Maksym Kovalenko

Organizers @mvkovalenko,Grigorios Itskos & @M_Bodnarchuk kick off #EMLEM25 @nanoGe_Conf with inspiring opening remarks!

Ready to dive into Perovskite, III-V & Zn-Chalcogenide QDs, IR-emissive nanomaterials, Metal Halides and 2D light-emitting materials

🔗https://www.nanoge.org/EMLEM24/home

🙌Following an inspiring morning at #EMLEM25, the community gathered for a group photo.

📸 Excited to explore the latest advances in light-emitting materials and their innovative applications.

Inspiring sessions ahead!

🔗https://www.nanoge.org/EMLEM25/home

This paper concludes the chapter on cationic ligands for perovskite nanocrystals. or not? We will see. It also sorts diverse ligands based on how tightly and how dynamically they bind.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Characterizing Emerging Detector Materials for Low‐Dose X‐Ray Imaging X-ray medical imaging requires detectors that deliver images at as low as reasonably possible dose. This perspective outlines a universal characterization framework of X-ray imaging detectors, suitab...

In this article, we aim to guide the proper characterization of emerging materials as X-ray detectors, particularly for low-dose imaging applications.
Kudos, in particular, to K.Sakhatskyi and S. Yakunin ,
In partnership with Prof. Jinsong Huang
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Prospects of Nanoscience with Nanocrystals: 2025 Edition Nanocrystals (NCs) of various compositions have made important contributions to science and technology, with their impact recognized by the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery and synthesis of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). Over four decades of research into NCs has led to numerous advancements in diverse fields, such as optoelectronics, catalysis, energy, medicine, and recently, quantum information and computing. The last 10 years since the predecessor perspective “Prospect of Nanoscience with Nanocrystals” was published in ACS Nano have seen NC research continuously evolve, yielding critical advances in fundamental understanding and practical applications. Mechanistic insights into NC formation have translated into precision control over NC size, shape, and composition. Emerging synthesis techniques have broadened the landscape of compounds obtainable in colloidal NC form. Sophistication in surface chemistry, jointly bolstered by theoretical models and experimental findings, has facilitated refined control over NC properties and represents a trusted gateway to enhanced NC stability and processability. The assembly of NCs into superlattices, along with two-dimensional (2D) photolithography and three-dimensional (3D) printing, has expanded their utility in creating materials with tailored properties. Applications of NCs are also flourishing, consolidating progress in fields targeted early on, such as optoelectronics and catalysis, and extending into areas ranging from quantum technology to phase-change memories. In this perspective, we review the extensive progress in research on NCs over the past decade and highlight key areas where future research may bring further breakthroughs.

This monumental effort, undertaken by many outstanding co-authors, including several invited speakers from the Nanax 2023 conference, which we co-organized, is now online.
Special kudos to Maria Ibáñez and her team.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Energy-Degenerate Photon-Pair Generation from Individual CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots Beyond single-photon emission, generating correlated N-photon bundles, e.g., a photon pair, is essential for various quantum technologies including quantum teleportation and metrology. A widely explored approach exploits the radiative biexciton cascade in individual (mainly epitaxially grown) quantum dots (QDs). Here, we investigate such a cascade in colloidal CsPbBr3 QDs, a scalable and solution-processable quantum-light emitter. By matching their size-dependent biexciton binding energies to their size-independent phonon energies, we demonstrate the generation of time-correlated and energy-degenerate photon pairs in large (>15 nm) QDs. Under pulsed excitation at 4 K, we observe pronounced photon bunching, with a g(2)(0) of up to 7 in Hanbury Brown and Twiss measurements. The excitation-density-dependent bunching is quantitatively reproduced by multicolor numerical calculations, suggesting the cascade involving biexciton and phonon-mediated exciton decay as origin of the photon pair. Our findings provide new insights into energy-degenerate photon-pair generation in these highly engineerable quantum-light emitters, marking important steps toward their application in quantum-information technologies.

Another paper form our team, advancing novel quantum light sources. Single Perovksite QDs can produce not only single photons on demand, but also degenerate photon pairs.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Critical current density measurements of Li/solid-state electrolyte anodes: Time for a rethink Critical current density (CCD) measurements are widely used to assess the electrochemical performance of Li metal anodes paired with solid-state electrolytes. Nonetheless, the lack of consensus on the...

Critical current density measurements of Li/solid-state electrolyte anodes: Time for a rethink
Please see our article in Matter:
www.cell.com/matter/abstr...

To perspective candidates. The Committee had started the evaluation, but further applications will still be accepted for an equal consideration, at least until September 21st.

Cover Art images from the papers of our team and some great collaborations.
"Green chemistry" has prevailed in recent years

Designer Sulfonium-Based Capping Ligands for Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals The ongoing quest for improved capping ligands for lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (LHP NCs) is fueled by the immense potential of these emitters as classical and quantum light sources. Herein, we...

We continue exploring novel ligands for perovskite nanocrystals. Almost done with cationic ones...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Bright Monocompound Metal Halide Scintillator for Fast Neutron Radiography Metal halide scintillator, tetraphenylphosphonium manganese bromide (TPP2MnBr4), provides a significant benefit for fast neutron imaging. A fourfold increase in efficiency over traditional zinc sulfi...

In a sandbox filled with luminescent metal halides, creativity never dims.
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Coherent Multi-Dimensional Spectroscopy Reveals Homogeneous Lineshape Dynamics in CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots Lead halide perovskite (LHP) quantum dots (QD) are an attractive material for light emissive applications due to their lattice, which is both dynamically disordered and defect tolerant. The developmen...

pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Stable, Room-Temperature, Low-Threshold Amplified Spontaneous Emission from Thermally Evaporated Cesium Lead Halide Perovskites Semiconductor nanocrystals are widely investigated as tunable quantum emitters due to their composition-, size- and shape-dependent optical properties, and they find applications in various optoelectr...

Stable, Room-Temperature, Low-Threshold Amplified Spontaneous Emission from Thermally Evaporated Cesium Lead Halide Perovskites | ACS Nano

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

On the Feasibility of Pairing Pyrochlore Iron(III) Hydroxy Fluoride Cathode with Argyrodite Li6PS5Cl Solid‐State Electrolyte for Low‐Cost All‐Solid‐State Batteries
chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Inorganic Chemistry

ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...

Only 10 days left!
⏰ @ all supervisors of PhD students in Switzerland. Please see below. And please spread the word.

Our squad of Invited speakers at ICMAT 2025.

Very rarely do materials check all the boxes for a competitive and practical utility as a commercial cathode material for Li-ion batteries. Li-Fe-halides offer this promise, particularly (and uniquely) for all-solid-state batteries. Our recent contribution:
chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...

Don't miss - already this Monday! Learn about the legacy of the renowned Ukrainian microbiologist - Serhiy Winogradsky (born 1856 in Ukraine, died 1953 in France).
Among other places, he made major discoveries at ETH Zürich. His life for a period was split between Switzerland and Ukraine.

Standardizing XPS and HAXPES Analyses of LLZO Solid-State Electrolytes and Their Reactive Compounds Surface contamination of Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is a significant challenge that impedes its use as a nonflammable and nontoxic solid-state electrolyte in high energy density, temperature-tolerant Li meta...

A wonderful and fruitful collaboration with Lars Jurgens at Empa.

Standardizing XPS and HAXPES Analyses of LLZO Solid-State Electrolytes and Their Reactive Compounds | ACS Materials Au pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Our ETHZ-Empa group,
Summer edition 2025

Light detectors made from perovskite crystals see in full colour Most pixels in cameras detect only red, green or blue light. A sensor made from perovskite materials absorbs all three, improving image brightness and resolution.

Most pixels in cameras detect only red, green or blue light. A sensor made from perovskite materials absorbs all three, improving image brightness and resolution

https://go.nature.com/3T1oKcd

QS rankings: ETH Zurich secures 7th place once again According to the recently published QS World University Rankings 2026, ETH Zurich ranks among the world’s ten best universities once again this year. It took the top spot in continental Europe, with o...

ETH Zurich ranks 7th globally in the QS World University Rankings 2026 — and #1 in continental Europe. With global research impact and a top-2 spot in hashtag#Sustainability, we’re proud to keep driving #Science and #Education forward.

Read more:

About our work

Light detectors made from perovskite crystals see in full colour Most pixels in cameras detect only red, green or blue light. A sensor made from perovskite materials absorbs all three, improving image brightness and resolution.

News article about our work by Shuming Nie and Viktor Gruev, huge thanks to them!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Our work:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Vertically stacked monolithic perovskite colour photodetectors - Nature A colour sensor array based on multilayer monolithically stacked lead halide perovskite thin-film photodetectors achieves higher quantum efficiency and superior colour accuracy compared to conventiona...

Research into full color imaging with perovskites as thin-film absorbing semiconductors lags other applications of halide perovskites.
We hope our work will motivate broader efforts in this arena; also well beyond three-color imaging.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Don't miss your best conference in 2025: "Emerging Light Emitting Materials"!

www.nanoge.org/EMLEM25/home

Early registration deadline: 25th June 2025
Abstracts submission deadline (oral): 25th June 2025
Abstracts submission deadline (poster): 8th September 2025

Good news:
the poster submission deadline has just been extended to 2 June! 📆
Feel free to share. And see you on 25 June in Fribourg!
mat25.scg.ch/registration

📢PhD Award Alert! 🏆
Dear PhD advisors: did your student(s) recently (Jan 2024 - May 2025) defend their thesis in Switzerland in #materials #chemistry ? Then please consider nominating them for our SCS MatChem PhD Student Award, by 15 July: scg.ch/scg-news/new...
@swisschemistry.bsky.social

This week, 40 high-school students visited our #KovalenkoLab during the #DayOfOpenLabs (TOL) of the Department of Chemistry and Applied Bioscience at @ethz.ch. Lots of #chemistry fun with #nano #torches (bright #perovskite #nanocrystals) and for many a first glimpse into university life.