Surface Physics and Chemistry

A big shiny machine, a photo electron spectrometer

Surface physics and chemistry are at the heart of many technological advancements that shape our modern world, improving quality of life while paving the way for a more sustainable society. At LOE, we do fundamental surface physics and chemistry research on topics that can have a positive real-world impact. We explore the unique properties and phenomena that occur at surfaces and interfaces of different materials, where atoms and molecules meet and interact in the solid, liquid or gas phase, often dictating the functionality of both coatings and devices.

Surface physics delves into the physical aspects of these interactions, probing how e.g. van der Waals and electrostatic forces as well as chemical bonds influence the behavior of surfaces and interfaces. This knowledge is crucial for developing advanced materials with tailored properties, such as charge-selective electrode interface layers in solar cells and LEDs, (super)hydrophobic surfaces that repel water/ice, or materials with enhanced catalytic activity.

Surface chemistry focuses on the chemical reactions and processes that occur at surfaces and interfaces. This includes studying how molecules adsorb, react, and desorb from surfaces. Surface chemistry is vital for understanding and improving e.g. (opto)electronic device and battery stability, corrosion prevention, sensor development, and interfacing electronic materials with human or plant tissue.

Our unit’s current research interests include:

  • doping of organic semiconductors 
  • interface characterization and engineering for improving charge injection/extraction, exciton dissociation and stability of interfaces in organic and perovskite (opto) electronic devices 
  • functional forest-based materials
  • interface phenomena between organic electronic materials and biomaterials 
  • defects in organic semiconductor films 
  • growth and characterization of organic and perovskite semiconductor crystals 
  • development of surface science equipment and methods 

Surface Physics and Chemistry research leaders

Publications

2024

Nakul Jain, Rokas Jasiunas, Xiane Li, Huotian Zhang, Jiehao Fu, Rui Zhang, Li Gang, Mats Fahlman, Vidmantas Gulbinas, Feng Gao (2024) The Role of Thermally Activated Charge Separation in Organic Solar Cells Advanced Energy Materials (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Tao Wu, Hao Jiang, Mingyan Shi, Xianjie Liu, Meng Li, Lei Huang, Jia Yan, Hongguo Zhang (2024) Cobalt sulfide derived from metal organic framework for selective treatment of low concentration copper wastewater: Catalytic ability, reaction efficacy, and mechanism JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Vol. 12, Article 114324 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Rem Yann, Sreymean Ngok, Xianjie Liu, Magnus Willander, Chan Oeurn Chey, Omer Nur (2024) Controlled growth of 3D CdS-branched ZnO nanorod arrays for efficient solar driven photoelectrochemical water splitting Solid State Sciences, Vol. 154, Article 107600 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Yuanju Qu, Valdas Jokubavicius, Duc Quang Hoang, Xianjie Liu, Mats Fahlman, Ivan Gueorguiev Ivanov, Rositsa Yakimova, Jianwu W. Sun (2024) Aging Ni(OH)2 on 3C-SiC Photoanodes to Achieve a High Photovoltage of 1.1 V and Enhanced Stability for Solar Water Splitting in Strongly Alkaline Solutions ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Vol. 16, p. 50926-50936 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Tiefeng Liu, Gulzada Beket, Qifan Li, Qilun Zhang, Sang Young Jeong, Chi-Yuan Yang, Jun-Da Huang, Yuxuan Li, Marc-Antoine Stoeckel, Miao Xiong, Tom van der Pol, Jonas Bergqvist, Han Young Woo, Feng Gao, Mats Fahlman, Thomas Osterberg, Simone Fabiano (2024) A Polymeric Two-in-One Electron Transport Layer and Transparent Electrode for Efficient Indoor All-Organic Solar Cells Advanced Science (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Bernhard Burtscher, Chiara Diacci, Anatolii Makhinia, Marios Savvakis, Erik O. Gabrielsson, Lothar Veith, Xianjie Liu, Xenofon Strakosas, Daniel T. Simon (2024) Functionalization of PEDOT:PSS for aptamer-based sensing of IL6 using organic electrochemical transistors npj Biosensing, Vol. 1, Article 7 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Guoqing Wu, Hongyu Wang, Lei Huang, Jia Yan, Xuanxuan Chen, Huabing Zhu, Yi Wu, Shumei Liu, Xiaozhen Shen, Weiqi Liu, Xianjie Liu, Hongguo Zhang (2024) Copper hexacyanoferrate/carbon sheet combination with high selectivity and capacity for copper removal by pseudocapacitance Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 659, p. 993-1002 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Wenlong Jin, Chiyuan Yang, Riccardo Pau, Qingqing Wang, Eelco K. Tekelenburg, Hanyan Wu, Ziang Wu, Sang Young Jeong, Federico Pitzalis, Tiefeng Liu, Qiao He, Qifan Li, Jun-Da Huang, Renee Kroon, Martin Heeney, Han Young Woo, Andrea Mura, Alessandro Motta, Antonio Facchetti, Mats Fahlman, Maria Antonietta Loi, Simone Fabiano (2024) Photocatalytic doping of organic semiconductors Nature (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Shaobing Xiong, Fuyu Tian, Feng Wang, Aiping Cao, Zeng Chen, Sheng Jiang, Di Li, Bin Xu, Hongbo Wu, Yefan Zhang, Hongwei Qiao, Zaifei Ma, Jianxin Tang, Haiming Zhu, Yefeng Yao, Xianjie Liu, Lijun Zhang, Zhenrong Sun, Mats Fahlman, Junhao Chu, Feng Gao, Qinye Bao (2024) Reducing nonradiative recombination for highly efficient inverted perovskite solar cells via a synergistic bimolecular interface Nature Communications, Vol. 15, Article 5607 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Marc-Antoine Stoeckel, Kui Feng, Chi-Yuan Yang, Xianjie Liu, Qifan Li, Tiefeng Liu, Sang Young Jeong, Han Young Woo, Yao Yao, Mats Fahlman, Tobin J. Marks, Sakshi Sharma, Alessandro Motta, Xugang Guo, Simone Fabiano, Antonio Facchetti (2024) On-Demand Catalysed n-Doping of Organic Semiconductors Angewandte Chemie International Edition (Article in journal) Continue to DOI

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