Analytical chemistry has a very long tradition in Freiberg, which can be traced back to the work on the discovery of germanium by Clemens Winkler.

Spectrophotometry is a long-standing field of work in analytical chemistry in Freiberg. Under the direction of Professor Gerhard Ackermann, a large number of organic reganzia were investigated and analytically evaluated as complexing agents for metal determination. These traditions were later continued with work on computer-aided multi-component analysis in the UV/VIS, IR and NIR range as well as the development of optical chemical sensors.

A second methodological focus of the analytical work in Freiberg is atomic spectroscopy. Under the supervision of Prof. Ackermann, element trace analyses were developed using X-ray fluorescence analysis, which is based on the enrichment of elements via precipitation or ion exchange. The classic variant of atomic emission spectroscopy with arc excitation was replaced in 1991 by ICP spectrometry and supplemented by coupling plasma spectroscopy with gas and liquid chromatography.

Multicore NMR spectroscopy was established with the appointment of Professor Berthold Thomas to the institute. Particular attention is paid to the investigation of solids. IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry are available as additional methods for elucidating the structure of molecules.

Work on chromatography was originally based on thin-layer chromatography. Later, the high-performance column chromatography methods HPLC and capillary gas chromatography as well as capillary electrophoresis were added. Research is currently focussed on coupling high-performance separation methods with atomic and mass spectrometry. Particular attention is being paid to the computer-aided evaluation and interpretation of analysis data and chemometrics methods are being further developed in this context.

In addition to methodological developments, research is also problem-oriented. The topics range from environmental and bioanalytical tasks to the investigation of high-performance materials based on ceramics.

After Analytical Chemistry had been represented as a working group in the areas of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry for many years, an independent Institute of Analytical Chemistry was founded in January 1990, which Prof Matthias Otto headed until 2016. With the new appointment, the institute was able to recruit Prof Carla Vogt, who moved to Freiberg from a professorship for analytical chemistry in Hanover, as institute director and has been headed by her ever since.