Research Profile

The Leibniz Institute for Catalysis at the University of Rostock (LIKAT) is the largest publicly funded research institute in the field of applied catalysis in Europe. The main areas of interest of the LIKAT are homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Our expertise involves method development as well as application engineering.

Research Departments

The research is organized in the following Research Departments:

Applied Homogeneous Catalysis (Prof. Matthias Belller)
Coordination Chemistry and Catalysis (Prof. Uwe Rosenthal)
Asymmetric Catalysis (Prof. Armin Börner)
Catalytic in situ studies ( Prof. Angelika Brückner)
Heterogeneous Catalytic Processes (PD Dr. habil. Andreas Martin)
Process Intensification and Inorganic Synthesis (Prof. Bernhard Lücke)
Catalyst Discovery and Reaction Engineering (Dr. David Linke)
Renewables (Prof. Udo Kragl)
Materials Design (Prof. Axel Schulz)
Catalysis and Organic Synthesis (Prof. Peter Langer)
Vibrational Spectroscopy in Catalysis (Prof. Ralf Ludwig)

Topics of Research

The Research Departments are subdivided in several Topics of Research. Herein under the guidance of a group leader several scientists are conducting research.

Explorative Projects

In some Research Departments research is performed on Explorative Projects. In this context a project leader is supervising the exploration of new projects and ideas that are lying beyond the original research program.

Catalysis – a Key to Sustainability

Catalysis is the science of accelerating chemical transformations. In general, easy available starting materials are converted to more complex molecules with versatile applications. These conversions enable a large range of products for different industries, as well as products that can be used directly in the fields of health, environment, and nutrition. Catalysts ensure that reactions proceed with high efficiency, high yield, and avoid unwanted by-products. Importantly, they often allow for a more economical production compared to classical stoichiometric procedures.

Over the course of their synthesis more than 80 percent of all chemical products come into contact with catalysts, thus catalysts are indispensable for the needs of today’s society. Consequently, they are a key factor to sustainability and profitability of chemical production processes.