Nanophysics – (Ph.D.)

On a larger scale, organic photovoltaic thin films have exciting potential for low-cost, large area devices on flexible substrates: we are examining the fundamental issues of charge generation and separation at the critical 10 nm length scale. Our experimental studies primarily involve detailed structural and electrical measurements with scanning probe microscopy (SPM), and many aspects are underpinned by computational simulations.

Research projects are available in:

* Experimental studies of electrical conduction through single molecules such as porphyrins, cytochromes and graphene (a giant carbonbased molecule).
* Theoretical molecular chemistry and electrical conduction of single molecules.
* Development of flexible SPM instrumentation.
* High resolution SPM-based electrical measurements of organic photovoltaics aiming to understand processes at the donor-acceptor interfaces.
* Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (DFT) of the structure and dynamics of biomolecules.
* Synchrotron-based diffraction of molecular systems at ESRF Grenoble and Diamond.
* Theory of complex systems, particularly the emergence of self-organisation which may be found at the edge of chaos, and their relation to critical behaviour in condensed matter.

Special Features:
* Research students take specialist academic courses and courses to develop their communication and personal skills.
* There is a full programme of seminars and the individual research groups hold regular meetings where members present new results and discuss their research in detail.
* There is an annual postgraduate conference and a research student poster competition.
* There are active collaborations with research groups overseas and regular attendance at major international conferences by staff and students.