Season’s Greetings from the Kühnel Lab 🎄✨
The Kühnel Lab is wishing you a Merry Christmas🎄✨
Paper in ACS Sustainable Resource Management
Read our paper on a waste coffee-based photocatalyst for green hydrogen production
Welcome Michail
Michail starts a DAAD postdoc on hybrid photocatalysis
Paper in J Mater Chem A
Read our paper on an enzyme-carbon nanotube hybrid for green hydrogen production
Welcome João
João starts a DAAD postdoc on photocatalyst design
Humboldt Reloaded project announced
Apply for an undergraduate research project on helping plants grow with nanomaterials
Lab reshuffle
Taylor and Ellen join the lab, Zaid and Nils move on
Paper in Trends in Chemistry
Read our highlight paper on semiconductor-enzyme hybrid photocatalysis
Kühnel Lab at IMBG 2025
The Kühnel Lab visited Grenoble for the 9th International Conference of the Institute of Metals in Biology Grenoble (IMBG) 2025!
Happy Holidays
The Kühnel Lab is wishing you a Merry Christmas🎄✨
Welcome Atekelte
Atekelte starts a PhD in intensified photocatalysis
Welcome Fiona
Fiona starts a PhD in semiartificial photosynthesis
Paper in Nature Chemistry
Read our paper on turning CO2 into methane
Farewell Cem
Cem returns to Istanbul
Moritz gives introductory interview
Read about Moritz’s career and motivation
We are hiring
PhD position available (German speakers only)
Welcome Cem
Cem joins us from Istanbul for an internship
Moritz speaks at GdR Solar Fuels
Moritz gives a plenary lecture at the Solar Fuels meeting in Grenoble
Paper in Dalton Trans
Read Maite’s paper on MOF-based photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution
Welcome Linnea, Zegha and Zaid
It’s getting busy in the Kühnel Lab!
Our kit arrives
Our lab equipment is moved from Swansea to Hohenheim
Welcome Kai
Kai Brinschwitz joins us for his Master’s project
Bye-bye Swansea Lab
Our kit is ready for shipping to Hohenheim
Paper in ACS Sustainable Chem Eng
Read our paper on turning plastic waste and CO2 into formic acid
Moritz appointed as professor
Moritz accepts a permanent faculty position at the University of Hohenheim
Paper in ACS Sustainable Chem Eng
Read our paper on protecting photoanodes for H2 generation from wastewater
Moritz to speak at GRC
Moritz will give a talk at the Solar Fuels GRC in Ventura
Welcome Astha
Dr. Astha Singh joins us from IIT Mandi
Funding awarded
Kühnel Lab receives funding for a NAP-XPS
Moritz to speak at SCN Symposium
Moritz will give a talk at the Solar Chemicals Symposium in Liverpool
Paper highlighted
Michael’s hydrogenase paper highlighted
Moritz made Honorary Associate Professor
Moritz accepts a new role as honorary associate professor at Swansea University
Kühnel Lab moves to Germany
We are moving to the University of Hohenheim
Kühnel-Lab zieht nach Deutschland
Wir ziehen an die Universität Hohenheim
New domain names
Our new domains kuehnel-lab.de and kuehnel-lab.com have been registered
Posterpreis für Léonard
Posterpreis für Léonard bei der ISE Lyon
Léonard wins poster prize
Léonard wins Best Poster prize at ISE Lyon
Paper in I&EC Research
Read our paper on simultaneous H2 generation and wastewater treatment using photoelectrochemistry
Léonard passes first year viva
Congrats to Léonard for passing his CSI in Grenoble
Paper in J Environ Chem Eng
Read our paper on simultaneous H2 generation and pollutant degradation by photoelectrochemistry
Paper in Energies
Read our paper on large-scale testing of hydrogen techologies
Paper in Angewandte Chemie
Read Michael’s paper on making hydrogenase oxygen tolerant
Farewell Michael
Michael moves to University of Michigan
Paper in ACS Omega
Read our paper on low-cost photocatalysts for water treatment and hydrogen generation
Michael passes his viva
Congratulations to Michael for passing his PhD viva!
Funding awarded
HEFCW funds our collaboration with Nick Kornienko at Montreal
Older news
9 October 2022 – Paper in Energies accepted
Read our collaborative review about photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation from wastewater (link to paper).
1 October 2022 – Welcome Léonard
Léonard Olivotto joins the Kuehnel Lab as a joint PhD student with Alan Le Goff and Christine Cavazza at Université Grenoble Alpes and CEA Grenoble to study augmented chemical biology.
3 September 2022 – Paper in Chemosphere accepted
Read our collaborative work with the Pichaimuthu group at Heriot-Watt and Krishnan group at IIT Mandi on MXene/carbon nitride hybrids for pollutant degradation (link to paper, limited free access).
1 April 2022 – Welcome Maite
Maite Perfecto Irigaray joins the Kuehnel Lab as a visiting PhD student from Universidad del País Vasco.
24 January 2022 – Welcome Ellie and Anna
Ellie O’Neill and Anna Catton join the Kuehnel Lab for their BSc projects on solar hydrogen generation.
13 January 2022 – Fraunhofer IWES and IMWS join forces for hydrogen technology
The business unit Hydrogen at Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (IMWS) merges with the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES) (press release). Moritz is appointed Head of Department for the new department “Hydrogen Labs and Field Tests”.
30 November 2021 – Moritz speaks about green hydrogen
Watch moritz talk about green hydrogen at Technical University Munich (link to recording).
5 November 2021 – Welsh goverment funding awarded
The Kuehnel Lab is awarded funding from the Welsh Government to collaborate with Nick Kornienko‘s and Dominic Rochefort‘s labs at University of Montreal within the Quebec-Wales joint call for projects.
10 September 2021 – Michael presents at SFN meeting and wins a prize for his talk
Congrats to Michael for being awarded the Journal of Materials Chemistry A prize for his presentation at the 9th Solar Fuels Symposium!
31 August 2021 – Paper in Energy & Environmental Science accepted
Read Michael’s paper on making H2 generation oxygen tolerant through desinging tailored solvents with low O2 diffusivity (link to paper).
9 August 2021 – Video about our Pakistan collaborative work online
9 July 2021 – British Council funding awarded
Kuehnel Lab is awarded funding within the Reasearcher Links Workshop Grants programme to undertake joint research with Lahore University of Management Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University and University of the Punjab aiming to tackle the energy transition in Pakistan (read coverage of the workshop by British Council and The Express Tribune).
15 June 2021 – Green methanol project in Leuna
Moritz’s H2 technologies group at Fraunhofer IMWS starts a project at the Hydrogen Lab Leuna with TotalEnergies, Sunfire and Fraunhofer CBP on turning waste CO2 and green hydrogen into clean methanol on an industrial scale (Press release).
19 May 2021 – Moritz on Deutschlandradio Kultur
Listen to Moritz speaking about Hydrogen in Saxony-Anhalt (in German).
26 April 2021 – Paper in Sustainable Energy & Fuels accepted
Read our collaborative work with the Pitchaimuthu group on combining photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution with wastewater treatment (link to paper).
19 February 2021 – Paper in Advanced Powder Technology accepted
Read Martins’s paper on turning waste biomass into a functional material (link to paper).
8 January 2021 – HEFCW Funding awarded
Shopping time! – Kuehnel lab is awarded funding from the HEFCW – UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) to build up World Class Lab infrastructure.
22 December 2020 – Our work featured on BBC
1 December 2020 – Moritz appointed at Fraunhofer IMWS
Moritz takes up a part-time post as group leader for hydrogen technologies at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems.
23 November 2020 – Our research features in The Chemical Engineer
6 November 2020 – Michael awarded Global Wales Funding
Congratulations to Michael for receiving a Global Wales Research Mobility grant from Universities Wales to work with our collaborators at Grenoble.
8 October 2020 – Kuehnel Lab awarded Welsh Government Funding
Kuehnel Lab is awarded funding within the Sêr Cymru – Tackling COVID-19 Call to generate hydrogen from COVID waste (press release).
25 September 2020 – Moritz talks on Radio Swindon
Listen to Glynis Hales’ show The Birds and Bees on Radio Swindon 105.5 where Moritz talks about making hydrogen from plastic waste.
11 August 2020 – Back to work!
The Kuehnel Lab re-opens under strict hygiene measures and with reduced capacity after almost 5 months of coronavirus shutdown.
1 July 2020 – Paper in Chem accepted
Read our work on stabilising sensitive radicals in air (link to paper).
26 March 2020 – Kuehnel Lab donates chemicals for the manufacture of hand sanitiser
18 March 2020 – University shutdown due to Covid-19
Swansea University has suspended all face-to-face teaching and closed all labs and offices. We are all working in home office now – but in lieu of a home lab we have shut down all research activity until further notice.
6 March 2020 – Warm-up for next week’s staff vs. students match
1 March 2020 – Moritz promoted to Senior Lecturer
Moritz is now officially as old as he feels – and tenured.
19 February 2020 – Michael presents his work
Michael talks about his PhD project at the departmental seminar and gets some tricky questions. Well done!
5 February 2020 – Moritz among top ACIE reviewers
Moritz is among the top 5% of reviewers for Angewandte Chemie in terms of number of reports completed. There is a good chance he might review your next paper!
30 January 2020 – Swansea Research and Innovation Awards
Moritz is shortlisted for the Swansea University Research and Innovation Award in the Rising Star category. Congratulations to the winner Dr Jenny Baker!
29 January 2020 – Welcome Morgan
Morgan McKee starts his 3rd year research project on photocatalytic dye degradation. Good luck!
20 January 2020 – Michael in Bath
Michael visits Frank Marken’s lab to get proper electrochemistry training. Many thanks to Frank and his group!
14 January 2020 – Don’t Waste Waste!
Thanks to Dr Sultan Al-Salem and the British Council for organising the Joint Workshop on Plastic-to-Fuel Recovery held at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.
9 January 2020 – Saleh passes his Master’s viva
Congratulations to Saleh Alofi for working very hard to become the first graduate of the new Chemistry Department at Swansea University – well done! Many thanks to the examiners Dr. Caroline Knapp and Dr. James Ryan, to the chair Prof. Owen Guy and to Taibah University for generously funding Saleh!
7 January 2020 – Avisek wins Newton-Bhaba placement
Congratulations to Avisek Dutta who will join us in May from IACS Kolkata on a Newton-Bhaba PhD placement.
8 December 2019 – Electrochemistry Workshop in India
Many thanks to Mark Symes and Muhammed Musthafa for organising the Newton-Bhabha UK-India Researcher Links Workshop on New Electrochemical Technologies for Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals and Industrial Processes in Pune. Many thanks to the Newton-Bhaba Fund for funding this event!
27 November 2019 – PhD opportunity
We are looking for a talented PhD candidate to join the Kuehnel Lab via Swansea University’s SURES scholarship programme. Details here. Contact Moritz if you are interested.
21 November 2019 – Paper in ACS Catalysis
Read our work on the impact of supramolecular chemistry on electrochemical CO2 reduction (link to paper).
21 October 2019 – GCRF funding awarded!
The Kuehnel Lab successfully receives funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund to undertake a joint project with Dr Omorogie at Redeemer’s University, Nigeria on locally produced photocatalysts.
5 September 2019 – French connection
Moritz meets with collaborators at Université Grenoble Alpes as part of the Swansea-Grenoble strategic partnership.
16 August 2019 – Bye César
Farewell to César before he returns to Paris after his internship – we will miss you!
29 July 2019 – Check out our new kit
Thanks to eBay and Alibaba, we now have another Newport solar simulator and a custom-made quartz water bath.
26 July 2019 – Watch César’s video
9 July 2019 – Steve wins ACU Blue Charter Fellowship!
Congratulations to Dr Steven Barrow from RMIT Melbourne who will join the lab in early 2020 to combat marine plastic pollution.
23 June 2019 – Kuehnel Lab goes the extra mile
Michael and Moritz successfully run the Swansea Half Marathon. Not everyone is happy with the rankings. Is there going to be a rematch, soon?
4 June 2019 – Congratulations Max!
Max Kutter passes his Master’s viva at Freie Universität Berlin – making him the first Kuehnel Lab graduate!
3 June 2019 – Welcome César!
César Feniou joins the lab as a summer intern from ENS Paris Saclay.
31 May 2019 – And … action!
Russian channel “Science” are shooting a report on our plastics work.
1 April 2019 – Paper in Nature Catalysis accepted
Read our work on photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction using Co(terpy) on p-Si (link to paper).
27 February 2019 – Welcome Ryan!
Ryan O’Neill joins the lab as a joint PhD student with Dan Eastwood (Biosciences) on an EPSRC studentship.
12 February 2019 – New glove box
4 February 2019 – Paper in Angewandte Chemie accepted
Read our work on ZnSe nanorods for solar-driven hydrogen generation (link to paper).
16 January 2019 – Welcome Saleh!
Saleh Alofi starts as a Master’s student.
14 January 2019 – Welcome Martins!
Dr. Martins Omorogie joins the lab as a visiting academic from Redeemer’s University.
11 December 2018 – Moritz live on BBC Radio
27 November 2018 – Martins Omorogie awarded ACU Fellowship
Congratulation to Dr. Martins Omorogie from Redeemer’s University, Nigeria for securing an ACU Blue Charter Fellowship to join our lab.
1 October 2018 – Welcome Michael and Max!
Michael Allan starts his PhD on an EPSRC studentship.
Max Kutter returns as an Erasmus+ fellow for his Master’s project.
6 September 2018 – Plastics paper goes viral!
Our paper on hydrogen from plastics is featured on BBC and Chemistry World.
23 August 2018 – Paper in Energy & Environmental Science accepted
Read our work on solar-driven hydrogen generation from waste plastics (link to paper).
12 May 2018 – Paper in Chemistry – A European Journal accepted
Read our work on oxygen-tolerant hydrogen generation (link to paper).
26 March 2018 – GC up and running
Our brand new Shimadzu GC was installed in the lab. Time to make some hydrogen!
12 March 2018 – Welcome Max!
Maximilian Kutter from Freie Universität Berlin joins the Kuehnel Lab as Erasmus+ fellow.
24 January 2018 – Paper in Chemical Science accepted
Read our latest work on photocatalytic CO2 reduction using Ni(cyclam) and ZnSe quantum dots (link to paper).
8 December 2017 – Paper in Angewandte Chemie accepted
Read our review on photocatalytic hydrogen production from biomass (link to paper).
15 November 2017 – Getting started
See our shiny lab and office space in the new Chemistry Department.
Our Solar Light Simulator has arrived from the US!
Kühnel Lab 