Lectures

Lectures in the first semester (alphabetic list in order of the lecturers’ names):

(each 30h, students will have 2 obligatory lectures and will choose additional 7 lectures in the first semester)

  1. Prof. Michał Banaszak: Molecular simulation of soft matter

We will review molecular simulation methods: Monte Carlo, Molecular Dynamics and Self-Consistent Field Theory. The relevant numerical tools will be introduced. The case studies will cover the following topics: Polymer chain in solution (good and bad); coil-to-globule transition. Polymer blends and solutions; structure factor for macromolecules; self-organization, block copolymers and  biopolymers; protein folding; colloids. Special emphasis will be put on simulation of the ionic copolymer nanostructures which can  selectively transport lithium. These materials are used to build all-solid rechargeable lithium batteries.

  1. Dr hab. Krzysztof Gibasiewicz: Biophotovoltaic materials

In the first part of the lecture natural photosynthetic light conversion will be introduced and selected  light-converting proteins will be presented in more details. Then theories of intermolecular energy and electron transport will be introduced followed by presentation of basic optical and electrochemical techniques used to track excitation energy and electron transport. In the second part of the lecture selected biohybrid materials composed of photosynthetic proteins and inorganic components (conducting glass, semiconductors, conducting gels) will be described. Basic spectral and electrochemical properties of photovoltaic cells containing these materials will be demonstrated in the lab.

  1. Dr hab. Tomasz Grzyb: Down- and up-conversion in nanomaterials doped with lanthanide ions

Conversion of photon energy is the subject of intensive studies in the last years. The down-conversion process allows for the conversion of radiation, usually from the ultraviolet (UV) range to visible (Vis) and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Up-conversion, in turn, corresponds to the non-linear process of absorption of two or more photons resulting in the emission of radiation with energy higher than absorbed. These process may be utilized in many applications such as optoelectronics, displays or solar cell production. Also, biology and medicine may benefit from the conversion of light, mainly from the near-infrared to visible wavelengths. The most studied and promising materials used for down- and up-conversion are those containing lanthanides. The unique properties of lanthanide ions (Ln3+) allow for efficient luminescence within UV to NIR range, which results from f-f electronic transitions. The well-defined electron structure of Ln3+ ions together with the properties of the host material allows for designing nanosystems with desired luminescence properties, such as UV or NIR-excited, with appropriate color or emission lifetime. The lecture will introduce the modern aspects of Ln3+-doped nanomaterials.  Mechanisms responsible for the down- and up-conversion will be discussed as well as methods of determination of the spectroscopic properties of Ln3+-doped nanomaterials.

  1. Dr Mateusz Kempiński: Methods of fabrication and analysis of conducting nanostructures.

Lecture will involve the following topics:
i) Basic issues concerning the physics of conductors (free electron gas, Fermi level, band structure, electron scattering mechanisms, etc.).
ii) Methods of nanostructure preparation (thin layer deposition: PVD, CVD, ALD, MBE; surface nanostructurization: IBS, GLAD, thermal reconstruction; lithographic methods).
iii) Surface Analysis Techniques (overview of vacuum technologies; imaging: STM, AFM, SEM; spectroscopy: XPS, EDS, Raman, STS; structure: XRD, XRR, RHEED, LEED; adhesion and wetting: contact angle).
iv) Charge carrier and spin transport in nanostructures (measurement techniques: AC/DC four probe conductivity, EPR, Hall effect; localization: granular systems and metal-insulator transitions, tunneling and hopping conduction, Coulomb blockade, quantum dots, single electron devices).
v) Carbon-based nanostructures (graphene, nanotubes, fullerenes, active carbons, etc.).
vi) Application of conducting nanostructures (sensors, energy generation and storage, nanoelectronics, spintronics, etc.).

  1. Dr hab. Jarosław S. Kłos: Thermodynamics of Electrolyte Solutions

Part One: Introductory Statistical Mechanics (statistical postulates, statistical description of many-particle systems, microcanonical ensembles, canonical ensembles, grand canonical ensembles).
Part Two:  Introduction to phenomenological thermodynamics (basic notions and the zeroth law of thermodynamics, the internal energy and the first law of thermodynamics, the entropy and the second law of thermodynamics, the thermodynamic potentials).
Part Three: Electrolyte Solutions (introduction to thermodynamics of solutions, perfect solutions, real solutions, chemical reactions, galvanic and electrolytic cells, the Nernst Equation, The Gouy-Chapman Theory, The Stern Layer, The Debye-Hueckel Theory)

  1. Dr hab. Jarosław W. Kłos: Signal and energy processing in nanopatterned materials

The lecture will focus on the wave excitations in periodic nanostructures. The students will learn how to describe and analyze the structure of periodically patterned material and the spectrum of the wave excitation of this systems. They will become familiar with the basics of the theories of electromagnetic waves in photonics crystals and electronic waves in electronic superlattices. The applications of the periodically patterned nanostructures will be discussed for signal processing and energy processing. In particular, the explanation of the appearance the energy gaps in the spectrum of periodic structure will be present, together with the principles of working for tandem solar cell and intermediate band solar cells.

  1. Prof. Tomasz Kostyrko: Introduction to Computational Studies of Electronic Structure of Nanosystems

Nanoscience deals with phenomena that appear on interface of solids and atomic or molecular world. The problems that emerge need applications of methods coming from various research fields: atomic, molecular and solid state physics, quantum chemistry and computer science. The ensuing computational tasks are very demanding since a large number of electrons are involved in forming main features of electronic structure of the nanosystems. Therefore one needs methods that provide a trade-off between the accuracy and feasibility of computation procedures. The lecture will provide an introduction to the computational chemical methods used in studies of electron properties of solids and nanostructures. The foundations of the density functional theory will be presented and a review of its implementations in several freely accessible (GPL licensed) computer codes will be given.  The application of the method will be exemplified by discussing various case studies. Emphasis will be put on selected nanosystems important for the energy processing and applications. In particular, carbon-based systems like nanotubes and graphene, both free-standing as well as forming composite systems with inorganic crystals will be analyzed.

  1. Prof. Maciej Kozak: Bionanostructures

The lecture covers the review of biological nanostructures and the possibilities of their use in nanotechnology. In the first part of the module, typical biological nanostructures (proteins and their complexes, nucleic acids, ribosomes, antibodies, viral capsids, lipid based nanostructures and biological nanomachines) will be discussed. Special attention will be paid on protein complexes involved in the light-harvesting processes and energy conversion. The second part of the module will show the use of bionanostructures in the construction of new hybrid nanomaterials (nanosensors, drug delivery systems etc.) with unique (dedicated, controlled) properties.

  1. Prof. Maciej Krawczyk: Magnetism, magnetic materials and magnetization dynamics

The first part of the lecture is dedicated to introduction to magnetism. Starting from basic low of the electrodynamics, magnetic and electromagnetic fields, the magnetization and magnetic moment, with susceptibilities of ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic materials will be discussed. Advanced concepts of electron-electron interaction will be introduced in order to give a general overview and explains basic fundamental concepts in magnetism and microscopic origin of the magnetism in solids. The second part concerns magnetic properties of ferromagnetic materials with explaining role of different type of energy terms determining magnetic properties. The detailed description of hysteresis and related properties will be provided, including magnetic domain formation, domain walls theory and complex magnetization textures with its possible applications in future magnetic memories. The physics of thin films, multilayers, giant magneto-resistance, and nanoscale patterned ferromagnetic materials will be presented with emphasizing prospects for controlling and using heat dissipation. Last part will be devoted to the spin wave dynamics and principles of the magnonics, an emerging field of physics with its potential to be used in electronic, radio-frequency and spintronic devices offering up to two orders of magnitude decrease of the energy consumption as compared to the currently used CMOS and RF devices.

  1. Dr hab. Aleksandra Pajzderska: Introduction to neutron scattering

The lecture will include:
i) Theory of neutron scattering
ii) Elastic and inelastic neutron scattering
iii) Neutron scattering facilities and productions of neutrons
iv) Neutron detection, instrumentations and instrument components (spectrometers, diffractometers and reflectometers)
v) Methodology of measurement and access to neutron facilities
vi) Examples of the use of neutron methods in condensed matter research, in particular: in materials for energy conversion and energy storage, ionic and conducting systems, fuel cell, thin films, nanocomposites, porous systems and photovoltaic systems.

  1. Prof. Małgorzata Śliwińska-Bartkowiak: Liquids in Confinement; Quasi-high pressure effects in nanopores

Phenomena that occur only at very high pressures  in the bulk phase are often observed to occur in the confined phase at normal  pressures (the pressure of the bulk phase equilibrium with the confined phase)  in abundant experimental evidence suggests that adsorbates confined in nanoporous carbons  exhibit high pressures, such as high pressure crystal structures, high pressure chemical reactions, and the deformation of pore walls due to the adsorbate. Also molecular simulation studies of the pressure tensor for simple adsorbates  in carbon nanopores of slit, cylindrical and spherical geometries show  that for modest bulk phase pressures  the pressures parallel to the pore walls (tangential pressure) is of the order of GPa , while the pressure normal to the wall is of the order of about hundreds of MPa, and can be positive or negative depending on the pore size .

  1. Dr hab. Ireneusz Weymann: Electric and thermoelectric transport at the nanoscale

 In this lecture we will give an overview of basic theoretical methods used for studies of electric and thermoelectric transport properties of various nanostructures, including quantum dots, molecules and nanowires. We will discuss new effects emerging in transport through such systems in the context of low-energy consuming devices for future memory cells and information processing. Special attention will be paid to the discussion of thermoelectric properties, such as the Seebeck and spin-Seebeck effects. We will present the relevant theoretical framework to analyze these effects in nanostructures and discuss the differences compared to conventional bulk materials. Large enhancement of thermopower in nanoscale structures resulting from size quantization and quantum interference makes these systems very promising for energy harvesting devices.

  1. Dr hab. Maciej Wiesner: Physical properties of 1D and 2D materials and their application in low energy consuming electronic devices.

Reduction of dimensions of a material from 3D to 2D or 1D results in confinement of charge carriers and phonons spreading in the material. Consequently classical approach is not satisfactory, because quantum phenomena have to be taken into account to describe properties of the above mentioned particles and quasi-particles. Graphene, silicene, topological insulators are examples of the 2D materials considered as the best candidates for application in nanoelectronics for lossless energy transfer of high frequency signals. The NanoBioMedical Centre offers impressing facilities allowing for samples fabrication and their characterisation. An electron beam lithography, focus ion beam and photolithography will be used for sample fabrication. Characterisation of the samples will be performed using four-probe station, AFM, SEM and microRaman spectroscopy.

  1. Dr hab. Marcin Ziółek: Sunlight energy conversion

The lecture will be devoted to the principles of photovoltaics and the systems used for solar fuels (mainly water splitting). The operation of solar cells of the first, second and third generation will be presented, the efficiency limits of various devices will be discussed, and the emerging branches of photovoltaics will be highlighted. Large part will be devoted to the recently widely studied sunlight conversion systems using nanomaterials and hybrid organic-inorganic composites. This lecture will be also accompanied with the presentations how to prepare simple low-cost solar cells (e. d. dye-sensitized solar cells) and how to characterize them using basic photovoltaic and spectroscopic measurements. The use of modern ultrafast laser spectroscopy tools used to study dye-sensitized and perovskite systems will be also emphasized.