My doctoral work focuses on the colloidal synthesis of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) nanosheets and nanoplatelets, more specifically, the colloidal synthesis of semiconducting Molybdenum and Tungsten Diselenides.

So far, our work on the variation of synthesis parameters was used to gain understanding of and control over the formation of the nanosheets with regard to their lateral size and crystallographic phase, with work mainly focussing on the Sulfides. My work includes the colloidal synthesis of the nanoparticles with a focus the integration of the particles into potential applications.

As part of the characterization of my materials I employ UV-Vis spectroscopy and transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS). Especially the latter method unlocks a cornucopia of information about the optical band structure of the materials and their photophysical processes. With the aid of global analysis, we can extract useful information about the material and its makeup from the data.

As part of this work and in cooperations with other research groups, I employ TAS to measure solutions, suspensions and solid state samples, measuring both in reflection and transmission modes. Dependin on the exact measurement technique employed the studied time range can range from hundreds of femtoseconds up to nanoseconds or from hundreds of picoseconds up to microseconds.