Dr. Ph.D. Anthoula Chrysa Papageorgiou

Courses and Dates

Offered Bachelor’s or Master’s Theses Topics

Assembling dye molecules on surfaces to tune their optical properties

In this project you will use scanning tunnelling microscopy under ultra-high vacuum conditions to provide a single molecule characterisation on how small dye molecules arrange and polymerise on surfaces. Such arrangements are expected to be able to tune the colour of the resulting structure.

Indigo is a natural dye of the namesake colour. Changing the chemical structure of its periphery changes its colour, giving rise to the class of indigoide molecules. Here we will use such a naturally occurring indigoide molecule, specifically chosen for its potential to be further functionalised on a planar metal surface. The aim is to use the insight provided from advanced microscopy characterisation, in order to provide a methodology for nanostructures with tuneable optical properties.

suitable as

• Bachelor’s Thesis Physics

Supervisor: Johannes Barth

Tethering of molecular sensitizers on solar cell surfaces

Titanium dioxide is a semiconductor widely used in solar cells. To harness the energy of the solar spectrum, it is sensitised with dyes which are bound by single or dual tethers. Most commonly these anchors are carboxylate groups, however catecholates and hydroxamates are also reported as convenient and robust alternatives.

With this project we aim to provide a comparative study on the microscopic events that lead the different tethers to guide the adsorption of molecular dyes on model titania surfaces. Scanning tunnelling microscopy under ultra-high vacuum conditions and at a temperature range of 250 to 350 K will be used as a convenient tool to provide real-space information about the adsorption and diffusion of single and dual anchors on single crystal surfaces of titanium dioxide.

suitable as

• Master’s Thesis Condensed Matter Physics
• Master’s Thesis Applied and Engineering Physics

Supervisor: Johannes Barth