Florian Dobreff, a doctoral student in the Department of Molecular Catalysis headed by Prof. Walter Leitner, has received the prestigious Kekulé doctoral scholarship from the German Chemical Industry Fund (VCI).After completing his chemistry degree and a master's thesis in Prof. Meier's working group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), he began his doctoral thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) in September 2023.

Even during his studies, he was fascinated by the potential of catalysis to develop innovative solutions for pressing global challenges such as climate change. In particular, the research at the MPI CEC, which focuses on sustainable energy concepts and synthesis concepts, excites him and fits perfectly with his scientific interests.

The Kekulé scholarship supports doctoral students by funding material resources and participation in scientific conferences. It supports Florian's doctoral thesis at the MPI CEC, where he is conducting research in the organometallic electrocatalysis team under the supervision of Dr. Nicolas Kaeffer. In his doctoral thesis, Florian is working on the development of new synthesis routes to produce CO₂ as a sustainable building block using a molecular electrocatalytic approach.