BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//eluceo/ical//2.0/EN VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:d1116c645d6ebbbf7adfcde2ca760f0f DTSTAMP:20260720T062117Z SUMMARY:CPE Annual Symposium 2026 DESCRIPTION:We are inviting abstracts for poster presentations. Please send to: cpe-admin@imperial.ac.uk.\nThe RSC is offering three £100 RSC book v ouchers from Materials Horizons\, Journal of Materials Chemistry C and  RSC Applied Interfaces for poster prizes.\nAgenda and abstracts will be posted as they are received.\nAttendance is free\, but we ask that you do register: Registration for the 2026 CPE Annual Symposium – Fill in form \n13 July 2026\n9:30 – 9:50 Arrivals/Welcome\n9:50 – 10:00 Dr Felice T orrisi – Introduction\nSession 1 Chair: Dr Piers Barnes\n10:00 – 10:30 Prof Erwin Reisner\, University of Cambridge. Solar chemical technologies for the upcycling of CO₂\, biomass and plastics\n10:30 – 11:00 Prof B ob C. Schroeder\, University College London. Beyond Bandgap Engineering: S pin Polarisation in Organic Semiconductors for Photocatalytic Water Splitt ing\n11:00 – 11:30 Prof Ludmilla Steier\, University of Oxford. The impo rtance of surface area considerations in revealing property-function relat ionships in photo- and electrocatalytic CO₂ conversion\n11:30 – 11:45 Coffee\nSession 2 Chair: Dr Nicola Gasparini\n11:45 – 12:15 Prof Alan Dr ew\, Queen Mary University of London. Spin selective material probes in or ganic materials\n12:15 – 12:45 Dr Niladri Banerjee\, Imperial College Lo ndon. Unconventional superconductivity in chiral molecule/superconductor h ybrids\n12:45 – 13:15 Dr Liyun Ma\, Imperial College London. From Fibres to Futures: Weaving Intelligent Textiles for Human-Centred Healthcare\n13 :15- 14:30 Lunch and poster session\nSession 3 Chair: Dr Jess Wade\n14:30 – 15:00 Dr Sean Collins\, Imperial College London. Precision nano-analys es of variations in exciton behaviour in organic and perovskite semiconduc tors\n15:00 – 15:30 Dr Adam Clancy\, University College London. Solution Processable Group 15 Nanoribbons\n15:30 – 16:00 Prof Robert Hoye\, Univ ersity of Oxford. Tuning the transition dipole moment of perovskite nanopl atelets to maximise performance and polarized light emission\n16:00 Coffee and poster session.\n14 July 2026\n9:30 – 9:35 Arrivals/Welcome\nSessio n 1: Photo- and electrochemistry. Chair: Dr Jesús Barrio Hermida\n9:35 – 10:05 Invited speaker: Dr Calum Ferguson\, University of Birmingham. P hotocatalytic heterogeneous polymers: what’s the limit?\n10:05 – 10:20 Dr James Green\, Imperial College London. Theoretical insights into the e lectronic properties of molecular crystals for photocatalytic water splitt ing\n10:20 – 10:35 Dr Silvia Escudero Curiel\, Imperial College London. Synthesis of bioderived FeNC oxygen reduction catalysts in MgCl₂–FeCl ₂ mixtures\n10:35 – 11:00 Coffee/tea break\nSession 2: Electronics-sol ar cells. Chair: Dr Francesco Furlan\n11:00 – 11:30 Invited speaker: Dr Flurin Eisner\, Queen Mary University of London. More Than the Sum of Its Parts? Organic-Semiconductor-Based Hybrid Heterojunctions for Light Energy Conversion\n11:30 – 11:45 Ding Ding\, Imperial College London. Revealin g the impact of phase transition on n = 1 2D perovskite photodetectors wit h intrinsically tunable narrowband detection\n11:45 – 12:00 Enas Moustaf a\, Imperial College London. Tailoring interfacial microstructure with PQD s in layer-by-layer ternary organic photovoltaics\n12:00 – 12:45 Lunch b reak\nSession 3: Emerging technologies. Chair: Prof Fırat Güder\n12:45 – 13:15 Invited speaker: Dr Daan Arroo\, Imperial College London. Reinve nting the Maser: Materials Engineering for Quantum Microwave Electronics\n 13:15 – 13:30 Dr Robert Carroll\, Imperial College London. Ultra-sensiti ve Hall and photo-Hall measurement to characterise emerging semiconductors \n13:30 – 13:45 Dr Nadia Farag\, Imperial College London. Automation of high throughput materials synthesis and cell testing for sodium ion batter ies\n13:45 End. Closing comments and poster prize presentations\n \nSpeak er abstracts\nProf Erwin Reisner\nUniversity of Cambridge\nSolar chemical technologies for the upcycling of CO₂\, biomass and plastics\nThe mimicr y of photosynthesis to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals has long in spired scientists\, but fully functional and scalable systems that fully r eplicate natural photosynthesis remain rare\, and viable routes to commerc ialisation are uncertain. Recent advances in the assembly of photosynthesi s-inspired architectures have enabled the construction of prototype solar devices for direct CO₂ fixation. Artificial leaves combine semiconductor light absorbers with immobilised (bio)molecular catalysts to drive solar- powered CO₂ reduction\, producing fuels\, alongside oxygen evolution fro m water oxidation.\nThese products can be further upgraded via integrated catalytic processes\, for example converting formate into enantioenriched organics through enzymatic cascades or into sugars using engineered microo rganisms. The replacement of water oxidation by the valorisation of waste substrates provides a possible path towards commercialisation. This “sol ar reforming” approach offers favourable thermodynamics and kinetics whi le improving economic viability by coupling fuel production with waste upc ycling.\nNotably\, outdoor solar plastic reforming is currently being test ed at the kilogram/square meter scale. This presentation will outline the emerging paradigm of integrated solar chemistry with a focus on solar refo rming. It will also highlight strategies and frontiers such as atmospheric CO₂ utilisation\, advanced light management in integrated devices\, and solar-driven cascade catalysis for high-value chemical synthesis.\nProf B ob C. Schroeder\nUniversity College London\nBeyond Bandgap Engineering: Sp in Polarisation in Organic Semiconductors for Photocatalytic Water Splitti ng\nThe escalating global energy crisis\, coupled with the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels\, has intensified the search for sustain able energy solutions. Photocatalytic water splitting using sunlight\, wat er\, and a catalyst to generate hydrogen represents a particularly promisi ng approach to clean energy production. Yet this process faces a critical limitation: the formation of unwanted hydrogen peroxide byproducts due to uncontrolled radical spin states\, severely compromising both efficiency a nd commercial viability.\nA breakthrough may lie in exploiting molecular c hirality. Beyond its recognition since the 19th century\, chirality has re vealed a remarkable quantum mechanical property: chiral molecules can sele ctively filter electron spins through the chiral-induced spin selectivity effect. This phenomenon opens an unprecedented pathway to controlling spin states in water splitting reactions\, potentially eliminating problematic byproduct formation.\nThis research presents the development of a novel c hiral organic semiconductor that exhibits the desired spin selectivity eff ect and enables comprehensive analysis of performance in water splitting a pplications. Comparison with achiral reference materials and racemic analo gues reveals a striking four-fold enhancement in current density\, directl y correlating to hydrogen evolution.\nProf Ludmilla Steier\nUniversity of Oxford\nThe importance of surface area considerations in revealing propert y-function relationships in photo- and electrocatalytic CO₂ conversion\n Catalyst design for the reduction of CO₂ to valuable fuels needs propert y-function relationships to identify more generalized material design guid elines. A large body of work has been developed studying defect chemistry and especially oxygen vacancy chemistry in oxide systems for the water oxi dation reaction\, since typically these surfaces are unprotected\, offerin g the investigation of the semiconductor-liquid junction in a photoanode d irectly. Recent works by Profs. Wang and Domen developed a new p-type visi ble light absorber (La\,Sr)(Rh\,Ti)O₃ employed in the Z-scheme photocata lyst sheet device with a record 1% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency\, turning the focus to investigating defect chemistry in absorbers driving the reduc tion reaction. Our latest work explores defect chemistry further\, studyin g the CO₂ photohydrogenation reaction with doped SrTiO₃. A key paramet er we identify is surface area-normalized activity\, which enables the ide ntification of such material property-function relationships\, in analogy to the insights gained from our recent studies in electrochemical CO₂ re duction.\nReferences\n1 S. Corby\, R. R. Rao\, L. Steier and J. R. Durrant \, Nat. Rev. Mater.\, 2021\, 6\, 1136-1155.\n2 L. Steier\, I. Herraiz-Card ona\, S. Gimenez\, F. Fabregat-Santiago\, J. Bisquert\, S. D. Tilley and M . Gratzel\, Adv. Funct. Mater.\, 2014\, 24\, 7681-7688.\n3 Q. Wang et al.\ , Nat. Mater.\, 2016\, 15\, 611.\n4 B. Moss et al.\, Nat. Mater.\, 2021\, 20\, 511-517.\n5 D. Bhattacharyya et al.\, Adv. Funct. Mater.\, 2025\, e11 923.\n6 Y. Zhou et al.\, ACS Energy Lett.\, 2025\, 10\, 4324-4331.\nProf A lan Drew\nQueen Mary University of London\nRadiation detection using solut ion processed organic (and organic-inorganic hybrid) films\n\nWhilst radia tion detection and metrology is a relatively mature field\, there remains areas that need to be addressed\, specifically in the neutron detector fie lds\, national security applications and reduction of costs for both civil and security applications. I will present recent results of using solutio n processed organic films for radiation detection applications\, which hav e the potential to significantly reduce the costs of large-area detectors that may be suitable for national security. They can also be manufactured to be structurally flexible and passive\, meaning they can be used in besp oke applications.\n\nI will first present hybrid organic-inorganic films\, which are shown to be sensitive to photons (gamma/x-rays) as a result of absorption on the inorganic nanoparticles. pA currents are observed under bias for radiation fields of the order of mGy/hr cm for ~10mm thick films of P3HT-TiO2\, resulting in relatively small sensitivities of ~10 mC/Gy c m are observed compared to other materials systems. A clear nanoparticle s ize dependence is observed\, likely related to the reduced sensitivity lar ger nanoparticles (excitation mean free path is smaller than the radius o f the nanoparticle) and an optimum concentration is observed\, likely rela ted to aggregation of the nanoparticles and a reduced percolate path. I wi ll then go on to present a highly sensitive radiochromic film\, comprising of a sensitiser and binder\, that undergo a series of redox reactions dri ven by radicals generated by photon absorption\, resulting in a change of colour. Results to date show a sensitivity to 10mGy of total dose\, which is significantly more sensitive than alternative systems (typical radiochr omic films 2mGy\; typical film badges 200mGy)\, with a path to increasing sensitivity to the nGy regime. This passive detector has potential for a n umber of applications in the radiation safety and security arenas.\nDr Nil adri Banerjee\nImperial College London\nUnconventional superconductivity i n chiral molecule/superconductor hybrids\nSuperconductivity – characteri sed by dissipationless flow of charge in certain materials at low temperat ures\, has led to several fundamental science and technology breakthroughs . Superconductivity results from the pairing of electrons with opposite sp ins below a critical temperature forming a stable state which can flow wit hout scattering. In recent years\, experiments and theories of chiral mole cules on thin film superconductors have indicated a novel superconductivit y formed of equal spin pairing. Intriguingly\, this implies a dissipationl ess spin current flowing alongside the charge current leading to functiona lities that are otherwise not available.\nIn this talk\, following a brief introduction\, I will discuss the status of the field and key outstanding questions. I will show few recent results from our group with chiral mole cules on thin superconducting niobium which challenges some of the current understanding in the field.\nReferences\n1 Nat. Rev. Chem.\, 2019\, 3\, 2 50-260.\n2 Phys. Rev. B\, 2018\, 98\, 214513.\n3 Phys. Rev. Mater.\, 2021\ , 5\, 114801.\nDr Liyun Ma\nImperial College London\nFrom Fibres to Future s: Weaving Intelligent Textiles for Human-Centred Healthcare\nSmart textil es offer a unique platform for continuous health monitoring and human-mach ine interaction\, owing to their intrinsic softness\, breathability\, wear ability and washability. As the fundamental building blocks of textiles\, fibres and yarns can be engineered through continuous and scalable manufac turing processes to incorporate active sensing and energy-harvesting funct ions\, enabling intelligent systems that respond in real time to physiolog ical\, biochemical\, motion and environmental signals.\nIn here\, I will i ntroduce our recent work at the I-THREAD Lab on augmented sensing textiles . Our research develops cross-scale strategies for functional integration\ , spanning materials design\, yarn architectures and fabric systems. At th e materials level\, we explore natural bio-based materials such as silk fi broin and engineer them with electrical conductivity\, biocompatibility an d biodegradability for both skin-mounted and implantable applications.\nAt the manufacturing level\, we integrate conductive and functional componen ts into flexible yarns through coaxial spinning\, electrospinning-based co mposite fabrication and hollow-spindle spinning\, and further translate th ese yarns into woven\, knitted and braided textile systems.\nThese materia l and manufacturing strategies allow conventional fabrics to be endowed wi th enhanced functions\, including flame retardancy\, corrosion resistance and multimodal sensing\, while preserving their comfort and mechanical int egrity. I will highlight representative applications in wearable physiolog ical monitoring\, tactile sensing for surgical robotics and wound-healing monitoring. Together\, these studies demonstrate a full-chain “materials -yarns-fabrics-systems” framework for developing intelligent textile pla tforms\, with potential applications in precision medicine\, digital healt h and next-generation self-powered wearable technologies.\nDr Sean Collins \nImperial College London\nPrecision nano-analyses of variations in excito n behaviour in organic and perovskite semiconductors\nDespite sustained pr ogress in the performance characteristics of organic semiconductors and ha lide perovskites\, many features of structural and chemical heterogeneity remain poorly understood. Probing how structural and compositional heterog eneity precisely modify properties is crucial for developing new intervent ions for the fabrication of devices with improved stability throughout dev ice operation. Advances in low-dose\, nanometre-resolved electron diffract ion have enabled access to this information for linking nanoscale structur e to characteristics underpinning energy transport mechanisms1 and device ageing2.\nWhen combined with spectroscopy in the scanning transmission ele ctron microscope\, diffraction tools can offer a direct means to link opti cal properties to nanoscale structures3. This presentation will highlight ongoing work to probe the role of localised\, crystallographic defects4\, dislocations5\, crystalline and amorphous phase separation in polymer blen d semiconductors6\, and compositional heterogeneity in mixed anion lead ha lide perovskite nanocrystals.\nReferences\n1 A. J. Sneyd et al.\, Sci. Adv .\, 2021\, 7\, eabh4232.\n2 S. Yoon et al.\, ACS Energy Lett.\, 2025\, 10\ , 541-551.\n3 J. Hou et al.\, Science\, 2021\, 374\, 621-625.\n4 C. J. H. Smalley et al.\, Sci. Adv.\, 2026\, 12\, eaed0037.\n5 S. T. Pham et al.\, Nat. Mater.\, 2025\, 24\, 682-687.\n6 S. T. Pham\, A. F. Sapnik and S. M. Collins\, Small Methods\, 2026\, e70719.\nDr Adam Clancy\nUniversity Colle ge London\nSolution Processable Group 15 Nanoribbons\nPhosphorene nanoribb ons (PNRs) are atomically thin\, nanometers-wide layers of pure phosphorus which had been theorised to posses properties exceeding their parent 2D p hosphorene\, including a tuneable bandgap\, improved hole mobility\, and f erromagnetism. Made through dissolution in a range of solvents\, the PNR s olutions are immediately primed for assembly into a range of devices such as hole transport layers in perovskite solar cells and dendrite passivatio n layers in lithium metal batteries. By modifying their synthesis\, the in trinsic properties of PNRs can be dramatically and controllably altered\, while opening the route to new families of 1D nanoribbons.\nProf Robert Ho ye\nUniversity of Oxford\nTuning the transition dipole moment of perovskit e nanoplatelets to maximise performance and polarized light emission\nMeta l-halide perovskites exhibit bright and sharp luminescence\, with properti es that can be tuned over a wide range through solution processing1\,2. By making perovskite nanocrystals anisotropic\, we can achieve both exciton fine structure splitting as well as control over the horizontal transition dipole moment.\nIn this talk\, I will discuss our recent works focussed o n self assembling these nanoplatelets\, and tuning their orientation. Thro ugh control over the solvent evaporation rate\, we tune the orientation of nanoplatelets to maximise performance and polarized light emission.\nRefe rences\n1 Ye et al.\, Chem. Soc. Rev.\, 2024\, 53\, 9085.\n2 Ye\, Mondal e t al.\, Nat. Commun.\, 2024\, 15\, 8120.\n3 Ye et al.\, Nat. Photonics\, 2 024\, 18\, 586.\n4 Jeong et al.\, arXiv\, 2025\, 2505.22817.\nDr Calum Fer guson\nUniversity of Birmingham\nPhotocatalytic heterogeneous polymers: wh at’s the limit?\nRefined polymer photocatalysts have emerged over the pa st decade as highly effective materials for facilitating photoredox cataly sis in the synthesis of value-added compounds. To date\, a diverse range o f photocatalytic polymers has been developed\, including linear systems ty pically conjugated donor-acceptor or vinyl-based polymers. In addition\, p orous organic polymers such as conjugated microporous polymers\, covalent triazine frameworks\, polymers of intrinsic microporosity\, and covalent o rganic frameworks have attracted considerable attention.\nDespite the broa d scope of reactivity accessible with these materials\, photocatalytic pol ymers still lag behind the highly sophisticated transformations achievable with homogeneous photocatalysts. Our research seeks to identify the key l imiting factors behind this disparity and develop strategies to overcome t hem.\nIn most heterogeneous photocatalytic systems\, the rate-limiting ste p is either the mass transport of substrates to the active sites or the ef ficiency of energy and electron transfer at those sites. This talk present s work investigating how the miniaturisation of conjugated microporous pol ymers can enhance catalytic performance\, and how deliberate tuning of the solid-liquid interface can significantly accelerate reaction rates.\nDr J ames Green\nImperial College London\nTheoretical insights into the electro nic properties of molecular crystals for photocatalytic water splitting\nO rganic molecular crystals are a promising platform for optoelectronics due to their chemical and structural diversity\, and while molecular crystals have been heavily investigated for organic electronic applications such a s OLEDs and solar cells\, there has been comparatively little theoretical research into photocatalytic overall water splitting in these materials.\n One major challenge for the in silico design of molecular crystalline phot ocatalysts for overall water splitting is the need to accurately describe and predict electronic properties in the solid state. This talk discusses theoretical insights into the electronic properties of molecular crystals and how these can guide the search for photocatalytic water-splitting mate rials.\nDr Silvia Escudero Curiel\nImperial College London\nSynthesis of B ioderived FeNC Oxygen Reduction Catalysts in MgCl₂–FeCl₂ Mixtures\nT he alkaline oxygen reduction reaction\, critical in fuel-cell power system s\, is fundamental to hydrogen-based green energy technologies. However\, the environmental and socioeconomic challenges associated with current Pt- based catalysts make it imperative to adopt innovative and sustainable str ategies to advance toward a more resilient and environmentally responsible future.\nIron-nitrogen-carbon electrocatalysts are an attractive alternat ive owing to their excellent oxygen-reduction catalytic efficiency\; never theless\, commercially available FeNC catalysts are typically synthesized under harsh and demanding conditions\, which may intensify environmental c oncerns and contribute to the formation of less active iron species. They can serve as a cost-effective alternative when developed within a circular bioeconomy framework that valorises biomass residues as a carbon source.\ nIn this work\, tea leaf residues are employed as a nitrogen-rich biomass precursor to promote the formation of Fe-N active sites through a one-step ionothermal pyrolysis mediated by MgCl₂·6H₂O–FeCl₂ mixtures. The resulting carbonaceous materials exhibited high surface area and exposed Fe–Nₓ active sites\, underscoring their potential for practical\, sust ainable oxygen-reduction devices.\nDr Flurin Eisner\nQueen Mary University of London\nMore Than the Sum of Its Parts? Organic-Semiconductor-Based Hy brid Heterojunctions for Light Energy Conversion\nEach class of semiconduc tor (organic\, perovskite\, inorganic) comes with its own distinct set of properties\, advantages\, and limitations. Combining different semiconduct or types\, or pairing semiconductors with other functional materials\, at a hybrid heterojunction offers a route to combine their respective advanta ges\, mitigate their disadvantages\, and unlock new properties that go bey ond what any single material can offer alone.\nHere\, I present three clas ses of hybrid heterojunctions built around organic semiconductors\, each y ielding distinct properties. The first is a nanostructured heterojunction between the inorganic semiconductor CuSCN and non-fullerene acceptors (NFA s)\, which gives rise to interesting charge-transfer behaviour. The second explores hybrid heterojunctions combining organic semiconductors with per ovskites. The third is a multilayer architecture incorporating NiFeOOH-fun ctionalised graphite sheets as photoelectrodes for solar fuel production.\ nTogether\, these systems span a range of applications\, from solar cells and photodetectors to photoelectrodes for solar fuel production\, illustra ting how the design of hybrid heterojunctions can extend the functionality of semiconductors beyond what each component can achieve in isolation.\nD ing Ding\nImperial College London\nRevealing the Impact of Phase Transitio n on n = 1 2D Perovskite Photodetectors With Intrinsically Tunable Narrowb and Detection\n2D perovskites featuring a single layer of perovskite octah edra sandwiched between organic cations display narrow absorption due to t heir quantum-confined structure. They offer a compelling route to filter-f ree\, narrowband photodetection compared with broadband 3D counterparts. W hile halide mixing provides spectral tunability\, it introduces severe pha se segregation and energetic disorder.\nThis work integrates n = 1 (PEA) ₂PbBrₓI₄₋ₓ into photoconductors\, achieving tunable response fro m 400 to 520 nm\, and reveals the existence of two different phases and th eir gradual transition based on halide composition. Although chloride addi tive PEACl suppressed phase segregation in mixed halides\, it introduced a dditional traps that reduced photocurrent. The additive enhanced out-of-pl ane orientation\, disrupting in-plane transport in photoconductors\, but s ignificantly improved performance in photodiodes.\nThis work provides devi ce-level insight into halide immiscibility in n = 1 2D perovskites\, showi ng that overcoming performance limitations requires balancing long-range s tructural order with short-range electronic disorder.\nEnas Moustafa\nImpe rial College London\nTailoring Interfacial Microstructure with PQDs in Lay er-by-Layer Ternary Organic Photovoltaics\nEnas Moustafa\, Stanly A. Cazal y\, Harry Bridge\, Jolanda S. Muller\, Jun Yan\, Stoichko Dimitrov\, Thoma s J. Macdonald\, Flurin D. Eisner\, and Jenny Nelson\nOrganic photovoltaic (OPV) devices have achieved high efficiency\, but further progress is con strained by interfacial recombination and sub-optimal morphology\, and lim ited stability. Here we address these challenges by introducing CsPbI₃ p erovskite quantum dots (PQDs) as an interlayer at the D18/Y6 interface\, d eposited via an orthogonal-solvent layer-by-layer process. Incorporation o f an optimized PQDs interlayer boosts the power conversion efficiency from 16.7% in the binary device to 18.8% in the ternary architecture\, corresp onding to a relative increase of approximately 12%.\nThe systematic compar ative study of morphology\, optical/optoelectronic and electrical characte ristics\, as well as the related charge recombination and transfer dynamic s\, revealed that the PQDs interlayer provided a unique electronic structu re that passivates PQDs surface defects and mitigates interdiffusion of th e organic layers\, enabling improved microstructure regulation\, leading t o enhanced fill factor. Moreover\, the high dielectric constant of the PQD s appears to facilitate exciton dissociation at the D18/Y6 interface allow ing the PQDs to act as a relay that separates and stabilizes charges at th e D18/PQDs/Y6 junction\, thereby reducing the trap-assisted recombination. \nThis leads to suppressed non-radiative recombination losses\, resulting in higher open-circuit voltage (V_OC) and short-circuit current (J_SC). Be yond performance gains\, the PQDs interlayer also improves the shelf-life stability under N₂\, prolonging the stability for the pristine devices o ver 12 months. Hence\, our findings demonstrate that introducing CsPbI₃ PQDs interlayer\, implemented via orthogonal-solvent LBL processing\, prov ides an effective route to tune interfacial morphology and energetics\, of fering a practical strategy to further enhance both efficiency and stabili ty in OPV devices.\nDr Daan Arroo\nImperial College London\nReinventing th e Maser: Materials Engineering for Quantum Microwave Electronics\nMasers\, the microwave counterparts of lasers\, are among the lowest-noise amplifi ers ever developed\, but their widespread use has historically been limite d by the need for cryogenic cooling\, high magnetic fields and bulky speci alist infrastructure. The demonstration of room-temperature solid-state ma sers1\,2 based on photo-excited spin-active materials has reopened this te chnology as a materials and device engineering challenge: can the gain med ium\, optical pump and microwave resonator be co-designed to deliver pract ical microwave amplification under ambient conditions?\nIn this talk I wil l introduce the work of the Imperial Maser Group3 on ambient-condition mas ers based on optically pumped molecular and solid-state materials. I will discuss how organic molecular crystals such as pentacene-doped p-terphenyl exploit photo-generated triplet states to produce microwave amplification \, and how the properties of the gain medium\, optical pump and microwave resonator must be engineered together to enable practical devices.\nRefere nces\n1 M. Oxborrow\, J. D. Breeze and N. M. Alford\, Nature\, 2012\, 488\ , 353-356.\n2 J. D. Breeze\, E. Salvadori\, J. Sathian\, N. McN. Alford an d C. W. M. Kay\, Nature\, 2018\, 555\, 493-496.\n3 Imperial Maser Group\, https://www.imperial.ac.uk/maser/ (accessed 8 July 2026).\nDr Robert Carro ll\nImperial College London\nUltra-sensitive Hall and photo-Hall measureme nt to characterise emerging semiconductors\nThe Hall effect\, when conside ring high-mobility inorganic systems\, is a staple ingredient of material characterisation. For decades the effect has been used to quickly determin e carrier type\, carrier density and mobility. Due to their high resistivi ty\, measuring the Hall effect in low mobility materials is\, however\, ch allenging and the interpretation of the Hall signal remains unclear. Furth er to this\, having access to only majority carrier properties is often in sufficient and a broader access to minority carrier parameters is required .\nOur group has recently acquired a parallel dipole line system to make u ltra-sensitive measurements of the Hall effect\, opening the door to Hall measurements in highly resistive semiconductors. Moreover\, the system is complemented with photo-Hall capability to access a wide range of optoelec tronic parameters including charge carrier diffusion lengths and lifetime. Finally\, measurements can be performed in a cryostat enabling variable t emperature Hall and photo-Hall effect to gain insights on transport and re combination in emerging semiconductors.\nReferences\n1 O. Gunawan\, S. R. Pae\, D. M. Bishop\, Y. Virgus\, J. H. Noh\, N. J. Jeon\, Y. S. Lee\, X. S hao\, T. Todorov\, D. B. Mitzi and B. Shin\, Nature\, 2019\, 575\, 151-155 .\nDr Nadia Farag\nImperial College London\nAutomation of High Throughput Materials Synthesis and Cell Testing for Sodium Ion Batteries\nNadia L. Fa rag\, Jingyu Feng\, Ifan Stephens\, Magdalena M. Titirici\nTo move towards wide-spread adoption of renewable energy sources we need sufficient energ y storage technologies. To meet growing demand and continue to diversify s upply chains\, it is necessary not only to optimise existing battery techn ologies but also explore next-generation battery materials. However\, it i s not typically possible to test a wide variety of materials and chemistri es simultaneously due to time constraints. Additionally\, coin cell assemb ly and subsequent electrochemical data suffer due to human error and incon sistencies during cell assembly\, often resulting in large variation betwe en datasets.\nThe DIGIBAT facility at Imperial College London provides too ls to automate material synthesis\, electrolyte formulation and cell assem bly\, removing these roadblocks. Automation allows for continuous experime ntation done in a reliably reproducible way\, enabling the generation of l arge\, consistent\, datasets. Thereby\, the research process is accelerate d while simultaneously improving results.\nThis work will compare initial results from manual and automated coin cell assembly\, probing how true th ese statements about automation are\, discussing both the advantages and a ny limitations encountered so far. Additionally\, an automated electrolyte optimisation for sodium ion batteries using common additives will be expl ored\, with both the advantages and challenges when creating an automated workflow being discussed.\n \n \nPoster session sponsored by RSC Sustain able Energy & Fuels.\n\nPoster prizes sponsored by RSC Applied Interfaces\ , Materials Horizons and Journal of Materials Chemistry C.\n\n\n URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/209462/cpe-annual-symposium-2026/ DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260713T093000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260714T140000 LOCATION:B10\, Molecular Sciences Research Hub (MSRH)\, White City Campus\, Imperial College London\, London\, W12 0BZ\, United Kingdom END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260713T093000 TZNAME:BST TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR