Event Details

The MSI are pleased to restart their lunchtime seminars, starting with two talks given by Dr Stijn Mertens & Alessio Quadrelli. We have booked FASS meeting room 2 (click here to see the room on a map) for anybody who would like to attend in person. We will also be streaming the seminar on Teams. Please could you let the MSI (msi@lancaster.ac.uk) know if you are planning to attend in person, for catering purposes. Please see information about the speakers and talks below.

Dr Stijn Mertens

Title: Electrochemical Materials Science: an electrifying combination

Abstract: We typically think of electrochemistry as comprising chemical reactions where the redox state of the participating atoms changes, such as metal electrodeposition or water electrolysis. While this is also true, the remit of electrochemistry is much wider.

In my talk, I will show examples of electrochemical surface science where the materials aspect takes centre stage: structural switching in supramolecular monolayers, from the collective to the single-molecule level, and nanotexture switching of supported boron nitride, and how this can be used as a model system to study static friction and adhesion.

K Cui, SFL Mertens et al., Ambient bistable single dipole switching in a molecular monolayer. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 59, 14049 (2020). SFL Mertens et al., Switching stiction and adhesion of a liquid on a solid. Nature 534, 2016, 676 (2016).

Bio: Stijn (Stan) Mertens is Senior Lecturer in Electrochemical Surface Science in the Department of Chemistry. He completed chemistry undergraduate and graduate studies at Ghent University, Belgium. After postdoctoral research with David Schiffrin (Liverpool) and Jens Ulstrup (Denmark), and a Marie Curie fellowship at the University of Bern, Switzerland, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the Vienna University of Technology, where he also obtained his Habilitation in Chemical Physics, before moving to Lancaster in 2018.

Alessio Quadrelli

Title: On-surface polymers growth and characterisation.

Abstract: My research focuses on studying on-surface polymerisation, which involves coating a surface with a nanometric thick film of cross-linked functional monomers. The covalent bonds bestow stability against a wide range of stimuli which is a prerequisite for real-life applications.

The growth of the polymeric coatings is achieved by polymerisation in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) or plasma polymerisation (PP).

The former consists of growing 2D polymers of organic molecules, named covalent organic frameworks (COFs), which are the natural extension of 2D inorganic materials to the organic world. The COFs growth on inert surfaces has proven challenging, but it is a fundamental step towards studying their electronic, photonic and catalytic properties. I contributed to proving that atomic quantum clusters of five copper atoms (Cu₅) catalyse polymerisation on various inert surfaces.

PP involves depositing functional coatings on a wide variety of substrates using a plasma of monomers. This technique is considered green as it is inherently energy and materials efficient, requires no solvents and involves a single step. Furthermore, it is scalable for industrial production. However, there is little knowledge of the early stages of PP. Hence, I'm currently investigating the topographical and chemical properties of (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO) coatings, a nitroxide radical with anti-biofouling capability, in the early stages.

By the end of my PhD, I aim to combine plasma and UHV polymerisation by improving PP with atomic quantum clusters or growing COFs using plasma.

I employ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to study the polymers elemental composition and chemical environments as it is sensitive to the first 8-10 nm. In addition, I analyse the coatings nanomechanical properties and the topography, down to the molecular scale, using the atomic force microscope (AFM) located in the special designed IsoLab to suppress the vibrational, acoustic and electric noise.

Bio: Alessio Quadrelli graduated in Physics at Univeristá degli Studi di Milano in 2021. His thesis focussed on the growth and characterisation of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe₂) and resulted in the publication of a scientific paper ("Tailoring the Phase in Nanoscale MoTe2 Grown by Barrier-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition", Cryst. Growth Des. 2021, 21, 5, 2970–2976). He is currently a PhD candidate studying on-surface polymerisation with surface sensitive techniques (Atomic force microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy).

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