Munro Research Group

Undergraduate researchers in the Munro Lab investigate the interactions between colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals and their surface ligands. We study the chemistry behind ligand exchange in order to improve the efficiency and stability of colloidal nanocrystals in applications such as solar cells and luminescent solar concentrators.

Most summers 2-3 undergraduate students work in the Munro Lab for 10 weeks. They learn to synthesize colloidal II-VI nanocrystals using air-free techniques. The nanocrystals made include doped and undoped materials, core/shell structures, and nanocrystals of varying shape. Students learn to characterize their samples using techniques such as UV-vis absorbance and photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as XRD, FTIR, NMR, TEM, and cyclic voltammetry.

Our research group is part of the Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative (PUNC).