LAM seminar series: Internal and External Control of Excitons in Colloidal Quantum Dots
Lecture title: Internal and External Control of Excitons in Colloidal Quantum Dots
Presented by: Dr. Jennifer A. Hollingsworth
Time and place: The lecture will take place on Friday, October 21st, 2024, at 10:00 am, in the large conference room of the Comenius University Science Park.
Abstract. Colloidal quantum dots (cQDs) synthesized in simple laboratory flasks are finding real-world applications in demanding technologies from displays and lighting to photovoltaics and photodetectors. In the future, cQDs may be the basis for single-photon devices in quantum networks. Beyond quantum-size control, we pursue an expanded “structural toolbox” to synthetically engineer new quantum emitters with targeted photophysical properties, including non-blinking behavior, biexciton enhancement, dual-color emission. Taking advantage of their solution-phase processibility, we prepare cavity- or antenna-coupled cQD hybrid materials using, e.g., deterministic, direct-write nanointegration. The former—precision synthesis—affords internal control over excitonic properties, while the latter—hybrid materials fabrication—affords external control via local environmental effects.
About the speaker. Dr. Jennifer A. Hollingsworth is a Laboratory Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Physical Society (Materials Physics) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Chemistry), and serves as an elected Councilor for the ACS Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry. She holds a BA in Chemistry from Grinnell College and a PhD degree in Inorganic Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis. She joined LANL as a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow in 1999, becoming a staff scientist in 2001. In 2013, she was awarded the LANL Fellows’ Prize for Research for her discovery of non-blinking “giant” quantum dots. She serves as Thrust Leader for Nanophotonics & Optical Nanomaterials in the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), a US-DOE Nanoscale Science Research Center and User Facility. Her research interests include discovery, rational design, and development of novel colloidal quantum emitters, unique synthesis and assembly techniques (e.g., automated synthesis, microfluidics-enabled nanowire growth, and scanning-probed-enabled direct write nanointegration), and nanomaterials applications, such as bioimaging, solid-state lighting and single-photon quantum light sources. In these areas, she has ~125 publications, >17,000 citations, and an h-index of 54.
You can find more in the invitation here: [.pdf]
The news portal of Comenius University published a press release about the LAM laboratory:
The Research and Development Agency (RDA) has approved funding for the research project APVV-23-0202 on Ternary Chalcogenide Perovskites for Photovoltaics and APVV-23-0300 on Charging and Charge Transfer in Quantum Confined Nanocrystals. Congratulations!
The Faculty of Natural Sciences organized the student conference to encourage undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students to present their work on April 25, 2024. The program featured two main sessions: a presentation and a poster session. An estimated 150 participants from various departments showcased their research. Three students participated from LAM: Sameer Kumar Tiwari presented on “Preparation of BaZrS3 Thin Films at Moderate Temperature and its Mechanism.” Ivana Božeková discussed her research “Using Gold Nanocrystals to Inhibit Bacterial Growth as a Possible Alternative to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance.” This work contributes to advancing our understanding of nanomaterials in biomedical applications. Ehsan Rezaie Ahari presented a Photoluminescence study of BaZrS3 Perovskite nanocrystals at a single nanocrystal level showing a phenomenon of photoluminescence intermittence, blinking. For more info click here 
On 20.03.2024, members of the LAM team participated in an event organized by NextStep Science. This event focuses on creating contacts between those interested in career opportunities in the natural sciences, people from the field of science and the private sector. Members of the LAM team introduced the visitors to the scientific focus, work in the laboratory, and the possibilities of future use of nanomaterials and new materials that are being developed at LAM.