Mandel group

Chair of Particle-Based Materials Chemistry (PBMC)

Prof. Dr. Karl Mandel

Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy
Chair of Particle-Based Materials Chemistry (PBMC)

Room: Room A 2.20
Egerlandstraße 1
91058 Erlangen

Our research

Chair ‘Particle-Based Materials Chemistry’

At the Chair ‘Particle-Based Materials Chemistry’, we design highly functional supraparticles, i.e., particles of a few µm in size that are composed of nanoparticle (and molecular) building blocks.

These complex entities are achieved via forced assembly of the (nano) building blocks, mainly by using the technique of spray-drying.

We study how structure, besides (multimaterial) composition, of such supraparticles affects the interaction among the building blocks of these entities and how this leads to unique functionalities.

A first direction in which we harness this knowledge is the field of magnetic materials, where we aim to realize information-providing or magnetically responsive systems. Here, we focus on iron oxide-based systems and pioneer techniques such as magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) to gain information from magnetic materials or induction heating to trigger a response or reaction magnetically.

A second direction, we are interested in, deals with designing architectures that enable confined (inter)active chemistry. There, we try to develop supraparticles in which chemistry is given a home in confinement and can actively run, i.e., we try to turn the supraparticles into little active, reactive and interactive units.

Find out more, here.

Section Materials Chemistry

The Chair is based in the Section Materials Chemistry within our Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy.

The Section Materials Chemistry at FAU focuses on the chemical design, synthesis, and understanding of materials from the molecular and nanoscale upward.

Its research combines particle-based and thin-film approaches to tailor structure, composition, and interfaces for targeted functions in areas such as energy, sustainability, and information technologies. Distinct from classical materials engineering, the section emphasizes bottom-up chemical control to create materials whose properties arise from precise nanoscale architecture and interfacial chemistry rather than bulk processing.

Find out more, here.

  • In our latest work that was just accepted in the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science we report on a way how to influence the structure of supraparticles by using salt that can easily be removed afterwards via simple thermal treatment. Zink A., Kolb S., Wintzheimer S., Mandel K.Salt ions can...

  • Excellent ideas for a strong industry – VAA Foundation honors a successful young researcher from FAU in the field of chemistry 2025: At the VAA Annual Conference on November 7, 2025, in Essen, Dr. Jakob Reichstein (at the chair of Prof. Dr. Karl Mandel, FAU), Dr. Maximilian Baur, Dr. Ieva A. Cec...

  • The STAEDTLER FOUNDATION promotes cutting-edge research and honors doctoral students at FAU at its 2025 annual meeting For the 27th consecutive year, the STAEDTLER Foundation honored doctoral students from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) at its 2025 annual meeting. This y...

  • Romain won the Materials Advances (Royal Society of Chemistry) poster prize on synthesis methods at the 12th International Conference on Fine Particle Magnetism (ICFPM 2025) in Bariloche, Argentina, where he presented two posters on the correlation of the structural and magnetic morphology of nanop...

  • Andreas "Junior" Wolf successfully defended his PhD Thesis entitled “Multiscale interactions of magnetic supraparticles upon readout with magnetic particle spectroscopy”. Congratulations, Junior!

  • Our Chair had a lot of fun being part of the program of the Long Night of Science and we were delighted to see that we could infect the broader public with our fascination for magnetic nanoparticles.

  • It was a great pleasure to once again host the Particle-Based Materials Conference (PBM) here in Erlangen. Together with our colleagues Prof. Nicolas Vogel and Prof. Michael Engel, we organized this year’s meeting under the motto “Particle Design,” fitting perfectly with our ongoing CRC 1411 “Desig...

  • Great to have had our colleagues from Japan, Prof. Takashi Ogi, Prof. Satoshi Watanabe, Eka Septiani and Syakirah Nabilah, at our labs for a visit and to discuss future collaborations!

  • After many years in our group, it is time to say goodbye to Susanne. We wish her all the best for the future!