Dr. Sebastian Engel

“Py-Pho-Hybrid-Energy combines the best of two worlds: Solar energy is stored simultaneously as hydrogen and as heat – for an optimum energy balance.”


Junior Research Group Leader
Friedrich Schiller University Jena


Favicon Sinatra

BMBF Junior Resarch Group: Pyroelectric Enhanced Photocatalytic Hybrid-Energy-Membrane

Foto: Ahnen&Enkel/Silke Reents

Scientific career and research areas

Sebastian Engel

  • Ferroelectrica-Semiconductor-(Nano-)Hybrid Systems
  • Polarity Characterisation (Laser Intensity Modulation Method)
  • Light-Matter-Interaction of optical excited systems
  • Laser processed materials
  • Photocatalysis
  • Advanced Oxidation Processes

Selected Publications

Wenisch C, Engel S, Gräf S, & Müller FA. “Ablation Efficiency and Quality Improvements by Excited State Absorption based Dual Laser Beam Processing of ZnO Thin Films.” Submitted to [Journal of Laser Applications], 2021

Wenisch C, Engel S, Gräf S, & Müller FA. “Dual Laser Beam Processing of Semiconducting Thin Films by Excited State Absorption.” Materials 2021, 14(5), 1256.

Wenisch C, Engel S, Müller FA, Gräf S. “Fundamentals of a New Sub-Diffraction Direct Laser Writing Method by a Combination of Stimulated Emission Depletion and Excited State Absorption.” transformation 2020, 4(7): 19-20

Kunz C, Engel S, Müller FA, Gräf S. “Large-Area Fabrication of Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures on Fused Silica Using Thin Gold Layers.” Nanomaterials 2020, 10(6): 1187.

Engel S, Wenisch C, Gräf S, Müller F. “Sub-diffraction direct laser writing by a combination of STED and ESA.”  Laser-based Micro-and Nanoprocessing XIV; 2020: International Society for Optics and Photonics; 2020. p. 112680D.

Gräf S, Kunz C, Engel S, Derrien TJ-Y, Müller FA. “Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures on fused silica: The impact of the initial substrate temperature.” Materials 2018, 11(8): 1340.

Engel S, Smykalla D, Ploss B, Gräf S, Müller FA. “Polarization Properties and Polarization Depth Profiles of (Cd: Zn) S/P (VDF-TrFE) Composite Films in Dependence of Optical Excitation.” Polymers 2018, 10(11): 1205.

Krämer A, Engel S, Sangiorgi N, Sanson A, Bartolomé JF, Gräf S, et al. “ZnO thin films on single carbon fibres fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD).” Applied Surface Science 2017, 399: 282-287.

Engel S, Smykalla D, Ploss B, Gräf S, Müller FA. “Effect of (Cd: Zn)S particle concentration and photoexcitation on the electrical and ferroelectric properties of (Cd: Zn) S/P (VDF-TrFE) composite films.” Polymers 2017, 9(12): 650.

Engel S, Wenisch C, Müller F, Gräf S. “A new photoacoustic method based on the modulation of the light induced absorption coefficient.” Measurement Science and Technology 2016, 27(4): 045202.

Sajzew R, Schröder J, Kunz C, Engel S, Müller FA, Gräf S. “Femtosecond laser-induced surface structures on carbon fibers.” Optics letters 2015, 40(24): 5734-5737.

Kuhn S, Tiegel M, Herrmann A, Rüssel C, Engel S, Wenisch C, et al. “Photo-acoustic spectroscopy and quantum efficiency of Yb3+ doped alumino silicate glasses.” Journal of Applied Physics 2015, 118(10): 103104.

Major awards, achievements and scholarships

  • BMBF Junior Research Group “Py-Pho-Hybrid-Energy” (2024)

Favicon Sinatra

SINATRA Project

Py-Pho-Hybrid-Energy

Py-Pho-Hybrid-Energy focuses on the development of modules that store solar energy both chemically in the form of hydrogen and thermally in the form of heat. This coupling achieves an improved overall energy balance.

The working group headed by Sebastian Engel