The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) is thrilled to share that Nicolas Kaeffer has been appointed on a CNRS Junior Professor Chair at the University of Strasbourg. From February 2025, he joined the Laboratoire d’Innovation Moléculaire et Applications of the University of Strasbourg after five productive years of working with us as the Group Leader of the Organometallic Electrocatalysis Team in the Department of Molecular Catalysis of Prof. Dr. Leitner.
During his time at the MPI CEC Dr. Kaeffer has explored new approaches for the conversion of organics and available building blocks by electrocatalytic means. Notable scientific contributions span from the activation of CO2 by 3d metal centers to the understanding of multielectronic reduction behaviours in homoleptic complexes. Further achievements in the electrohydrogenation of unsaturated organics have been made for instance by disclosing original hydride-free pathways and in the collaborative development of electrocatalytic emulsions. Dr. Kaeffer has made notable contributions to the field of Electrochemistry and has been acknowledged by his peers in the community. He has received several distinctions such as the Junior Researcher Prize of the Energy Transversal Division (French Chemical Society), engaged in various journal editorial boards and co-initiated a Molecular Electrocatalysis Symposium which was held for the first time last year at the MPI CEC.
His research with the new independent team Molecular Electrocatalysis for Synthesis and Energy at the University of Strasbourg will put forward electrocatalytic strategies at the molecular level to tackle synthetic and energy storage applications. He also seeks to develop scientific fruitful collaborations through local and international networks and further engage in the global community.
We congratulate Dr. Kaeffer on this new role and look forward to his continued contributions to the field. For more information about his work and achievements view his full page here.