Honours Student

Nanoscience Laboratory
Bio21 Institute and School of Chemistry
Bio21 Institute
30 Flemington Road
The University of Melbourne
Victoria, 3010
Australia

The current project involves the synthesis of SnS, SnSe, SnTe, Bi2S3, Sn2S3 and FeS2 nanocrystals as potential low band gap semiconductors for use in solar cells.

To improve the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells, band-gap-tunable quantum dots such as CdSe have been used alongside TiO2 to capture sunlight and inject electrons into TiO2.  Low band gap materials are able to absorb a more significant portion of the solar spectrum, in particular within the near infrared (NIR) and infrared (IR) regions.  Unfortunately, CdSe is toxic due to the presence of cadmium and therefore is unlikely to be useful other than a good model system and for certain niche applications.

There is a need for non-toxic materials with a low band gap that are inexpensive and readily available.  Such particles should also be scaleable down to nanometer dimensions and quantum dots offer the substantial advantage of being tunable to particular wavelengths of the solar spectrum.  Accordingly, the aim of the current project is to synthesize homogenous (of same composition) and monodispersed (of same size and shape) nanocrystals from the above mentioned materials.

Broadly, I am interested in synthesizing nanocrystals for use in photovoltaic devices.  This covers my interests in synthesizing and characterizing inorganic particles at the nanoscale.  I am also interested in quantum mechanics and in particular photoelectronic effects. 

I hold bachelor degrees in law and science and a masters degree in law, all from The University of Melbourne.   

I enjoy spending time with my family as well as reading, running and walking – and holidays at the beach.

English is my main language, otherwise Hungarian and have studied German and French at basic levels.