Matthew Cowley’s PhD research used advanced computer modelling to understand and improve perovskite solar cells, a new generation of photovoltaic technology that has the potential to deliver high-efficiency solar energy at low cost. Perovskite materials are particularly attractive because they can be processed using simple manufacturing methods and integrated into lightweight, flexible solar devices. However, their performance is strongly influenced by the movement of charged defects and ions within the material, making device behaviour complex and sometimes difficult to predict.
Using physics-based drift-diffusion simulations and machine learning approaches, Matthew developed new ways to analyse how ions move through perovskite solar cells and how this movement affects device performance, stability and efficiency. His work showed that information hidden within routine electrical measurements can be used to reveal important material and interface properties, helping researchers diagnose losses and design more resilient devices.

Graphite is a critical component of lithium-ion battery anodes, but recovering it from manufacturing scrap remains challenging because residual binders and conductive additives can reduce material quality and make conventional recycling energy-intensive. This research explores a rapid near-infrared (NIR) treatment that can deactivate these binders and enable graphite to be recovered without damaging its underlying crystal structure.
The NIR process can treat graphite anode material in seconds rather than the prolonged heating required by conventional furnace-based methods. Testing showed that regenerated graphite retained electrochemical performance very close to pristine material, while the process also offers the potential to reduce energy demand and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The approach could therefore support faster, lower-impact, closed-loop recovery of graphite from battery manufacturing waste and contribute to a more circular lithium-ion battery supply chain.

Nuclear fusion relies uses heavy hydrogen isotopes such as tritium and deuterium to fuel the energy-generating process.

The similarities in the hydrogen isotopes require highly tuned porous functional materials to separate them. In this work we design microporous species to efficiently separate the hydrogen isotopes, using a range of metal ions. This includes testing the uptake of hydrogen isotopes, material synthesis, characterisation, computational calculations, and using national facilities such as ISIS Neutron and Muon source to explain the interactions with the different isotopes.

Research by PhD student Zhongkai Li explored how specially designed polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) can be used to control water movement using electrical energy. By modifying the chemical structure of these materials, the team demonstrated how water flow could be precisely controlled through electroosmotic pumping, without net ion transport. This research opens up possibilities for developing advanced membrane technologies for controlled water transport, purification systems and drug delivery applications.

Research performed by Dr Boyang Mao (former PhD in Pascu Group, now Assistant Research Professor at Cambridge University, Boyang Mao | Cambridge Graphene Centre) connected molecular synthesis, directed self-assembly and materials characterisation with sustainable chemical technologies, developing new approaches to resource-efficient transformations and energy-related applications. We applied molecular design, inorganic and supramolecular chemistry, and nanomaterials synthesis to develop functional materials for sustainable energy applications including small molecules encapsulation, conversion and chemical transformations under nanoconfinement. We now focus on understanding how molecular structure, metal coordination and self-assembly influence the properties and reactivity of materials, enabling the development of new multifunctional molecules and materials systems.

At the interface between Research Themes, with Dr James Tyson (our former CDT CSCT student James_Tyson_Final_Thesis_15_08_2016.pdf) and Dr Giuseppe Giuffrida (ERC O2Sense PhD student now Senior Researcher at GSK, Development of new peptide conjugates as biosensors and imaging tools and investigations into their interactions with prostate cancer cells - the University of Bath's research portal) focussed on the synthetic functional materials design and testing of self-assembled peptides, peptide-carbon nanomaterials and metal-containing hybrid architectures with dual role as hybrids for chiral responsive optoelectronics and biocompatible sensors scaffolds. Synthetic peptides provide versatile molecular building blocks whose sequence, structure and intermolecular interactions can be tailored to direct assembly into organised functional materials. We continue to combine metallo-peptides, and/or molecular metal complexes with graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes, we investigate how nanoscale organisation and confinement can control electronic properties, selectivity and stability including their potential as bio-nanocatalysts underpinned by systems approaches, working at the interface between the 3 themes of the CDT. Such functional molecular and carbon-based materials have potential applications in optoelectronics, solar-energy conversion and energy-storage technologies. We are developing supported and cooperative metal centres, exploring alternative synthetic approaches such as photo- and mechano-chemistry in self-assembly and understanding how the local environment influences activity in sustainable transformations. Advanced spectroscopy, electrochemistry, electron microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging allow us to correlate molecular organisation with materials performance.