It was in Munich (1928–1938) that Schwab started systematic work on heterogeneous catalysis which marked the rest of his career. Among the catalysis-related topics he studied in Munich were the kinetics of heterogeneously catalysed reactions, the nature of the heat of adsorption, the poisoning of catalysts and the spatial distribution of active catalytic sites. He also collaborated with his future wife Elly on her research about the influence of free radicals on parahydrogen, a work which they completed in Greece.
