内容简介：
【简介】 The Faculty of Chemistry has a rich history in both teaching and research. The beginnings of chemistry in Heidelberg can be traced back more than 200 years.
With Leopold Gmelin, whose name is familiar to every chemist from his namesake reference books that have been continued to this day, chemistry became an independent subject here in 1817. Even better known is his successor, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, who established the fame of the University of Heidelberg in the 19th century with respect to natural sciences by spectacular inventions (Bunsen burner, water aspirator) and discoveries (spectral analysis), together with physicists like Gustav Kirchhoff and Hermann Helmholtz.
A distinguishied series of researchers (Victor Meyer, Theodor Curtius, Karl Freudenberg) leads to the more recent era of Georg WITTIG, awarded the chemistry Nobel Prize in 1979 for his work on organometallic chemistry and the discoverer of the chemical reaction named after him, and to Hermann Schildknecht, a pioneer in the area of chemical ecology. Besides these individuals, there were always younger faculty members who contributed to the fame of the University as well. These include August Krekulé, who laid the foundations for aromaticity in organic chemistry, Walter Hieber, the father of carbonyl chemistry and Karl Ziegler, the discoverer of the polymerisation process named after him.
The Faculty of Chemistry divides its teaching into the subject categories of inorganic, organic, physical and biological chemistry. The intense research activity of the Faculty is reflected in its external funding, which at present amounts to over 13.5 million marks per year.
Although chemistry is a highly developed science, there are still many open questions and unattained goals, and no universal pathway exists for resolving the problems they pose. Answering these questions and finding ways to these goals is the motivation of work in chemistry. Both laboratory and computaional experiments are essential for the understanding of basic principles. Quantum mechanics, especially for studying molecular dynamics, and classical procedures of modelling are of special importance and the Centre of Interdisciplinary Scientific Computing provides a synergistic forum for collaboration. Although basic research is emphasised by the Faculty, numerous practical applications are addressed. One of the central topics is catalysis, which is of great economic importance for the tailored synthesis of molecules as well as the optimisation of desired characteristics. The development of catalysts involves organometallic synthesis, organic synthesis, modelling and issues of chemica l physics it closely connects the different groups of the Faculty with one another. Catalysis research also functions as a connection with the Karlsruhe Research Centre.
Another research area aimed towards applications is the combination of metals with organic moieties. This way, chains can be formed which allow the transport of charge in one dimension on the atomic scale. They can be regarded as molecular wires. Additionally, research is done in Heidelberg on stereoselective synthesis of active compounds, photochemical reactions in crystals and the physical organic chemistry of cage compounds and fullerenes.
Organic molecules can be attached to metal surfaces in a controlled manner, so that often structures with highly unusual characteristics form at the interface. The methods of surface analysis serve to study these characteristics. Their understanding is essential for heterogeneous catalysis and studying sensors. One application is for example the deposition of hydrocarbons on surfaces so that diamond, and not soot or graphite, forms. Tethering organic and biological molecules to surfaces leads to sensors which directly transform chemical signals into electrical signals. The field of surface chemistry is also studied in Heidelberg. Another important chemical reaction with respect to commerce and the environment is combustion, which produces hundreds of substances in a short period of time, many of which disappear again insofar as the combustion is complete. Understanding the chemical details of combustion is the prerequisite for optimising efficiency. With the advent of laser analysis a nd numerical modelling methods this understanding has now come within reach. Many Faculty members strive together for new insights and technical applications.
The Faculty has 22 professors and 136 staff scientists looking after more than 600 students.
