Dr. Achim Zahl

Dr. Achim Zahl (IZNF 02.158) studied physics at the university of Dortmund, where he obtained his diploma in 1989. He received his Ph.D. in January 1994 at the university of Witten-Herdecke within the chair of Prof. Rudi van Eldik and got a stipend for two years at the MPI of Molecular Physiology Dortmund in March 1994.

In October 1994 he accepted an offer for a permanent position at the university of Erlangen-Nürnberg within the chair of inorganic and analytical chemistry of Prof. Rudi van Eldik.

There he established a nmr laboratory suited for performing nmr spectroscopy while applying high pressure on the samples.

In 2004 he was appointed as Akademischer Rat and in 2007 as Akademischer Oberrat.

In 2009, he switched to the new established chair of bioinorganic chemistry of Prof. Ivana Ivanovic-Burmazovic. From 2012-2014 he served as administrative coordinator of the Emerging Fields Initiative “Medicinal Redox Inorganic Chemistry” and he was appointed as academic director in 2014.

With the focus on performing high pressure nmr and the construction of high pressure equipment, he contributed to the SFB 583 and the CRC/SFB 1452 initiative.

In October 2021 he moved to the chair of chemistry of thin films of Prof. Julien Bachmann. He is still performing high pressure nmr, but now progressively assumes responsibilities for different analytical techniques (Hall-Setup, SEM) used within the research group of Prof. Bachmann.

Publications

2026

Langford D., Weiß R., Krug M., Urbani M., Zahl A., Müller C., Clark T., Torres T., Guldi DM.:
Activation volumes associated with excited-state electron transfer across amidinium-carboxylate bridge
In: Chemical Science (2026)
ISSN: 2041-6520
DOI: 10.1039/d6sc00291a

2025

Boothe R., Oppelt J., Franke A., Moore JL., Squarcina A., Zahl A., Senft L., Kellner I., Awalah AL., Bradford A., Obisesan SV., Schwartz DD., Ivanović-Burmazović I., Goldsmith CR.:
Nickel(ii) complexes with covalently attached quinols rely on ligand-derived redox couples to catalyze superoxide dismutation
In: Dalton Transactions (2025)
ISSN: 1477-9226
DOI: 10.1039/d4dt03331k
Karbalaei S., Franke A., Zahl A., Pokkuluri PR., Beyers RJ., Ivanović-Burmazović I., Goldsmith CR.:
An Fe(ii) complex detects hydrogen peroxide with 1H and 19F magnetic resonance imaging responses
In: Chemical Communications 61 (2025), p. 15898-15901
ISSN: 1359-7345
DOI: 10.1039/d5cc04066c
Koch V., Zeng X., Deckert A., Büttner P., Franz E., Ding F., Anderson MA., Zhang J., Kupfer C., Mack E., Ambasta VK., Duchstein P., Dehm K., Furxhiu S., Zahl A., Frisch J., Hoga F., Stubhan T., Wilks RG., Peng Z., Brummel O., Crisp R., Zahn D., Müller C., Guldi DM., Bär M., Wisser D., Libuda J., Brabec C., Bachmann J.:
Solution ALD of (CH3NH3)(PbI3) Perovskite Thin Films Yields Functional Quality and Stability Superior to Classical Processing
In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2025), Article No.: e13903
ISSN: 1433-7851
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202513903
Langford D., Rohr R., Bauroth S., Zahl A., Franke A., Ivanovic-Burmazovic I., Guldi DM.:
High-pressure pump–probe experiments reveal the mechanism of excited-state proton-coupled electron transfer and a shift from stepwise to concerted pathways
In: Nature Chemistry (2025)
ISSN: 1755-4330
DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-01772-5
Langford D., Rohr R., Bauroth S., Zahl A., Franke A., Ivanovic-Burmazovic I., Guldi DM.:
Publisher Correction: High-pressure pump–probe experiments reveal the mechanism of excited-state proton-coupled electron transfer and a shift from stepwise to concerted pathways (Nature Chemistry, (2025), 10.1038/s41557-025-01772-5)
In: Nature Chemistry (2025)
ISSN: 1755-4330
DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-01812-0

2024

Kern S., Yi G., Büttner P., Scheler F., Tran MH., Korenko S., Dehm K., Kundrata I., Zahl A., Albrecht S., Bachmann J., Crisp R.:
Monolithic Two-Terminal Tandem Solar Cells Using Sb2S3 and Solution-Processed PbS Quantum Dots Achieving an Open-Circuit Potential beyond 1.1 V
In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 16 (2024), p. 13903-13913
ISSN: 1944-8244
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c16154

2023

Newton SL., Franke A., Zahl A., Molinaro G., Kenwright A., Smith DJ., Ivanovic-Burmazovic I., Britton MM., Peacock AF.:
Understanding the mechanism by which Gd(iii) coiled coils achieve magnetic resonance relaxivity - a study into the water coordination chemistry
In: Dalton Transactions (2023)
ISSN: 1477-9226
DOI: 10.1039/d3dt02909c
Squarcina A., Fehn D., Scheitler A., Senft L., Franke A., Zahl A., Puchta R., Meyer K., Ivanovic-Burmazovic I.:
Mechanistic Insights into Superoxide Dismutation Driven by Dinuclear Manganese Complexes: The Role of the Mn2-Core
In: ACS Catalysis 13 (2023), p. 8561-8573
ISSN: 2155-5435
DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c01505

2022

Karbalaei S., Franke A., Jordan A., Rose C., Pokkuluri PR., Beyers RJ., Zahl A., Ivanović-Burmazović I., Goldsmith CR.:
A Highly Water- and Air-Stable Iron-Containing MRI Contrast Agent Sensor for H2O2
In: Chemistry - A European Journal (2022)
ISSN: 0947-6539
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202201179

2006

Jee JE., Wolak M., Balbinot D., Jux N., Zahl A., van Eldik R.:
A comparative mechanistic study of the reversible binding of NO to a water-soluble octa-cationic FeIII porphyrin complex
In: Inorganic Chemistry 45 (2006), p. 1326-1337
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic051339v
Jee J., Wolak M., Balbinot D., Jux N., Zahl A., Van Eldik R.:
A comparative mechanistic study of the reversible binding of NO to a water-soluble octa-cationic FeIII porphyrin complex
In: Inorganic Chemistry 45 (2006), p. 1326-1337
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic051339v
Davis A., Fiedler D., Seeber G., Zahl A., Van Eldik R., Raymond K.:
Guest exchange dynamics in an M4L6 tetrahedral host
In: Journal of the American Chemical Society 128 (2006), p. 1324-1333
ISSN: 0002-7863
DOI: 10.1021/ja056556+
Gabričević M., Bešić E., Biruš M., Zahl A., Eldik R.:
Oxidation of hydroxyurea with oxovanadium(V) ions in acidic aqueous solution
In: Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry 100 (2006), p. 1606-1613
ISSN: 0162-0134
DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2006.05.008

2005

Jee J., Eigler S., Hampel F., Jux N., Wolak M., Zahl A., Stochel G., Van Eldik R.:
Kinetic and mechanistic studies on the reaction of nitric oxide with a water-soluble octa-anionic iron(III) porphyrin complex
In: Inorganic Chemistry 44 (2005), p. 7717-7731
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic050924t
Fiedler D., Zahl A., van Eldik R., Bergmann RG., Raymond K.:
Supramolecular catalysis of sigmatropic rearrangements: Rate acceleration through encapsulation
In: ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts (2005), p. -
ISSN: 0065-7727
Novokmet S., Heinemann F., Zahl A., Alsfasser R.:
Aromatic interactions in unusual backbone nitrogen-coordinated zinc peptide complexes: A crystallographic and spectroscopic study
In: Inorganic Chemistry 44 (2005), p. 4796-4805
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic0500053
Illner P., Zahl A., Puchta R., van Eikema Hommes N., Wasserscheid P., van Eldik R.:
Mechanistic studies on the formation of Pt(II) hydroformylation catalysts in imidazolium-based ionic liquids
In: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 690 (2005), p. 3567-3576
ISSN: 0022-328X
DOI: 10.1016/j.jorganchem.2005.03.029
Kudrik E., Makarov S., Zahl A., Van Eldik R.:
Kinetics and mechanism of the iron phthalocyanine catalyzed reduction of nitrite by dithionite and sulfoxylate in aqueous solution
In: Inorganic Chemistry 44 (2005), p. 6470-6475
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic0505955
Procelewska J., Zahl A., Liehr G., Van Eldik R., Smythe N., Williams B., Goldberg K.:
Mechanistic information on the reductive elimination from cationic trimethylplatinum(IV) complexes to form carbon-carbon bonds
In: Inorganic Chemistry 44 (2005), p. 7732-7742
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic050478+

2004

Khoshtariya DE., Zahl A., Dolidze TD., Neubrand A., van Eldik R.:
Local dense structural heterogeneities in liquid water from ambient to 300 MPa pressure: Evidence for multiple liquid-liquid transitions
In: ChemPhysChem 5 (2004), p. 1398-1404
ISSN: 1439-4235
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.200400219
Zahl A., Igel P., Weller M., van Eldik R.:
High-pressure nuclear magnetic resonance probe designed for a narrow bore magnet system
In: Review of Scientific Instruments 75 (2004), p. 3152-3157
ISSN: 0034-6748
DOI: 10.1063/1.1786357
Khoshtariya DE, Zahl A, Dolidze TD, Neubrand A, Van Eldik R:
Discrimination of diverse (pressure/temperature-dependent/independent) inherent sub-structures in liquid water (D2O) from difference vibrational spectroscopy
In: Journal of Physical Chemistry B 108 (2004), p. 14796-14799
ISSN: 1520-6106
DOI: 10.1021/jp047333t
Curnow OJ, Fern GM, Hamilton ML, Zahl A, Van Eldik R:
Mechanistic studies on a facile ring-flipping process in planar chiral ferrocenes under ambient and high pressure and its relevance to asymmetric catalysis
In: Organometallics 23 (2004), p. 906-912
ISSN: 0276-7333
DOI: 10.1021/om030641d
van Eldik R., Weller M., Zahl A., Igel P.:
A new high-pressure NMR probe designed for a narrow bore magnet system
In: Review of Scientific Instruments (2004), p. 3152
ISSN: 0034-6748

2003

Niklas N., Zahl A., Alsfasser R.:
The structural mobility of zinc complexes with tetradentate tripodal ligands derived from the amino acids glycine and phenylalanine
In: Dalton Transactions (2003), p. 778-786
ISSN: 1477-9226
DOI: 10.1039/b212049f
Zahl A., Igel P., Weller M., Khoshtariya DE., Hamza M., van Eldik R.:
Compact high pressure unit for ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopic measurements at pressures up to 400 MPa
In: Review of Scientific Instruments 74 (2003), p. 3758-3762
ISSN: 0034-6748
DOI: 10.1063/1.1593792
Kudrik EV, Makarov SV, Zahl A, Van Eldik R:
Kinetics and mechanism of the cobalt phthalocyanine catalyzed reduction of nitrite and nitrate by dithionite in aqueous solution
In: Inorganic Chemistry 42 (2003), p. 618-624
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic020290f
Zahl A, Van Eldik R, Matsumoto M, Swaddle TW:
Self-exchange reaction kinetics of metallocenes revisited: Insights from the decamethylferricenium-decamethylferrocene reaction at variable pressure
In: Inorganic Chemistry 42 (2003), p. 3718-3722
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic030067y
Zahl Achim, Igel Peter, Weller Manfred, Koshtariya Dimitri, Hamza Mohamed S. A., van Eldik Rudi:
A compact high pressure unit for UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopic measurements at pressures up to 400 MPa
In: Review of Scientific Instruments 74 (2003), p. 3758
ISSN: 0034-6748

2002

Neubrand Anton, Thaler Florian, Körner Manuela, Zahl Achim, Hubbard Collin D., van Eldik Rudi:
Mechanism of water exchange on five-coordinate copper(II) complexes
In: Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions (2002), p. 957-961
ISSN: 1470-479X
DOI: 10.1039/b107458j
Procelewska J, Zahl A, Van Eldik R, Zhong HA, Labinger JA, Bercaw JE:
Activation volume measurement for C-H activation. Evidence for associative benzene substitution at a platinum(II) center
In: Inorganic Chemistry 41 (2002), p. 2808-2810
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic0201710
Zahl A, Van Eldik R, Swaddle TW:
Cation-independent electron transfer between ferricyanide and ferrocyanide ions in aqueous solution
In: Inorganic Chemistry 41 (2002), p. 757-764
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic010957i
Biruš M, Van Eldik R, Gabričević M, Zahl A:
139La NMR kinetic study of lanthanum(III) complexation with acetohydroxamic acid
In: European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry (2002), p. 819-825
ISSN: 1434-1948
DOI: 10.1002/1099-0682(200203)2002:43.0.CO;2-E

2001

Niklas N., Hampel F., Liehr G., Zahl A., Alsfasser R.:
The reactivity of N-coordinated amides in metallopeptide frameworks: Molecular events in metal-induced pathogenic pathways?
In: Chemistry - A European Journal 7 (2001), p. 5135-5142
ISSN: 0947-6539
DOI: 10.1002/1521-3765(20011203)7:233.0.CO;2-F
Schneppensieper T., Seibig S., Zahl A., Tregloan P., van Eldik R.:
Influence of chelate effects on the water-exchange mechanism of polyaminecarboxylate complexes of iron(III)
In: Inorganic Chemistry 40 (2001), p. 3670-3676
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic001304p
Schneppensieper T., Zahl A., van Eldik R.:
Water exchange controls the complex-formation mechanism of water-soluble iron(III) porphyrins: Conclusive evidence for dissociative water exchange from a high-pressure 17O NMR study
In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition 40 (2001), p. 1678-1680
ISSN: 1433-7851
URL: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?partnerID=yv4JPVwI&eid=2-s2.0-0035805268&md5=56db857d7c512e8f57a238190b9914da
Wolak M., Zahl A., Schneppensieper T., Stochel G., van Eldik R.:
Kinetics and mechanism of the reversible binding of nitric oxide to reduced cobalamin B12r (Cob(II)alamin)
In: Journal of the American Chemical Society 123 (2001), p. 9780-9791
ISSN: 0002-7863
DOI: 10.1021/ja010530a
Wolak Maria, Zahl Achim, Schneppensieper Thorsten, Stochel G., van Eldik Rudi:
Kinetics and mechanism of the reversible binding of nitric oxide to reduced cobalamin B_12r_
In: Journal of the American Chemical Society (2001), p. 9780
ISSN: 0002-7863

2000

Dahlenburg L., Herbst K., Zahl A.:
Die homogene Hydrierung von Ketonen und alpha, beta-ungesättigten Carbonylverbindungen mit 2-(diphenylphosphanyl)anilido-Komplexen des Iridiums und Rhodiums als Katalysatoren
In: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry (2000), p. 19 - 28
ISSN: 0022-328X
Dahlenburg L., Herbst K., Zahl A.:
Functional phosphines. Part X. Homogeneous hydrogenation of ketones and a ,b -unsaturated carbonyl compounds with 2-(diphenylphosphino)anilido complexes of iridium and rhodium as catalysts. Molecular structure of [Rh(PPh3)2(2-Ph2PC6H4NH-k N,k P)] and [Ir(CO)(PPh3)(2-Ph2PC6H4NH-k N,k P)]
In: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 616 (2000), p. 19-28
ISSN: 0022-328X
Dahlenburg L., Herbst K., Zahl A.:
Funktionelle Phosphane Part X. Die homogene Hydrierung von Ketonen und a,ß-ungesättigten Carbonylverbindungen mit 2-(Diphenylphosphanyl)anilido-Komplexen des Iridiums und Rhodiums als Katalysatoren. Molekülstrukturen von [Rh(PPh3)2(2-Ph2PC6H 4NH-?N,?P)]
In: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 616 (2000), p. 19-28
ISSN: 0022-328X
DOI: 10.1016/S0022-328X(00)00519-2

1999

Fekl U., Zahl A., van Eldik R.:
Detailed mechanistic information on methane elimination from a methyl(hydrido)platinum(IV) complex. Relevance for the mechanism of methane activation
In: Organometallics 18 (1999), p. 4156-4164
ISSN: 0276-7333
DOI: 10.1021/om9901426
Fekl U., Zahl A., van Eldik R.:
Mechanistic studies on the reductive elimination of methane from methyl(hydrido)platinum(IV) complexes
In: ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts (1999), p. XX
ISSN: 0065-7727
Biruš M, Gabričević M, Kronja O, Klaić B, Van Eldik R, Zahl A:
Kinetics and mechanism of the complexation of La3+ and Cu2+ ions with N-methylacetohydroxamic acid and desferrioxamine B1
In: Inorganic Chemistry 38 (1999), p. 4064-4069
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic990107r

1998

Rau T., Alsfasser R., Zahl A., van Eldik R.:
Structural and Kinetic Studies on the Formation of Platinum(II) and Palladium(II) Complexes with L-Cysteine-Derived Ligands
In: Inorganic Chemistry 37 (1998), p. 4223-4230
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic9711574
Drljaca A, Zahl A, Van Eldik R:
High-Pressure Oxygen-17 NMR Study of the Dihydroxo-Bridged Rhodium(III) Hydrolytic Dimer. Mechanistic Evidence for Limiting Dissociative Water Exchange Pathways
In: Inorganic Chemistry 37 (1998), p. 3948-3953
ISSN: 0020-1669
DOI: 10.1021/ic971074n

1997

Brasch, NE, Muller, F, Zahl, A, vanEldik, R:
Formation of an association complex without a substitution reaction occurring between methylcobalamin and cyanide
In: Inorganic Chemistry 36 (1997), p. 4891-1894
ISSN: 0020-1669
Dahlenburg L., Weiss A., Bock M., Zahl A.:
Ethinyl- und Butadiinylkomplexe des Eisens und Rutheniums mit terminalen Hauptgruppenelement-Substituenten
In: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 541 (1997), p. 465-471
ISSN: 0022-328X
DOI: 10.1016/S0022-328X(97)00177-0
Dahlenburg L., Weiss A., Bock M., Zahl A.:
Ethynyl and butadiynyl complexes of iron and ruthenium with terminal main-group-element substituents, Cp*Fe(Ph2PCH(X) CH2PPh2)Cº CY (X = H, PPh2; Y = H, PPh2, P(+)Ph2Me) and Ru(Ph2PCH2PPh2)2(X)Cº CCº CSiMe3 (X = Cl, Cº CCº CSiMe3)
In: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 541 (1997), p. 465-471
ISSN: 0022-328X

1994

Zahl A., Neubrand A., Aygen S., van Eldik R.:
A high-pressure NMR probehead for measurements at 400 MHz
In: Review of Scientific Instruments 65 (1994), p. 882-886
ISSN: 0034-6748
DOI: 10.1063/1.1144916
Gerhard A., Cobranchi D., Garland B., Highley A., Huang Y., Kenya G., Zahl A., van Eldik R., Petrucci S., Eyring E.:
7Li-NMR determination of stability constants as a function of temperature for lithium-crown ether complexes in a molten salt mixtures
In: Journal of Physical Chemistry 98 (1994), p. 7923-7928
ISSN: 0022-3654
URL: https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0028493342&origin=inward

1989

Plüschau M., Zahl A., Dinse K., van Willigen H.:
Fourier transform-electron spin resonance study of spin polarization generated by triplet- and radical-pair mechanisms in a photoinduced electron transfer reaction
In: Journal of Chemical Physics 90 (1989), p. 3153-3158
ISSN: 0021-9606
URL: https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-36549092766&origin=inward

Dr. Achim Zahl

Publications

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2019

2018

2017

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007