which can be trapped at cryogenic temperatures and investigated by matrix-isolation spectroscopy. In addition, we study reactive species in para-H2 matrices, where quantum solvation effects provide a uniquely gentle, weakly perturbing environment that enable high-resolution spectroscopy. To access electronic structure and spin dynamics directly, we developed and build a unique matrix isolation EPR spectroscopy experiment, which can be used with para-H2 matrices, complementing optical and vibrational methods and allowing a detailed characterization of paramagnetic intermediates under well-defined cryogenic conditions.

Selected publications:

Chemical Reactivity and Physical (In)Organic Chemistry

For a comprehensive understanding of chemical reactivity, experimental observations must be combined with and benchmarked against theory. Today, high-level computations for small molecules are highly reliable and often go hand in hand with experimental physical-organic measurements. At cryogenic temperatures, quantum-mechanical tunneling can dominate the reactivity of light particles and may even determine chemical selectivity. We investigate such effects not only in conventional low-temperature environments, but in particular in para-H2 matrices, where quantum solvation effects provide an exceptionally weakly perturbing setting to probe intrinsic reaction dynamics.

Selected publications:

Phosphorus Chemistry

Elemental phosphorus mainly exists in two allotropes, white and red phosphorus, and is not found as a free element on Earth because of its high reactivity. Yet phosphorus is essential for life, largely through phosphates (PO43−), which are key components of DNA, RNA, ATP, and phospholipids.
Air and moisture sensitive phosphorus species can be prepared under inert nitrogen or argon atmospheres using Schlenk techniques or directly inside a glovebox and analyzed by 31P NMR spectroscopy as well as in single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. Motivated by the fact that phosphorus-bearing molecules (e.g., PN or PO) have been detected in space while often being inaccessible or unstable under standard laboratory conditions on Earth, we target the synthesis of simple phosphorus-containing molecules of astrochemical relevance, and we investigate their spectroscopic signatures and reactivity as model systems for phosphorus chemistry in cold interstellar environments.
Selected publications: