Colloidal Synthesis of Complex Oxide Nanocrystals

<p dir="ltr">With the world’s population projected to hit 8.5 billion by 2030, there is an increasing interest in the development of materials that would allow for more efficient production and use of clean energy. One of the more promising routes for the production of clean energy is the utilisation of the vast amounts of solar radiation that hits the earth each day. To achieve this, significant research is being conducted around the world to design photoactive materials that would allow for solar radiation to be converted to chemical or electrical energy, as well as for the energy that is produced by current methods to be used more efficiently. While a vast number of materials have shown promise as photoactive materials, metal oxide semiconductors have garnered a vast proportion of attention due to the combination of their optical and electrical properties as well as their thermal and chemical stability. These materials have also been shown to have electro- and photocatalytic properties. </p><p dir="ltr">While binary oxides have received majority of the focus in the past, research into ternary oxide semiconductors has increased. Ternary oxides have shown great promise for applications which require photoactive materials. Ternary oxides have also shown more potential for modification when compared to binary oxides, which would allow for further modification and optimisation for the materials desired use. However, due to the increased complexity of ternary oxides there are fewer reports available detailing their synthesis and characteristics.</p><p dir="ltr">This research aims to produce ternary oxides through non-energy intensive methods with the final goal of utilising them as photoactive materials. Specifically, my research will focus on the design of synthetic protocols for the synthesis of promising and underexplored ternary oxides in the form of colloidal nanocrystals through the utilisation of solution-based methods.</p>