New materials discovery for optoelectronics with mechanochemistry and solid-state NMR

Halide perovskites, mechanosynthesis and solid-state NMR

Discovery of new functional materials is one of the key challenges of materials chemistry today. Halide perovskites have recently been discovered as a new class of material for solar cells and light emission. For example, the efficiency of perovskite-based photovoltaics increased from 4% to over 25% in just a decade, and they are now making their way onto the market. Much of this improvement has been thanks to the development of new materials through compositional engineering.

The Kubicki Group (https://kubickilab.wordpress.com/) at the University of Birmingham is pioneering atomic-level structure studies of these new hybrid materials.

Your project will explore a largely uncharted territory in materials research. You will combine mechanosynthesis to discover new materials with high efficiency and throughput (no time-consuming purification involved!). You will then study their atomic-level structure using solid-state NMR and other complementary techniques (X-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopies) to understand how the practically useful properties of the material are related to its underlying structure.

You will use state-of-the-art mechanochemistry and solid-state NMR equipment. Mechanochemistry is exciting because it is by far the most sustainable way of making materials – it has 100% atom efficiency, does not require solvents (no waste!) and many believe it is the future of chemical manufacturing. Solid-state NMR is unique because it allows you to study the atomic-level structure of materials in ways that no other experimental technique can access.

You will also do experiments in a number of large-scale UK research facilities, such as Diamond and the UK High-Field Solid-State NMR Facility – this will be a great opportunity for you to see how such large facilities operate. The experience gained in our group will be useful to you on many levels: you will learn how to do academic research, work with leading experts in materials chemistry, learn how to deliver impactful talks, write academic papers. It will be an opportunity for you to interact with our interdisciplinary network of collaborators worldwide, and become a leader yourself.

If you are passionate about materials chemistry and especially if you consider an academic career in the future, this may be the right opportunity for you.

Relevant articles

Understanding new solar cells at the atomic level:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06006-7

https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abl4890

Speciation of dopants in metal halide perovskites:

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.7b07223

Review of the strategies we developed to study halide perovskites with solid-state NMR:

https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/4bf618c2-f82c-40c3-bdae-b5b290515f49

Please contact Dr Dominik J. Kubicki by email ([Email Address Removed]) in the first instance with a copy of your CV and a covering letter outlining your research interests.

The School of Chemistry is keen to achieve a gender and diversity balance across the School and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. The School holds an Athena SWAN Bronze Award, which recognises its work in promoting women’s careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEM) in higher education.