Abstract
Nanomaterials are the base of all exciting new nanotechnologies, while study of their applications is exciting, just as much importance needs to be applied to the synthesis process.
In this seminar, I go into great detail to the finest details in experimental conditions to control the size, shape, morphology, and surface properties of two groups of transition metal oxide nanoparticles.
Iron oxide nanoparticles have shown to be excellent oxygen absorbers, while also exhibiting biodegradability, large surface area and reactivity with moisture even at a low humidity. Allowing them to stand out as ideal candidates for oxygen scavengers for food packaging materials. Nickel oxide nanoparticles meanwhile have high optical transmittance, inherent stability, suitable band energy structure. Making them a leading material to replace the better performing but unstable organic materials as hole transport layers in inverted-structure perovskite solar cells. Moreover, with p-type doping, conductivity and work function can be enhanced for better performing solar cells.
The major research problem is: Firstly, identifying the different experimental factors (precursor concentration, temperature, pH, choice of acids and bases, washing process etc.) that affect nanoparticle growth and aggregation. Secondly, to study how these details can be optimized to give the nanoparticles necessary for good performance in our applications.
Through various low-temperature, solution-processed chemical methods and physical characterization techniques, nanoparticles of sizes below 10nm can be confirmed through transmission electron microscopy supplemented with x-ray diffraction methods. Efficient inverted perovskite solar cells have also been fabricated while oxygen absorption measurements have shown great potential for oxygen scavenging so far.
Moving forward, further optimization needs to be done on consistent reproduction of the pristine nanoparticles while also putting more emphasis on trying out different doping strategies; both single and double elemental doping is being explored.
Anyone interested is welcome to attend.