As part of the EIZ structural transformation project, my research targets the global challenge of greenhouse gas emissions. I investigate the conversion of CO₂ into methane and methanol by designing and optimizing high-performance catalysts. My goal is to bridge the gap between fundamental surface studies and scalable industrial applications to reduce the global carbon footprint.

My research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms of CO₂ activation in epitaxially grown cerium-based oxides on metallic single crystals, and on the relationships among structure, doping, oxide-metal interactions, and reducibility, using a multi-method approach. These methods include advanced microscopy – LEEM (Low-Energy Electron Microscopy), PEEM (Photoemission Electron Microscopy), STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscopy) –, diffraction – LEED (Low-Energy Electron Diffraction) – , and core-level electronic spectroscopies – XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy), UPS (Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy), ARPES (Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy), XAS (X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy). Additionally, I have led five experimental proposals for beamtime at international synchrotrons (BESSY II, ALBA, ELETTRA) and the CERIC-ERIC center. The combination of all these different techniques allows to investigate the relationship between structure and reactivity, combining experiments in UHV and operando conditions.

I am actively participating in teaching activities for both the BSc and MSc degrees in Physics. This includes mandatory seminars in the bachelor's, like “Writing in English” (2h/week), and the master’s, like “Seminar Applied Spectroscopy and Microscopy” (2h/week) and “Seminar Advanced Seminar Experimental Physics” (2h/week), as well as core lectures, like “Angewandte Physik (Materialanalytik)” (4h/week) in the BSc. Furthermore, this year I have been responsible for part of the “Nanocatalysis” course in the master's (2 h/week).