Bunsen-Tagung 2026

Confinement on the micro-/nanoscale changes the physical and chemical properties of systems and influences molecular processes. The effect of confinement is present in various areas of science, as illustrated by examples ranging from different areas of research: Near-field light enhancement in plasmonic nanostructures plays a crucial role in nanophotonics, altered ion transport in layered electrode materials limits the efficiency of modern batteries, local changes of water-networks at interfaces influence sensitivity of sensors and functionality of anti-icing coatings and finally the acceleration of (enzymatic) catalytic reactions due to confinement and molecular crowding effects allows us to understand chemical reactivity and the physico-chemical foundations of molecular cell biology. Thus, understanding confinement effects is vital from a basic science perspective, but is as well key for development of novel materials, device architectures and process design.
We aim to bring together experiment and theory researching phenomena under confinement and discuss confinement effects from different perspectives concerning methodologies, systems and applications, providing a forum for highlighting generic effects / unifying concepts.