Northwestern Engineering: Advanced Imaging Reveals Thermoelectric Materials Insights

Last year, I started learning about coupling and could feel its presence all around me and the engineering potential it holds. I started learning deeply and could see a clear research gap which led me to this study: "Electronic and optical coupling in semiconductor nanostructures: A systematic review of quantum dots, nanowires, and nanoplatelets for high-efficiency solar cells" that has been published in the Journal of Power Sources (Q1, Elsevier, Impact Factor: 7.9🔥) Alhumdulilah! This paper critically analyzes the electronic and optical coupling regimes in semiconductor nanostructures, specifically quantum dots (QDs), nanowires (NWs), and nanoplatelets (NPLs), to determine their efficacy in next-generation perovskite and silicon tandem solar cells. Some of the highlights from the paper: • Interface engineering within 10 nm is critical for efficient FRET coupling. • Perovskite-silicon tandem architectures approach 30% power conversion efficiency. • Quantum confinement lowers thresholds for carrier multiplication in QD devices. • Trade-offs identified between coupling efficiency and long-term excitonic stability. ** One of the key finding was: Non-radiative energy transfer (NRET) efficiency is strictly governed by the inverse-sixth-power distance dependence (1/R6), necessitating interface engineering within the Förster radius (<10 nm) for effective charge separation. P/S: Paper link is in the comments section. Email or message me if you need a free copy the full paper for non commercial usage. #SolarEnergy #Photovoltaics #MaterialScience #QuantumDots #Perovskite #RenewableEnergy #Research #Elsevier #Nanotechnology #CleanTech #Semiconductors #JournalOfPowerSources

✨ My Research Publications – 2025 ✨ Grateful to share my five peer-reviewed publications in 2025, spanning neuromorphic computing, MOF-based gas separation, flexible energy storage, and piezoelectric nanocomposites. 📄 1. Comparative analysis of two-terminal memristors, three-terminal transistors, and their integration in neuromorphic computing 📘 Journal: Materials Today Physics (Impact Factor ≈ 9.7) • Systematic comparison of memristor- and transistor-based artificial synapses for neuromorphic hardware. • Explores device physics, scalability, and integration strategies for brain-inspired computing. 📄 2. Recent progress in Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks for gas separation: Insights from theory, experiment, and process design 📘 Journal: Materials Today Physics (Impact Factor ≈ 9.7) • Connects ZIF pore chemistry with gas diffusion and adsorption mechanisms. • Highlights mixed-gas performance, stability issues, and scale-up challenges for membranes. 📄 3. Electrochemical Properties of Au Nanoparticle-Dispersed ZIF-8 Electrodes for High-Performance Supercapacitors: Investigation of Electrolyte Concentrations 📘 Journal: Langmuir (Impact Factor ≈ 3.9) • Developed Au-decorated ZIF-8 electrodes with optimized electrolyte environments. • Demonstrates enhanced charge storage, ion transport, and electrochemical stability. 📄 4. Flexible Piezoelectric Papers Fabricated Using Amine-Modified Cellulose Nanofibers and Boron Nitride Nanotubes Nanocomposites 📘 Journal: ACS Applied Polymer Materials (Impact Factor ≈ 4.2) • Fabricated sustainable, flexible piezoelectric papers using BNNT-reinforced CNF networks. • Achieved improved piezoelectric output via surface and interfacial engineering. 📄 5. Flexible electrodes for high-performance energy storage: materials, conductivity optimization, and scalable fabrication 📘 Journal: Nanoscale (Impact Factor ≈ 5.1) • Reviews material strategies to enhance conductivity in flexible electrodes. • Focuses on scalable fabrication routes and real-device integration. 🙏 Sincere thanks to my collaborators and mentors for their continued support. #MaterialsScience #EnergyStorage #NeuromorphicComputing #MOFs #GasSeparation #Supercapacitors #Piezoelectricity #FlexibleElectronics #Research2025

Capture molecular dynamics at the speed of light with ASU’s Ultrafast Laser Facility. Understanding how materials behave in the first trillionths of a second can unlock new possibilities across science and engineering. ASU’s Ultrafast Laser Facility gives researchers access to advanced time-resolved laser spectroscopy tools to study photoinduced dynamics in molecules, nanostructures and solids. The facility supports a wide range of techniques, including transient absorption spectroscopy, time-correlated single photon counting, fluorescence spectroscopy and single-molecule detection. With femtosecond laser pulses spanning 700–980 nm, researchers can capture fast optical and electronic processes with exceptional precision. These capabilities enable work in areas such as semiconductor and optoelectronic materials, solar technologies, biological and chemical systems and customized optical experiments requiring ultrafast laser sources. The facility’s instrumentation is paired with expert staff who support experiment design, user training and technical consultation. As part of ASU Core Research Facilities, the Ultrafast Laser Facility helps researchers move from concept to insight by combining world-class tools with collaborative support. Explore the attached slick sheet to learn how this facility can support your next project. Discover the Ultrafast Laser Facility: https://lnkd.in/g_mbg-cZ #ASUCoreFacilities #ASUCores #ASUResearch #ASUInnovation #ASUEngineering #UltrafastLaser #FemtosecondScience #TimeResolvedSpectroscopy #Photonics #MaterialsResearch #LaserSpectroscopy ASU Knowledge Enterprise ASU Biodesign Institute The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University ASU School of Molecular Sciences Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering — ASU ECEE School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy

Excited to share a new paper led by Pierre-Luc Thériault on self-aligning organic molecules for integrated nonlinear optics. 🎉 With brilliant collaborators (and chemistry wizards) Dmytro Perepichka, Heorhii Humeniuk, and Zhechang He, we developed organic materials with performance approaching—and in some regimes exceeding state-of-the-art lithium niobate, while offering a key practical advantage: low-cost fabrication and straightforward integration on a wide range of materials. This brings us closer to seamless on-chip integration of Pockels-based electro-optic modulators, parametric amplifiers, frequency converters, and quantum light sources on silicon and silicon nitride. Why this matters: as AI and data centers push for ever-faster, lower-power optical interconnects—and as telecom and quantum photonics demand scalable, manufacturable components—we need fast low-power electro-optics that can be integrated with silicon photonics, not just on specialized platforms. Paper: https://lnkd.in/ekg8Wfsg Grateful for generous support from NSERC’s Alliance Quantum Consortium program.

📢 #Research #news: a team of scientists from our department has shown that by changing the physical structure of gold at the nanoscale, we can drastically change how the material interacts with light – and, as a result, its electronic and optical properties. These results have implications in how we design #smart #materials for #sustainability and #technology, with applications spanning from #catalysis to #energy #harvesting, #medicine and #quantum #batteries. This is shown in a recent study published in #NatureCommunications. Press release: https://lnkd.in/dG7T5Hsq Original article: https://lnkd.in/dKvuVsSP

Recent advances in ultrathin material engineering have demonstrated a new memory principle using stacked graphene-based structures, enabling electrical writing and erasing of information without traditional ferroelectrics. This approach leverages spontaneous charge rearrangement at the interface of layered materials, resulting in stable, switchable memory at ultralow temperatures. The technology offers significant potential for ultralow-power electronic devices and quantum computing components, as it overcomes the limitations of conventional ferroelectrics in miniaturized devices and operates independently of external magnetic fields, ensuring enhanced stability and efficiency.

Scientists push excitons beyond light speed to transform materials: Scientists enable excitons to surpass light to transform materials and open new advanced paths to quantum devices. #EarthDotCom #EarthSnap #Earth

Recent theoretical advances suggest it may be possible to significantly increase the useful energy captured from sunlight and other light sources. By modeling how photons condense and behave collectively in microscopic optical devices, researchers have identified a potential method to convert diffused light into concentrated, laser-like energy. This approach could enhance the efficiency of solar cells and other energy-harvesting technologies. The findings, published in Physical Review A, will next be tested experimentally to assess their practical impact on future optical and energy conversion devices.

Modern times belong to Quantum Mechanics. What once seemed abstract and theoretical is now shaping the technologies that define our daily lives—and our future. From semiconductors and transistors to quantum computing, advanced energy materials, battery technology, and precision sensing, quantum mechanics underpins modern innovation. It enables us to understand and engineer matter at the atomic and electronic levels, unlocking performance once thought impossible. 🔹 Electronics & Computing – Nanoscale devices, quantum dots, and emerging quantum processors 🔹 Energy & Sustainability – Advanced catalysts, solid-state batteries, photovoltaics, and CO₂ conversion 🔹 Materials Science – Surface engineering, defect control, and quantum-driven material design 🔹 Healthcare & Sensing – MRI, quantum sensors, and ultra-precise diagnostics Today, quantum mechanics is no longer confined to textbooks—it is a design tool, a predictive framework, and a driver of industrial transformation. As computational power and experimental techniques advance, the boundary between theory and application continues to disappear. The future will belong to those who can translate quantum understanding into scalable technologies. 🔬⚛️ Quantum is not the future anymore—it is the present. #QuantumMechanics #MaterialsScience #QuantumTechnology #EnergyInnovation #Semiconductors #AdvancedMaterials #ResearchToReality

Argonne National Laboratory is advancing discovery through a new era of X-ray science! https://bit.ly/4bpP5uP With the upgraded Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne is delivering ultrabright X-ray beams that allow researchers to see materials at the atomic scale and in real time. With up to a 500-fold increase in X-ray beam brightness, the APS Upgrade opens the door to experiments once beyond reach. The result is sharper insight into material behavior and faster progress in energy storage, healthcare, and quantum technologies. #ArgonneFriends #UserFacility #AdvancedPhotonSource #XrayScience