chemistry

Maximilian Fichtner

Maximilian Fichtner is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Maximilian Fichtner rather than just read about it. In short: Maximilian Fichtner (born 1961 in Heidelberg, Germany) is professor for Solid-State Chemistry at the University of Ulm and executive director of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm for Electrochemical Energy Storage (HIU). Education Fichtner was educated in Food Chemistry and Chemistry at the University of Karlsruhe, where he was awarded by the Diploma in Chemistry.

Key takeaways

Maximilian Fichtner belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Maximilian Fichtner from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Maximilian Fichtner (born 1961 in Heidelberg, Germany) is professor for Solid-State Chemistry at the University of Ulm and executive director of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm for Electrochemical Energy Storage (HIU).

Education Fichtner was educated in Food Chemistry and Chemistry at the University of Karlsruhe, where he was awarded by the Diploma in Chemistry. In 1992, he received the Ph.D. in Chemistry/Surface Science with distinction and the Hermann Billing Award for his thesis. In the thesis he developed a novel method for a spatially resolved speciation of beam-sensitive salts by SIMS. With the method he analysed the surface composition of atmospheric salt aerosol particles and contributed to the current climate model.

Career Following his PhD, Fichtner spent two years as a young researcher at the former Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center (KfK) and developed his method further so that it could be applied to organic materials also. In 1994, he became assistant to the board of directors of the Karlsruhe Research Center (FZK), in the area Basic Research and New Technologies, with Herbert Gleiter as director. In 1997, he left to build up a new activity on microprocess engineering, with a focus on heterogeneous catalysis in microchannels, for fuel processing (methanol steam reforming, partial oxidation of methane) and synthesis of chemicals. The group was eventually integrated in the new Institute for Microprocess Engineering in 2001. In 2000, he was offered a position at the new Institute of Nanotechnology, INT (Founding directors: Herbert Gleiter, Jean-Marie-Lehn, Dieter Fenske) to build up a new activity on nanoscale materials for energy storage. Since then, he is group leader there. In 2012, he received a call by the University of Ulm to become a professor (W3) in Solid State Chemistry, which he accepted in 2013. The position is connected to a function as group leader at the new Helmholtz Institute Ulm. Since 2015, he has been executive director of the institute. Fichtner has co-ordinated several EU projects and collaborative projects from the German ministries of Economy and Research and Education. He has been organizer of various symposia at MRS and GRC conferences, and he was Chair of the GORDON Research Conference on Metal-Hydrogen Systems in 2013 and of the 1st International Symposium on Magnesium Batteries (MagBatt) in 2016.

Research In his career, Fichtner worked on various topics, covering Theoretical Chemistry, Instrumental Analysis, Higher Administration, Chemical Engineering, Heterogeneous Catalysis, Hydrogen Storage, Electrochemistry and Battery Research. Pioneering achievements were the first measurements of salts with Secondary Neutral Mass Spectrometry, the development of a depth-resolved speciation of beam sensitive salts, a microstructure reactor which could safely burn and transfer the heat from a stoichiometric hydrogen-oxygen mixture to a thermo oil, thus demonstrating the enormous capability of running dangerous reactions in microstructure reactors safely. In the development of hydrogen storage materials, new complex hydride compounds were synthesized and investigated, the fasted charge and discharge of an aluminum hydride to date by a new Ti13 catalyst, first applied for that purpose by the Bogdanovig group of Max Planck Mülheim, was independently confirmed. Further work in this area was focused on elucidating nanoscale effects in energy materials and studies, based on pioneering work since the late 1990s by various groups from all over the world on hydrogen and the effects by nanostructures, of the change of thermodynamic properties of complex hydrides was conducted in his group. In battery research, new synthesis methods were developed to stabilize conversion materials, new types of batteries based on anionic shuttles were presented and new electrolytes were developed for magnesium properties with outstanding voltage windows and non-nucleophilic properties, making reversible Mg-S cells possible. Moreover, a new class of cathode materials is being studied with the highest packing densities for Li ions to date, the so-called Li-excess disordered rocksalt materials (DRX), developed by the Gerbrand Ceder group.

References

External links Maximilian Fichtner publications indexed by Google Scholar

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Maximilian Fichtner

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Maximilian Fichtner claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Maximilian Fichtner before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Maximilian Fichtner ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Maximilian Fichtner

In research: Maximilian Fichtner appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Maximilian Fichtner in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Maximilian Fichtner is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1961 births, 20th-century German chemists, 21st-century German chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Maximilian Fichtner outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Maximilian Fichtner in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Maximilian Fichtner means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Maximilian Fichtner out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Maximilian Fichtner in simple terms?

Why does Maximilian Fichtner matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Maximilian Fichtner?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Maximilian Fichtner.