Research Profile

Our research is devoted to the development of advanced organic materials based on functional dyes such as perylene and naphthalene bisimides, merocyanines, squaraines, chlorins and diketopyrrolopyrroles by employing supramolecular approaches. Towards this objective, we design and synthesize novel molecular building blocks and explore their self-assembly into nanoscale architectures and liquid-crystalline and crystalline solid-state materials that are applied in (opto-)electronic and photovoltaic devices as well as in photocatalytic water splitting.

 

Key Publications

M. A. Niyas et al., Nature 2025, 637, 854–859: Bilayer nanographene reveals halide permeation through a benzene hole.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08299-8

L. Ernst et al., Nature Chemistry 2025, 17, 767–776: Photoinduced stepwise charge hopping in π-stacked perylene bisimide donor–bridge– acceptor arrays.
DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-01770-7

M. Schulze et al., Nature Chem. 2016, 8, 576-583: A Supramolecular ruthenium macrocycle with high catalytic activity for water oxidation that mechanistically mimics photosystem II.
DOI:10.1038/nchem.2503

 CV of Prof. Dr. Frank Würthner

since 2010 Director of the Center for Nanosystems Chemistry, University of Würzburg
since 2002 Chair Professor, Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Würzburg
1997-2001 Habilitation, University of Ulm
1995-1996 BASF Central Research Laboratories, Ludwigshafen
1994-1995 Feodor Lynen postdoctoral fellow (AvH), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge/MA (USA)
1993 Dr. rer. nat. (Organic Chemistry), University of Stuttgart

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Frank Würthner
Phone: +49 931 31-85340
Fax:      +49 931 31-84756
frank.wuerthner@uni-wuerzburg.de