Study on mixed compositions perovskites
Wolffs received the award for his Master's thesis entitled ‘Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance of Mixed-Cation Lead Halide Perovskites’.
Lead halide perovskites are emerging as promising materials for solar cell applications, because of their properties tunable through variations in cation and halide composition. However, altering these compositions can lead to complex and sometimes undesirable effects. Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR), a technique similar to Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), can in principle be used to study the structural and dynamic changes in these mixed compositions with high sensitivity. A major challenge, however, is that mixed systems often produce spectra that are much broader than what conventional NQR equipment can typically measure. In the research project, Wolffs and colleagues developed and optimised an NQR setup capable of automatically capturing spectra over a considerably broad range. With this new system, combined with a self-developed model, the team successfully measured unique spectra that provided in-depth insights into the local distribution of various cations. This innovative technique opens new routes to future research, including ‘in situ illumination experiments’ and the integration of this technique with theoretical chemistry, NMR, and other characterisation methods.
NMR
The Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC) is a research facility and is part of the IMM. The MRRC focuses on the development of novel methods to optimize the sensitivity and information content of NMR spectra and apply these methodologies to gain deeper insight in the structure and dynamics of molecules and materials. In addition, the MRRC is part of a European consortium of high-field NMR facilities in the field of chemistry and materials research. The new equipment will therefore attract researchers from all over Europe to Nijmegen.
Van Deemter Prize
Since 2019, the Section of Analytical Chemistry (SAC) has awarded the Van Deemter Prize every year for the best Master's thesis with a clear analytical chemistry component. The prize, offered by the board of Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV) and the SAC, consists of a certificate and a money prize of 1.000 euro. Candidates and their work are assessed against criteria such as established competence in analytical chemistry research, scientific originality, quality, productivity and insight into (the research problems of) the field.