Thank you again for the interview – what perfect timing on the day of the 2026 Nobel Prize for Chemistry announcement! 👏

We had the opportunity to talk to Ben Feringa, the 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry, at the SusMax Workshop in Berlin. @feringalab.bsky.social He talks about originality in research, interdisciplinary networks like SusMax, and the molecular design challenges behind sustainable materials. ⬇️⬇️

We were delighted to welcome Prof Colm Delaney from Trinity College Dublin to our Institute for a talk on direct laser writing! He showed how focused laser light can be used to build complex three-dimensional structures with features down to the nanoscale. Thank you, Colm, for the great exchange! 👏

Congratulations to Rumiana Dimova for receiving the Agnes Pockels Award! 👏👏

Ana herself says about the award: “I believe the award is a collective achievement resulting from the hard work of the entire team, so congratulations to all of us! I'm especially thankful to my supervisor Dr. Vera Marie Titze and Prof. Silvia Vignolini for their constant guidance and support!” 👏

In vitro, the spectral phasor analysis approach also showed higher precision than standard post-processing methods. This allows to estimate the contributions of polymers and water, and measure the partitioning of molecules inside droplets without relying on destructive sample preparation.

Under a microscope, biomolecular condensates look like tiny droplets. But what exactly is inside them? 🧫 A new paper in Advanced Science presents a label-free approach combining Raman spectroscopy and spectral phasor analysis to map the chemical composition of biomolecular condensates in situ. ⬇️⬇️

The result is visible to the naked eye: a striking range of colours, from rusty red and turquoise green, reminiscent of copper roofs, to deep blue. The colours arise from changes in the chemical environment and electronic structure of the metal complexes, which affect how they absorb light.

It shows iron and copper catalysts used in photochemical reactions and, together, their different colours almost look like a rainbow. By adding small molecules, called ligands, which bind to the metal atoms, the researchers can deliberately tune the properties of the catalysts.

Science Picture of the Month September 🌈 This colourful image was taken by Maik Rosentreter, who is currently an intern in Charlotte Teschers research group, “Organofluorine Chemistry and Innovative Catalysis Paradigms”, in the Department of Biomolecular Systems. ⬇️⬇️

It was a pleasure to welcome @ahugumrah.bsky.social from the University of Manchester. 👏 She explored how beetles create striking optical effects, such as vivid colours, through precisely organised structures rather than pigments, and how studying these structures can inspire new photonic materials.