Hybrid Polymer-2D Composites for Next-generation Semiconductors

Semiconductors are transforming human civilization with advancements ranging from solar cells and image sensors to rapidly expanding artificial intelligence infrastructures.

However, conventional semiconductors alone cannot meet the ever-increasing demand, especially considering their high energy consumption, use of hazardous chemicals, and the need for emergent new applications such as wearable electronics.

This necessitates the development of new semiconducting materials that enable sustainable devices through low-cost, scalable, and “green” fabrication processes.

This project will pioneer a new research direction by developing semiconducting polymer-2D hybrid composite inks to address this comprehensive challenge.This project will be performed at the Ångström laboratory, Uppsala University, spanning four years.

I will combine chemically tunable semiconducting polymers and stable 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) - two fields that currently don’t interact - to solve critical research questions in each field, such as long-standing morphological instability issues in polymer optoelectronics.

I will establish eco-friendly defect passivation protocols for liquid exfoliated 2D-TMDs for the first time, and reveal the photophysical properties of the new composites by advanced optical and X-ray-based spectroscopies.

The benefit of polymer-2D composites will be demonstrated by achieving stable and efficient electronic and optoelectronic devices beyond the state of the art.