12.12.2024
International
The German Research Foundation has awarded Dr Tim M. Schwarz, postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (MPI-SusMat), the Walter Benjamin Grant. This will enable him to advance his research to understand the corrosion of magnesium alloys.
Magnesium alloys are promising candidates for bioresorbable implants that dissolve by themselves and do not have to be surgically removed, unlike implants made of titanium or steel. Until now, however, magnesium alloys have not been used as implants because they corrode quickly and unpredictably. This is precisely where a new research group at the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (MPI-SusMat), set up by Dr Tim Schwarz, comes in. The postdoctoral researcher was honoured with the Walter Benjamin Grant, which supports projects with intellectual and scientific depth in various disciplines.
Near-atomic analysis of materials
"This prize will allow me to apply the microscopy method I advanced during my PhD to explore the corrosion mechanism at the liquid-solid interface of magnesium alloys that hold great potential as implant materials, if their corrosion behaviour is further understood and can be controlled," says Schwarz. Solid-liquid interfaces are critical to improving the properties of materials in applications ranging from battery electrodes and catalytic reactions to biomedical implants. However, the capabilities to analyse these processes in-situ at the liquid-solid interface with high local and chemical resolution are very limited and hinder the development of new materials with improved properties.
With atom probe tomography, Schwarz’s method now enables the analysis of frozen liquids and the liquid-solid interface at near-atomic resolution. The next critical step he aims to develop in his project is the ability to analyse the influence of different alloying elements and electrolytes on the reactive interfaces between liquids and solids in real-time.
The Walter Benjamin Grant provides early-career postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to conduct an independent research project of their choice, with funding for the group leader’s position over a two-year period.
Featured photo: Max-Planck-Institut für Nachhaltige Materialien GmbH