Division of Physical Chemistry

At the Division of Physical Chemistry, a substantial share of research has traditionally been, and continues to be, focused on the physical chemistry of colloids, macromolecules and interfaces. Research in colloid and interfacial chemistry explores processes occurring at the interfaces of solid substances and aqueous solutions of electrolytes. Within physical chemistry of macromolecules, the properties of polyelectrolytes and proteins in solution are investigated, as well as their adsorption on solid substrates. 

The thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions in solution are also studied, and chemometric methods have been developed for many years. Quantum-chemical methods are employed to calculate potential-energy surfaces and spectroscopic properties of molecules. Chemometric techniques are developed and applied to interpret complex experimental data and reduce them to meaningful parameters.

Computational approaches based on force fields, such as molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo conformational searches and docking methods, are used to investigate structural and dynamic properties of (bio)chemical systems. By constructing 3D-QSAR models, relationships between the activity and structural features of various compound classes are examined.