Caro studied chemistry at the Leipzig University from 1970 to 1974. His PhD work on diffusion in zeolites was done from 1975 to 1977 at the Physical Institute of the Leipzig University under the supervision of Jörg Kärger. After 1977, Caro was PostDoc at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR in Berlin-Adlershof. He worked in different positions, by the end as Vice Director, in the fields of gas adsorption, heterogeneous catalysis and membrane permeation. In 1989 he has got the title Dr. sc. nat. with a thesis on the influence of mass transport in zeolite catalysis. After the closure of the Academy of Sciences by 31 December 1991, Caro founded the research group „Nano-Composites“. This group was the germ cell of the Department of „Functional materials“ in the newly founded Institute of Applied Chemistry. Under the directorship of Manfred Baerns, Caro was one of the deputy directors at ACA with responsibility for the research field „Reaction engineering and new materials“. In 1992 Caro made his habilitation at Leipzig University on adsorption and catalysis in nanoporous materials and got the title Dr. sc. nat. habil. In 2001 Caro became W3-Professor for Physical Chemistry at Hannover University, the later Leibniz University Hannover. The successors of this chair were Gerhard Ertl and Hermann Schmalzried. In Hannover Caro focussed his research activities on gas separation membranes and their use in catalytic membrane reactors for process intensification. With research projects on membranes and membrane reactors, Caro was partner in numerous projects of the European Community Research in the 7th Framework Program such as CARENA, NASA-OTM, NEXT-GTL, M4CO2 as well as co-founder of the Network of Excellence NoE INSIDE PORES, the later European Nanoporous Materials Institute of Excellence. Caro has an intense cooperation with China. Caro was and is host of several Chinese Humboldt-Research-Fellows and PostDocs. Caro supervised several Chinese PhD students. Caro had and has different professorships in China: guest professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Ningbo, guest professor at Dalian University of Technology and visiting professor at the University Panjin. Since 2018 Caro is full distinguished professor at the South China University of Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, in Guangzhou. In 2015 Caro founded together with his Chinese partner Haihui Wang the Sino-German Joint Lab of Inorganic Membranes at the two places Hannover und Guangzhou. In 2013 Caro got together with Michael Tsapatsis the Breck Award of the International Zeolite Association. In 2013 Caro was awarded with the Ostwald-Medal of the Saxon Academy of Sciences. In 2016 Caro became elected corresponding member of the Saxon Academy of Sciences at Leipzig, Class for Mathematics and Science. Since 2016 Caro is president of the Society of German Chemists GDCh district Hannover. In 2019 he was awarded with the literature price of chemical industry together with his co-authors Armin Bunde, Jörg Kärger und Gero Vogl for the book „Diffusive Spreading in Nature, Technology and Society“. Caro is author of 380 scientific publications, 10 book chapters, 43 patents and patent applications. 17.500 citations, h-factor 70, i10-index 242 .
J. Caro, Fluid Flow, in: F. Schüth, K.S.W. Sing, J. Weitkamp, Handbook of Porous Solids, Wiley-VCH, pp 352–370, 2002.
M. Noack, J. Caro, Zeolite Membranes, in: F. Schüth, K.S.W. Sing, J. Weitkamp, Handbook of Porous Solids, Wiley-VCH, pp 2433–2506, 2002.
R. Dittmeyer, J. Caro, Catalytic Membrane Reactors, in: G. Ertl, H. Knözinger, F. Schüth, J. Weitkamp, Handbook of Heterogeneous Catalysis, Wiley-VCH, pp 2198–2247, 2008.
J. Caro, Basic Aspects of Membrane Reactors, in: E. Drioli, L. Giorno Comprehensive Membrane Science and Technology, Elsevier, pp 1–24, 2010.
