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Welcome to the Liquids Initiative Mainz

Liquids shape our world – from water in living cells and energy technologies to complex fluids in the atmosphere and Earth’s interior. The Max Planck Liquids Initiative in Mainz unites researchers across chemistry, physics, materials science, and Earth system science to understand liquids from the molecular to the planetary scale, and to translate this knowledge into sustainable technologies.
The Liquids Initiative connects research at MPIP and MPI-C, focusing on liquids, soft matter, and Earth system processes, with emphasis on aqueous systems at the nanoscale and their technological and environmental relevance.

Discover our Research

Mission

Our mission is to establish a comprehensive molecular-level understanding of liquids and solutions and to connect this understanding to macroscopic behavior in biology, materials, energy, and the Earth system. By combining advanced experiments, theory, and simulation, we aim to reveal how dynamic nanoscale heterogeneities control the properties of liquids – and to use these insights to enable radically more efficient water technologies, energy concepts, and climate-relevant processes.
The Max Planck Liquids Initiative brings together experimental, theoretical, and simulation approaches to understand, predict, and engineer the behavior of liquids from the molecular to the planetary scale.

Fundamental insight

Study molecular interactions and dynamic heterogeneities in liquids under non-equilibrium conditions.

Cross-disciplinary campus

Link soft matter, chemistry, atmospheric and Earth system science on the Mainz Max Planck Campus.

Towards applications

Emphasize water purification, desalination, hydrogen production, climate and energy technologies as long-term targets.

Why Liquids

Liquids play a central role in almost every area of science and technology, from biological systems to industrial processes, yet they are still not as well understood as solids or gases. While solids have fixed structures and gases are relatively simple to describe, liquids are constantly changing at the molecular level. Their particles move and rearrange in complex ways, creating small, short-lived variations in structure and behavior. These dynamic, nanoscale processes make liquids—especially water—challenging to fully understand, despite their importance in both natural and technological contexts.

Learn more about liquids research

Research themes

Liquids at interfaces

Liquids at interfaces exhibit unique molecular structures and dynamics that differ significantly from those in the bulk, controlling processes such as wetting, catalysis, and charge transfer. We investigate how intermolecular interactions, hydrogen-bond networks, and external fields shape these interfacial properties and how they link to macroscopic behavior.

Complex aqueous systems and soft matter

Complex aqueous systems and soft matter combine water with polymers, colloids, biomolecules, and porous materials, resulting in rich phase behavior and responsive properties. By probing how water organizes and moves in these environments, we aim to design advanced materials for separation, energy conversion, and biological applications.

Liquids in the Earth system

Liquids in the Earth system play a central role in atmospheric chemistry, climate regulation, and geochemical cycles. We study aqueous processes in clouds, aerosols, and at environmental interfaces to understand how molecular-scale reactions feed back on weather, climate, and air quality.

Nanoscale water & MaxWater links

At the nanometer scale, water shows strikingly different flow, freezing, and reactivity than in bulk, opening pathways to radically more efficient desalination and hydrogen production. Within the Liquids Initiative, we build on and connect to the MaxWater network and the Max Planck–CNRS nanoscale water activities to combine nanofluidics, spectroscopy, and theory across institutes.

Campus Mainz

The Max Planck Campus Mainz brings together the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, and the Max Planck Initiative for Liquid Research in a single, closely connected research environment. The campus was symbolically launched with the turning of a large water wheel, marking the start of the Max Planck Initiative for Liquid Research and highlighting the shared focus on liquids, soft matter, and Earth system processes, as well as the strategic importance of water-related research. This development is jointly supported by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Max Planck Society, which together create the framework for a leading international center for liquid research in Mainz.

Institutions and Campus