Molecular Photonics
Prof. Dr. Benjamin DIETZEK
Prof. Benjamin Dietzek-Ivansic.
Prof. Dr. Benjamin DIETZEK-IVANSIC
Email: benjamin.dietzek@uni-jena.de
Phone: + 49 3641-948360
Benjamin Dietzek-Ivansic, FRSC, is professor of Physical Chemistry, head of the research department Functional Interfaces and Deputy Scientific Director at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology. He is a member of the executive board of the Abbe School of Photonics and member of the Board of Directors of the Jena Center for Soft Matter. He is cospokesperson of the SFB/TRR 234 CATALIGHT and chair of the ITN LOGICLAB.
Research Areas
Prof. Dietzek-Ivansic’s research in the field of molecular photonics focuses on understanding the relationship between structure, photoinduced dynamics and the function of molecules and molecular materials, including:
- Electron transfer reactions in molecules in solution and in molecule-bulk interfaces
- Photoinduced processes in drugs for photodynamic therapy and molecular sensors
- Photoinduced processes in molecular sensors
- Photophysics underlying molecular photocatalytic water-splitting
- Developing experimental tools to characterize structural and electronic intermediates in (photo)catalytic cycles and the impact of local environment on the photophysics of molecules
Teaching Fields
Benjamin Dietzek-Ivansic is actively involved in the education of young developing researchers. His teaching includes classes in:
- Physical Chemistry
- Molecular Spectroscopy
Research Methods
Prof. Dietzek-Ivansic’s group uses a variety of spectroscopic methods to study the photoinduced function-determining processes in molecules and molecular materials:
- Ultrafast time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy spectroelectrochemistry
- Time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy
- Resonance-Raman spectroelectrochemistry
- Ultrafast pump-probe microscopy
- Vibrational sum-frequency generation
- Time-resolved EPR spectroscopy
The group has recently been working on the photophysical mechanisms underlying structural changes in light-responsive polymer nanocarriers for target drug release. This work is performed in the context of the SFB 1278 POLY TARGET. Here we could demonstrate low-intensity upconversion in a noble-metal free polymer [1]. Furthermore, we investigated the photoacidity and photostability of a new class of naphtol-based polyermic photoacids [2, 3]. In collaboration with the Schacher group we investigated the impact of the local polymer environment on the light-activated reactivity of polymer-integrated photobases as a novel material to device light-responsive polymer nanostructures [4].
[1] Sittig et al., Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys. 22, 4072 (2020).
[2] Wendler et al., Macromol. Rapid Commun. 41, 1900607 (2020).
[3] Wendler et al., Chem. Eur. J. 26, 2365 (2020).
[4] Sittig et al., Chem. Eur. J. 27, 1072 (2020).