Electronic and photonic molecular materials projects
The Electronic and Photonic Molecular Materials group is interested in many aspects of the technology and physics of organic semiconductors. Current research ranges from nano-scale devices, nano-photonic technology and measurement, to light emitting diodes and display technology.
Interactions between a single enzyme molecule and a substrate of interest
Supervisor: Dr Ashley Cadby
The project involves the development of an atomic force microscopy (AFM) method to study the interaction of a single enzyme with a target substrate. Initial studies will concentrate on the lipase group of enzymes, these enzymes are of high commercial importance due to there heavy use in the detergent industry. The enzyme/ substrate interaction will be studied under varying conditions and substrate morphologies. The methodology developed will the be applied to Lipase mutants, developed at The Faculty of Biomedical & Life Sciences in Glasgow, in order to optimize the mutants for operation under specific conditions useful for industrial process.
The project will be heavily dependent on atomic force microscopy and will therefore require an background in physics, physical chemistry or material science. The project will also require some surface chemistry. Finally due to interdisciplinary nature of this project the student will be expected to interact closely with Biologists.
Energy transfer in direct reconfigurable nano-machines
Supervisor: Dr Ashley Cadby
The grand challenge in nanotechnology is to create molecular machines, capable of being fuelled by energy sources and able to carry out tasks with nanometer scale precision. In this project you will be working within a collaboration to develop a reconfigurable molecular machine. Using various nano-scale measurement techniques such as scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) you will be studying energy transfer within in the molecular machine. The understanding of energy transfer achieved will allow the control of power within the machine. This is a challenging problem with the study of the fundamental optical and electronic properties of novel materials at the heart of the project. The project will also require you to be able to interact with researchers in many different academic disciplines.
Incorporation of bio-components in to opto-electronic devices made from soft matter semiconductors
Supervisor: Dr Ashley Cadby
Bacteria based on protein light harvesting complexes absorb light with high efficiency and then produce separated charges. Utilizing the efficiency of naturally occurring materials in optical devices is an exciting goal, however bacteria have evolved to work in a biological environment [lipid membrane] and as such cannot be easily incorporated in to standard solid-state technology. One possible solution to this problem is to combine reduced biological systems as the active materials within synthetic organic semiconductor systems. Here the organic semiconductor would aid collection and transport of charges and would hopefully endow a protective capability on the biological material. You will study energy transfer between organic and biological systems with the aim of developing viable electronic and optical interfaces between the two systems. You will study energy transfer from conjugated polymers to common and easily available biological systems such as Purple photosynthetic bacteria. The interface between soft matter and life science is a highly critical area of research and a key output of this project will be a detailed understanding of the morphology of the bacteria within the polymer matrix and how this affects the efficiency energy transfer.
Developing novel techniques to fabricate organic photovoltaic devices
Supervisor: Prof David Lidzey
We are looking for a PhD student to work as part of a close-knit team exploring the fabrication and optimisation of plastic solar cells fabricated using the technique of spray-coating. Spray-coating is a technology that is ideally suited to coating large areas at speed. It is widely used in both automotive industries and in graphic arts, and also has the advantages of low cost, low waste, and compatibility with a range of solvents. Whilst spray-coating is most widely used in simple ‘painting’ applications, there are a number of emerging thin-film technologies based on functional materials whose manufacture is ideally suited to spray-coating. In this project, you will help develop a spray-based deposition techniques that will be used to spray-coat polymer based photovoltaic devices over relative large areas. The polymers and organic materials you will explore will be synthesized for you by our colleagues in the Department of Chemistry. You will then use these thin films as the active layer in a photovoltaic device that you will make and test using our solar simulator. In particular, we are interested to explore the formulation polymer-photovoltaic inks for spray-coating, the micro- and nano-structure of a spray-coated photovoltaic film, and methods to maximize the operational efficiency of spray-based photovoltaics. We are also interested in exploring the stability and degradation mechanisms that occur in spray-coated organic photovoltaics.
This is a highly multidisciplinary project that will ideally suit someone who wishes to build their career in solar energy generation and technology development. You will gain a large number of practical skills and great problem-solving capability which will make you very attractive to potential employers in this sector. The ideal candidate will be a confident experimenter and will be a recent graduate in physics, chemical physics, material science or electrical engineering.
Strong exciton-photon coupling in organic semiconductor microcavities
Supervisor: Prof David Lidzey
A microcavity is a structure formed when two highly reflecting mirrors are placed in very close proximity (a few hundred nanometers). Such microcavities can trap photons in certain allowed optical modes. By placing a semiconductor thin film in a microcavity, a range of fascinating effects can be explored. In particular, it is possible to 'mix' the electronic states of the semiconductor, with the trapped photons in the cavity to create entirely new states called 'exction-polaritons'. Such exciton-polariton states can be thought of as quasi-particles having a range of optical properties. In inorganic semiconductor cavities, it has been shown that polaritons can form collective (non-equilibrium) condensates having properties analogous to the Bose-Einstein condensates formed in ultra-cold gasses.
In this project, you will explore the fabrication of microcavites containing thin films of organic semiconductors, and will look for the signatures of coherent (collective) behaviour. This project will be performed jointly with colleagues in Southampton. The project will involve the fabrication of thin film optical structures using a range of different techniques (spin-coating, plasma deposition etc.) and will also involve you performing a range of different laser spectroscopies. You will also attempt to make electrically-pumped devices from the structures you create.
The project will suit a recent physics graduate with an interest in condensed matter physics, optics, photonics and spectroscopy.
Single molecule spectroscopy of conjugated polymers
Supervisor: Prof David Lidzey
In this project, you will use spectroscopic techniques to study the fluorescence emission from single conjugated-polymer molecules and other self-assembled molecular nanostructures. You will disperse molecules at very low concentration in an inert 'host' polymer matrix. By using a sensitive detector, you will then image and measure the fluorescence generated from single molecules. We are interested in how the conformation and structure of the molecules affects their emission properties, and how we can control basic photophysical processes - such as energy migration - at the single molecule level. You will also study single molecule emission in a variety of different photonic micro- and nanostructures which you will build. This project is fundamental in nature, and will open a fascinating window into nanoscale electronic processes.
The project will suit a recent physics, physical chemistry or materials science graduate with an interest in condensed matter physics, optics, photonics and spectroscopy.