Andreas Schnepf

Prof. Dr. Andreas Schnepf is a W3-Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Tübingen, where he leads the AG Schnepf research group within the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science. His office is located at Auf der Morgenstelle 18, Room 9 A 04, in Tübingen, Germany.

His research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of metalloid cluster compounds, particularly those of Germanium, Tin, and Gold. His group explores:

• Synthesis chemistry of metalloid cluster compounds of Germanium and Tin
• Template-guided syntheses of nanostructured Germanium and Tin
• Development of synthesis reagents based on Si(II) and Si(I) halogenides
• Reactivity of metalloid clusters for building new materials
• Synthesis of metalloid, nano-scaled Gold, Silver, and Copper cluster compounds

Prof. Schnepf's research provides fundamental insights into the borderland between molecules and solid-state metals at the nanoscale. His work on metalloid clusters reveals novel bonding situations and structures that bridge molecular compounds and bulk metals. The group's preparative co-condensation technique enables access to metastable precursors essential for cluster synthesis.

His recent publications (2025) demonstrate expertise across multiple subfields of inorganic chemistry, with a strong focus on cluster chemistry and nanomaterials. These works reveal trends in synthesizing geometrically complex metal clusters and understanding their bonding and reactivity patterns, particularly for gold and germanium systems.

Notable scientific contributions include:

• Development of the preparative co-condensation technique for synthesizing metastable solutions
• Synthesis of novel metalloid clusters of group 14 elements
• Establishment of synthetic routes to multishell metalloid gold clusters
• Investigations into the reactivity of metalloid clusters for building new materials

Prof. Schnepf has supervised numerous PhD students to completion, including Lars Preißing (2022), Florian Fetzer (2021), Tanja Kunz (2021), and Sebastian Kenzler (2020). His research group currently includes Dr. Claudio Schrenk, Roman Kimmich, Markus Strienz, Sabrina Jeltsch, and several other researchers working on various aspects of metalloid cluster chemistry.

The AG Schnepf research group operates specialized equipment including co-condensation plants (in hanging and standing variants), Schlenk lines, gloveboxes for handling solids and solvents, UV-VIS spectrometers, and Zetasizer/DLS instruments essential for handling air-sensitive compounds and characterizing nanoscale materials.