On-surface synthesis of carbon-based magnetic nanomaterials
RESEARCH PROGRAMMES
P2: Quantum materials at the nanoscale
PhD PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Polymers in the natural world have been around since the beginning of time. Both natural and synthetic polymers are undoubtedly involved in comfort and facilitation of human life, being ubiquitous in our daily lives. Among the plethora of existing ones, covalently linked organic polymers (CPs) have been the primary focus of polymer science, playing a crucial role in providing solutions to critical problems of food, clean and abundant water, air, optoelectronics, energy, and health. However, the synthesis of well-defined conducting CPs with unique structural, electronic and magnetic properties under conventional solution chemistry methods is often hampered by their low solubility and high reactivity. Such polymers might enable completely new functionalities with prospects, as key components of high-level technologies, in a wide field such as organic electronics.
The PhD candidate will research the foundations and prospects of CPs toward the design and fabrication of novel nanomaterials, studying their inherent physico-chemical properties in different chemical environments. The researcher will combine different surface science SPM techniques such as STM, STS and nc-AFM, exploiting with unprecedented control (i) the tunability of molecular building blocks and the investigation of novel surface-assisted chemical reactions toward the synthesis of unique CPs, (ii) the chemical stability of the formed CPs and (iii) the ex-situ transfer to technologically relevant substrates. The experimental results will be confronted with theoretical modelling and first principles calculations in collaboration with the Nanosurf Lab. Lead by Prof. Pavel Jelínek (FZU, Czech Republic).
llustrative characterization techniques employed to unravel the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of a CP fabricated on a metallic substrate.
APPLICANT’S REQUIREMENTS
- The position is open to candidates with a Master degree in Chemistry, Material Science or Material Nano-engineering.
- Strong background in Polymer Science.
- Experience in ultra-high vacuum, chemistry labs and scanning probe microscopies.
- Fluent in English, good writing and interpersonal skills.
- Molecular modelling software and programming knowledge for data acquisition and data analysis.
- Previous participation in outreach activities, workshops, or summer schools.
RESEARCH GROUP DESCRIPTION
The main research interest of the group is dedicated to the on-surface synthesis of atomically precise synthetic carbon-based nanostructures (SCNs). More specifically, novel nanographenes (NGs) and covalently linked organic polymers (CPs), with prospects in organic electronics. The fabrication and characterization of such SCNs on surfaces, often hampered under conventional solution chemistry due to their low solubility and high reactivity, provide a novel route to study their unique structural, electronic and magnetic properties, enabling completely new functionalities. The final goal of this research topic is the fabrication of prototype field effect transistors based on CPs, which will suppose a great achievement by introducing NG/CP-FETs to the next-generation of flexible organic electronics. Along the way, we will profoundly study the chemical stability and the transfer of such SCNs from the necessary metallic substrate to a technologically relevant one.
RESEARCH SUPERVISOR
Dr. José Ignacio Urgel
Research Group website: https://www.nanociencia.imdea.org/nanoarchitectonics-on-surfaces/group-home
Other websites: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E5JBqqkAAAAJ&hl=en