The research in my lab focuses on the molecular structure of soft matter surfaces (liquid and polymer surfaces) and interfaces. We use the surface science techniques ion scattering spectroscopy and electron spectroscopy. In my lab unique equipment for measuring directly concentration depth profiling with neutral impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (NICISS) and the composition and electronic structure of outermost layers with metastable induced electron spectroscopy (MIES). In the past the combination of NICISS with MIES turned out to be very useful to combine the information gained with surface science techniques with macroscopic quantities to derive thermodynamic quantities of solutions.

We have projects in the research fields of colloids, liquid surfaces, interfaces in organic solar cells, modifications of polymer surfaces and heterogeneous catalysis with size selected nanoclusters.   We are part of Flinders Centre  for NanoScale Science and Technology  and have various collaborations with research groups in Australia and overseas and uses larger research facilities like the Australian Synchrotron and high energy ion scattering techniques at ANSTO.

The focus of my research is deriving concepts for describing physical and chemical properties of surfaces and interfaces. I have two main research fields. One area is “conversion of light to X” where X stands for chemicals generated through photocatalysis or for electric energy through photovoltaic. Having develop specialised equipment for electron spectroscopy has led to analysing and advancing the function of interfaces in both photocatalysis and photovoltaics. The second area is in liquid surfaces by applying NICISS which was developed through my own work for measuring concentration depth profiles with atomic depth resolution has led to new understandings of surface concepts in colloid science.

• Dec 2010 Lily Ellis-Gibbings - University Medal
• April 2015 Dr Anirudh Sharma - Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence
• April 2016 Dr Christiaan Ridings - Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence
• September 2023 Dr Yanting Yin - Vice-Chancellor's Award for Early Career Researchers
• Dec 2024 Dr Anand Kumar - Best thesis award Flinders Institute of Nanoscale Science and Technology

• liquid surfaces and foam films (3)
• Photocatalysis (5)
• Organic photovoltaic (7)
• 2-D materials (1)

• interfaces in polymer based photovoltaic (1)

Fellowships

• Erskine Fellow, Canterbury University, New Zealand, September and October 2019.
• Endowment Chair, Manipal University Jaipur, India, August 2017.

Grants (selected)

• Australian Research Council - Deciphering ion specificity in complex electrolytes, $460,000 2023 - 2025
• SPARC Hydrogen, development of photocatalysis, $353,000 2021 - 2024
• Australian Research Council - Chemical Signature Analysis of Surfaces, $540,000 2019 - 2020
• Australian Research Council - Unravelling the dominant drivers of ion specificity, $533,000  2019 - 2021
• Australian Renewable Energy Agency - Preliminary Assessment of the Potential of CST to Add Value to Liquid Fuel Production, $730,000 2019 - 2021
• United States Army International Technology Center - Solar Fuels, $240,000 2016 - 2019

Invited presentations (selection)

• “Electronic Structure of Titania Surfaces Modified by Metal Clusters”, International Conference on Emerging Advanced Nanomaterials ICEAN, Australia 2022
• “Surface Science for Advancing Photocatalysis and Understanding the Structure of Liquid Surfaces”, International Conference on Recent Advances in Applied Sciences Technology and Health (RASTH-2021), March 2021.
• “High Resolution Concentration Depth Profiles for Analysing Soft Matter Surfaces with NICISS and Electron Spectroscopy“, International Workshop on High-Resolution Depth Profiling, Uppsala, Sweden, June 2018.
• “High Resolution Concentration Depth Profiles for Analyzing Soft Matter Surfaces with NICISS”, Ion Beam Workshop, Tsukuba, Japan, December 2017.
• “Metal Clusters on Semiconductor Surfaces”, International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICONN 2017), Chennai, August 2017.
• “Clusters on Semiconductor Surfaces for Novel Catalysts”, Emerging Energy Technologies Summit, Melbourne, December 2016.
• “Nanotechnology – How can we make it useful?”, The Indian Science Congress Association Chennai Chapter, Chennai, October 2015.
• “High Resolution Concentration Depth Profiles for Analyzing Soft Matter Surfaces with NICISS”, International Conference on Inelastic Ion Surface Collision (IISC-21), San Sebastian, Spain, October 2015.
• “Clusters for Photocatalysis”, NanoS-E3 2015, October 2015, Kingscliff, Australia
• “ZnO in Inverted Polymer Based Solar Cells”, Energy, Materials, and Nanotechnology (EMN) Photovoltaics Meeting, Orlando, USA, January 2015
• “Analyzing Liquid Surfaces with Ion Scattering and Electron Spectroscopy”, High Resolution Depth Profiling 7, Singapore, July 2013.
• “Formation of Dye Multilayers on Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Photoelectrode Surfaces”, Australian Colloid and Interface Science Conference, Noosa, February 2013
• “Determining Concentration Depth Profiles in Thin Foam Films”, European Colloid and Interface Science Conference, Germany, 2011.
• “Molecular Structure and Kinetics of Liquid Surfaces” Gordon Research Conference “Dynamics at Surfaces“, Andover, USA, July 2005.
• “Structure and Topography of Liquid Surfaces”17th International Conference on Ion-Surface Interactions, Zvenigorod, Russia, July 2005.