Functional Materials

Soft Matter Science is located at the interface between physics, chemistry, and biology, where novel and fascinating research areas are emerging and interdisciplinary approaches are required. Systems belonging to the field of soft matter range from biological macromolecules and their function in life science to industrial colloids that are produced in millions of tons. Investigations of the structure and dynamics of these systems provide a major challenge inasmuch as their typical sizes are located between the atomistic scale as e.g. in the case of proteins and the macroscopic scale going up to dimensions of a cell. The dynamic range is equally impressive since it goes from nanoseconds to hours. Scattering methods are uniquely suited to analyze soft matter systems in a comprehensive way. Thus, methods as e.g. small-angle neutron or X-ray scattering have become indispensable tools in the field of soft matter science. The Institute of Soft Matter and Functional Materials (F-I2) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), founded in 2009, is devoted to the basic understanding and possible applications of colloidal and nanoscopic systems, of protein structure and function, and of complete cellular compartments. A main focus of our institute is th