We are inviting abstracts for poster presentations. Please send to: cpe-admin@imperial.ac.uk.
The RSC is offering three £100 RSC book vouchers from Materials Horizons, Journal of Materials Chemistry C and RSC Applied Interfaces for poster prizes.
Agenda and abstracts will be posted as they are received.
Attendance is free, but we ask that you do register: Registration for the 2026 CPE Annual Symposium – Fill in form
13 July 2026
9.30 Arrival tea/coffee
9.50 Welcome remarks, Prof Felice Torrisi
Session 1
10.00 Prof Erwin Reisner, University of Cambridge, Solar chemical technologies for the upcycling of CO2, biomass and plastics
10.30 Prof Bob C Schroeder, University College London, Beyond bandgap engineering: spin polarisation in organic semiconductors for photocatalytic water splitting
Coffee break
Session 2
11.15 Prof Ludmilla Steier, University of Oxford, The importance of surface area considerations in revealing property-function relationships in photo- and electrocatalytic CO2 conversion
11.45 Prof Alan Drew, Queen Mary University London, Radiation detection using solution processed organic (and organic-inorganic hybrid) films
12.15 Prof Niladri Banergee, Imperial College London, Talk title TBC
12.45 Lunch and posters
Session 3
14.00 Dr Liyun Ma, Imperial College London, Talk title TBC
14.30 Dr Imalka Jayawardena, University of Surrey, From imaging to implantable dosimeters: The journey of bulk heterojunction radiation sensors
15.00 Dr Adam Clancy, University College London, Solution Processable Group 15 Nanoribbons
15.30 Tea/coffee break
Session 4
15.45 Prof Robert Hoye, University of Oxford, Talk title TBC
16.15 Dr Sean Collins, Imperial College London, Precision nano-analyses of variations in exciton behaviour in organic and perovskite semiconductors
14 July 2026
ABSTRACTS
Solution Processable Group 15 Nanoribbons
Adam Clancy
Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, UK
Phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs) are atomically thin, nanometers-wide layers of pure phosphorus which had been theorised to posses properties exceeding their parent 2D phosphorene, including a tuneable bandgap, improved hole mobility, and ferromagnetism. Made through dissolution in a range of solvents, the PNR solutions are immediately primed for assembly into a range of devices such as hole transport layers in perovskite solar cells and dendrite passivation layers in lithium metal batteries. By modifying their synthesis, the intrinsic properties of PNRs can be dramatically and controllably altered, while opening the route to new families of 1D nanoribbons.
Beyond bandgap engineering: spin polarisation in organic semiconductors for photocatalytic water splitting
Bob C. Schroeder
Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, UK
E-mail: b.c.schroeder@ucl.ac.uk
The escalating global energy crisis, coupled with the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels, has intensified the search for sustainable energy solutions. Photocatalytic water splitting—using sunlight, water, and a catalyst to generate hydrogen—represents a particularly promising approach to clean energy production. Yet this process faces a critical limitation: the formation of unwanted hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) byproducts due to uncontrolled radical spin states, severely compromising both efficiency and commercial viability.[1]
A breakthrough may lie in exploiting molecular chirality. Beyond its recognition since the 19th century, chirality has revealed a remarkable quantum mechanical property: chiral molecules can selectively filter electron spins through the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. This phenomenon opens an unprecedented pathway to controlling spin states in water splitting reactions, potentially eliminating problematic byproduct formation.[2]
Meanwhile, organic semiconductors (OSCs) have emerged as transformative materials across electronic applications, from transistors and OLEDs to flexible photovoltaics. Their appeal stems from tuneable electronic properties, mechanical flexibility, solution-based processing, and cost-effectiveness. Combining these advantages with chiral spin selectivity could revolutionize hydrogen production, creating efficient and scalable clean energy systems.[3]
This research presents the development of a novel chiral OSC that not only exhibits the desired CISS effect but also enables comprehensive analysis of OSC performance in water splitting applications. Through comparison with both achiral reference materials and racemic analogues, we demonstrate the unique advantages of chirality. Our results reveal a striking four-fold enhancement in current density—directly correlating to hydrogen evolution—when comparing our chiral OSC to non-chiral counterparts. This dramatic improvement demonstrates how incorporating chirality alone can achieve remarkable advances in water splitting efficiency. The enhancement stems from CISS-mediated spin control, enabling optimized catalytic pathways and substantially improved hydrogen generation for renewable energy applications.
References: [1] W. Mtangi et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017, 139, pp. 2794–2798. [2] R. Naaman et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2012, 3, pp. 2178–2187. [3] J. Kosco et al., Nat. Mater., 2020, 19, pp. 559-565.
From imaging to implantable dosimeters: The journey of bulk heterojunction radiation sensors
Dr Imalka Jayawardena
Advanced Technology Institute, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH.
X-ray detectors are a key element in modern healthcare diagnostics, cancer therapy, homeland security and non-destructive evaluation among many fields. However, the potential applications of X-ray detectors are limited by several factors including the system cost, areal limitations, and the requirement for thick crystals for efficient X-ray attenuation which in turn limits conformability on complex shapes and imposes a requirement for high operating voltages for efficient charge extraction/signal generation.
The use of bulk heterojunctions comprising of organic semiconductors and X-ray attenuating nanoparticles have emerged as an alternate technology that has the can address some of the limitations with conventional X-ray detector technologies. For example, the solution processable nature of these blends allows for fabrication of large area detectors on flexible substrates that can conform to complex shapes.
Here I will discuss the progress made by our group over the last decade on pushing the application space of these detectors. Starting from our observations and developments on the unusual broadband response (from keV to MeV range) of this system[1], I will discuss some of our early work on rigid imaging systems[2], to more conformable dose mapping systems targeting improved cancer therapy[3]. The talk will also discuss how we overcame rather high dark currents [4] through a simple device engineering step and how in our recent work, we are expanding the application space of these detectors to implantable architectures [5,6] as a probe for dose measurement closer to tumor sites.
References
[1] Thirimanne, H.M., Jayawardena, K.D.G.I., Parnell, A.J. et al. Nat Commun 9, 2926 (2018). [2] Jayawardena, K.D.G.I., Thirimanne, H.M., Tedde, S.F. et al. ACS Nano 13, 6973 (2019). [3] Thirimanne, H.M., Jayawardena, K.D.G.I., Nisbet A. et al. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 67 (2020). [4] Nanayakkara M.P.A., Matjačić, L., Wood, S. et al. Adv. Func. Mater. 31, 2008482 [5] Nanayakkara, M.P.A., Masteghin, M.G., Basiricò, L. et al. Adv. Sci. 9, 2101746 (2022). [6] Nanayakkara, M.P.A., He, Q. Ruseckas, A. et al. Adv. Sci. 10 (35), 2304261 (2023).
Linking nanoscale chemical and structural disorder to optoelectronic properties in organic and perovskite semiconductors
Prof Sean Collins
Department of Materials, Imperial College London
Despite sustained progress in the performance characteristics of organic semiconductors and halide perovskites, many features of structural and chemical heterogeneity remain poorly understood. Probing how structural and compositional heterogeneity precisely modify properties is crucial for developing new interventions for the fabrication of devices with improved stability throughout device operation. Advances in low-dose, nanometre-resolved electron diffraction have enabled access to this information for linking nanoscale structure to characteristics underpinning energy transport mechanisms [1] and device ageing [2]. When combined with spectroscopy in the scanning transmission electron microscope, diffraction tools can offer a direct means to link optical properties to nanoscale structures [3]. This presentation will highlight ongoing work to probe the role of localised, crystallographic defects [4] (including dislocations [5]), crystalline and amorphous phase separation in polymer blend semiconductors [6], as well as compositional heterogeneity in mixed anion lead halide perovskite nanocrystals. Respectively, these observations link disorder in perylene diimide (PDI) ‘nanobelts’ to a reduction in the exciton diffusion coefficient by over two orders of magnitude [4] and elaborate how anion composition modifies the Stokes shift and exciton radius in halide perovskites. These examples underscore the need to further progress multiscale structural and spectroscopic probes to unravel the mechanisms limiting durable performance.
[1] A.J. Sneyd et a. Sci. Adv. 7 (2021) eabh4232.
[2] S. Yoon et al. ACS Energy Lett. 10 (2025) 541–551.
[3] J. Hou et al. Science 374 (2021) 621–625.
[4] C.J.H. Smalley et al. Sci. Adv. 12 (2026) eaed0037.
[5] S.T. Pham et al. Nat. Mater. 24 (2025) 682–687.
[6] S.T. Pham, A.F. Sapnik, S.M. Collins, Small Methods (2026) e70719.
The importance of surface area considerations in revealing property-function relationships in photo- and electrocatalytic CO2 conversion
Prof Ludmilla Steier
Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford
Catalyst design for the reduction of CO2 to valuable fuels needs property-function relationships to identify more generalized material design guidelines. A large body of work has been developed studying defect chemistry and especially oxygen vacancy chemistry in oxide systems for the water oxidation reaction, since typically these surfaces are unprotected, offering the investigation of the semiconductor-liquid junction in a photoanode directly.1, 2 Recent works by Profs. Wang and Domen developed a new p-type visible light absorber (La,Sr)(Rh,Ti)O3 employed in the Z-scheme photocatalyst sheet device with a record 1% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency,3 turning the focus to investigating defect chemistry in absorbers driving the reduction reaction.4 Our latest work explores defect chemistry further, studying the CO2 photohydrogenation reaction with doped SrTiO3.5 A key parameter we identify is surface area-normalized activity, which enables the identification of such material property-function relationships, in analogy to the insights gained from our recent studies in electrochemical CO2 reduction.6
1. S. Corby, R. R. Rao, L. Steier and J. R. Durrant, Nature Reviews Materials, 2021, 6, 1136–1155.
2. L. Steier, I. Herraiz-Cardona, S. Gimenez, F. Fabregat-Santiago, J. Bisquert, S. D. Tilley and M. Gratzel, Advanced Functional Materials, 2014, 24, 7681–7688.
3. Q. Wang, T. Hisatomi, Q. X. Jia, H. Tokudome, M. Zhong, C. Z. Wang, Z. H. Pan, T. Takata, M. Nakabayashi, N. Shibata, Y. B. Li, I. D. Sharp, A. Kudo, T. Yamada and K. Domen, Nature Materials, 2016, 15, 611–+.
4. B. Moss, Q. Wang, K. T. Butler, R. Grau-Crespo, S. Selim, A. Regoutz, T. Hisatomi, R. Godin, D. J. Payne, A. Kafizas, K. Domen, L. Steier and J. R. Durrant, Nature Materials, 2021, 20, 511–517.
5. D. Bhattacharyya, B. Shani, I. Holmes-Gentle, G. T. Martinez, M. McLachlan, N. Seriani and L. Steier, Advanced Functional Materials, 2025, e11923.
6. Y. Zhou, B. Bowers, A. Bagger, G. Yang, L. Steier, M. P. Ryan and I. E. L. Stephens, ACS Energy Letters, 2025, 10, 4324–4331.