Doctoral Researchers

A7: Ruth Pinheiro Muniz

E-Mail: ruth.pinheiro_muniz@tu-dresden.de
Phone: +49 351 463 38623
Office: TU Dresden
Room: KRO 2.05

After an internship in a chemistry lab during my bachelor’s, I was fascinated with the art of synthesis and characterization, and I knew that I wanted to stay in research. To pursue further qualification, I entered a Material Sciences program for my master’s and had the opportunity to learn more about the colloidal world. Given my background, I sought a Ph.D. opportunity that would provide me with more experience in synthesis and device fabrication, and the RTG was an ideal fit for my goals. Specifically, my project centers on synthesizing and stabilizing core-shell nanoparticles for use in solar cell devices.

Project Topic: Perovskite / PbX (X=S, Se) core-shell quantum dots for photovoltaic and light-emitting diodes

Supervisors: Yana Vaynzof, Karl Leo

A new generation of photovoltaic (PV) and light-emitting diode (LED) devices based on perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) materials have been gathering worldwide attention due to their impressive efficiency and ease of fabrication. CsPbI3 PQDs are of particular interest for photovoltaic applications since their bandgap is favorable to light harvesting across a broad spectral region, leading to power conversion efficiencies surpassing 16%. [1] While these QDs show excellent performance, they suffer from significant degradation, limiting the lifetime of the devices. [2] In this work, we focus on developing new routes to passivate the surface of the CsPbI3 QDs to enhance their environmental stability. In particular, we aim to coat the CsPbI3 QDs with a thin shell of PbS, which is made possible due to the excellent match of the atomic lattice parameters between the two materials. [3] We characterize in detail the properties of both uncapped and PbS-capped QDs and monitor their evolution over time.

References:

[1] D. Jia et al., “Tailoring solvent-mediated ligand exchange for CsPbI3 perovskite quantum dot solar cells with efficiency exceeding 16.5%”, Joule, vol. 6, no 7, p. 1632–1653, jul. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.joule.2022.05.007.

[2] M. Albaladejo‐Siguan, E. C. Baird, D. Becker‐Koch, Y. Li, A. L. Rogach, e Y. Vaynzof, “Stability of Quantum Dot Solar Cells: A Matter of (Life)Time”, Adv. Energy Mater., vol. 11, no 12, p. 2003457, mar. 2021, doi: 10.1002/aenm.202003457.

[3] M. Albaladejo-Siguan et al., “Efficient and Stable PbS Quantum Dot Solar Cells by Triple-Cation Perovskite Passivation”, ACS Nano, vol. 14, no 1, p. 384–393, jan. 2020, doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b05848.

 

Education
03/2020-03/2022

Master of Science in Materials Science

Universidade de Brasília - Brazil

  • Focus: Colloidal stability of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles by using Zeta Potential and Dynamic Scattering Light
  • Thesis: Temperature dependence of the colloidal stability on aqueous ferrofluids with core@shell nanoparticles, using dynamic light scattering and zetametry
08/2026-12/2019

Bachelor of Science in Natural Sciences

Universidade de Brasília - BRazil

  • Student assistant in the physical chemistry lab, working on the synthesis and characterization of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles
  • Thesis: The use of ionic strength to improve the colloidal stability of aqueous-based ferrofluids