Apl. Prof. Dr. Doris Vollmer
Doris Vollmer studied physics at the University of Bielefeld, the ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands). She completed her PhD at the University of Basel in physical chemistry. For her habilitation (2000) she moved to Mainz and joined the group of Prof. Manfred Schmidt. From 2001-2002 she worked at the Institute of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh (Great Britain) as a Marie Curie Fellowship. In 2002 she joined the group of Hans-Jürgen Butt and became group leader in May 2003. In 2015 she obtained a associate professorship at the Physics Department of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. She coordinated the Innovative Training Network (ITN) on "Lubricant Impregnated Slippery Surfaces" (LubISS) (http://www.lubiss.eu/).
Research Interests
Robust easy-to-clean surfaces
The goal of our research is to contribute to the solution of the climate crisis. This requires that we generate renewable energy as effectively as possible and consume less energy. The efficiency of solar modules decreases significantly when modules become dirty. Therefore, we are developing stable coatings and testing their self-cleaning properties. Easy-to-clean properties are also essential for infrared radiation reflective coatings. Infrared radiation causes buildings to heat up in the summer months and promotes the use of air conditioning.
We use a variety of experimental techniques to characterize surface and wetting properties. These include confocal microscopy, adhesion and friction force measurements, and a variety of spectroscopic methods. We complement the experimental information with mean-field theory descriptions and simulations.