Giorgio Colombi
PhD candidate
Photochromism of rare earth oxyhydrides thin films
Multianion compounds offer unprecedented degrees of freedom in the design of functional materials thanks to the broad spectrum of different anion characteristics, such as electronegativity, polarizability, and ionic radii.
In this class of materials, rare earth (RE) oxyhydride REOxH3-2x compounds stand out for their exceptional hydride ion (H-) conductivity and possibly related photochromic effect.
Within this project I aim at understanding the yet unclear photochromic mechanism. Such insight will enable a rational optimization of the material and its properties towards the requirements of practical applications in smart windows, sensors and optoelectronic devices.
- Reactive sputtering
- Compositional and (RBS/ERD) and structural analysis (XRD, EXAFS, Positron Annihilation)
- Thin films optics and in-situ spectroscopy
- Electrical transport properties (Resistivity, Hall effect)
- DFT
