Martin Muhler

Prof. Martin Muhler is a full professor of Industrial Chemistry at Ruhr-University Bochum and a Max Planck Fellow. His research focuses on heterogeneous redox catalysis, including selective oxidation/reduction, electrocatalysis, and photocatalysis. He leads the 'Heterogeneous Redox Catalysis' group, exploring catalyst design for applications in syngas, glycerol deoxygenation, and electrochemical reactions. Muhler has over 400 publications (h-index 51) and contributes to international catalysis societies like GeCatS and IACS. His work combines experimental catalysis with advanced characterization techniques like ATR-IR spectroscopy. Key affiliations include the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (CEC) and collaborations with Ruhr-University's Chemical Engineering department.

Education:

• B.Sc./M.Sc. Chemistry (1980–1986, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich)
• Ph.D. Physical Chemistry (1989, Free University Berlin under Prof. G. Ertl)
• Habilitation in Industrial Chemistry (1996, TU Berlin)

Research Interests: Development of efficient catalysts for redox reactions under mild conditions. Current projects include:

• Hydrodeoxygenation of glycerol to propanediols
• Selective oxidation of alcohols using Co spinels/perovskites
• Electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reactions
• Corrosion-resistant catalyst design

Publications Trends: Recent work emphasizes liquid-phase oxidation (e.g., cyclohexene, ethanol), electrocatalytic advances (e.g., Pd/NCNTs), and defect-engineered oxide catalysts. Studies utilize both batch and continuous reactor systems like the H-Cube Pro.

Grants/Advising: Active in funding initiatives for catalysis research; advises postdocs and PhD students on heterogeneous catalysis projects. Collaborates with industry (e.g., Haldor Topsoe) and academic partners like Prof. Wolfgang Schuhmann (Ruhr-University).

Labs/Teams: Leads the Max Planck Fellow group at CEC, part of the RESOLV excellence cluster studying solvation phenomena. Lab facilities include ATR-IR spectroscopy, Parr reactors, and microstructured electrochemical setups.