Double doctoral success at ZBT

Sebastian Hirt was the first to defend his thesis, which also marks a special chapter in the institute’s history. His dissertation is one of the last research projects conducted by ZBT in the field of battery technology, as this focus area has since undergone a strategic realignment. This makes it all the more gratifying to conclude this chapter with an outstanding doctoral thesis.

In his work, Sebastian investigated lithium-sulphur batteries as a potentially more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion systems. The focus was on the so-called polysulphide shuttle mechanism – a key challenge for this technology, which has limited the service life of the cells to date. By developing and analysing various approaches to suppressing undesirable side reactions, he made an important contribution to improving cell stability. The examination board was impressed by the scientific quality of the thesis as well as the clearly structured and vividly presented lecture.

Just a few days later, Viktor Mackert followed with his successful defence. His doctoral research, which he had already begun before joining the ZBT, is dedicated to fundamental questions about nanoparticles in dispersions and colloidal systems. The focus was on agglomeration mechanisms and strategies for avoiding them, as well as the electrophoretic deposition of particles on material surfaces. For his experimental investigations, Viktor used three different synchrotron light sources, among other things, to precisely analyse processes and structures.