2024 research activities

Head Prof. Leeor Kronik

Picture of Prof. Leeor Kronik
Head

Prof. Leeor Kronik

Office +972-8-934-4993

Overview

Activities in the Department span a wide range of topics from soft, composite and hard materials to energy research, nanoscience, and biological materials. A unifying theme is the study of material functionality and its relation to fundamental properties at multiple scales. These properties may be mechanical, structural, chemical, electronic, magnetic, optical, and more. Some examples are:

How do shapes and sizes of nm-sized particles affect their properties?

How can we tune the properties of solar cells by manipulating their material interfaces?

How does friction in knee and hip joints depend on polyelectrolytes that lubricate them?

How can we design self-assembling (bio)chemical systems?

 

THE RESEARCH IS BASED ON AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH, and indeed the scientists bring complementary experience in chemistry and physics, including both theory and experiment.

ScientistsShow details

  • Picture of Prof. David Cahen

    Prof. David Cahen

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    Sustainable Materials- Solar Energy
    Collaboration with:  @WIS: S. Cohen, G. Hodes, L. Kronik, L Houben, D. Oron; A. Kahn (Princeton); M. Bär (Helmholtz Centre Berlin, HZB and Erlangen); H. Bolink (Valencia);P. Nayak (TIFR-H); S Avashti (IISc); H. Ishii (Chiba); P. Schultz, JF. Guillemoles (IPVF-CNRS); T. Kirchartz (Duisburg-Jülich).
    sustainable resources Self-healing materials & concepts; New optoelectronic materials; Halide Perovskites; Between hard and soft matter.
    Bioelectronics
    Collaboration with:  @ WIS: M. Sheves, I. Pecht M. Tornow (TU-Munich); G. Vattya (Budapest); J. Blumberger (Imp. College); L. Zotti (Sevilla); JC Cuevas (Madrid); H. Chen (Zhejiang U);
    Quantum effects in BIology Proteins as solid-state electronic materials; Electronic charge transport in and across proteins; Biomolecular electronics; Between soft & hard matter.

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  • Picture of Prof. Gary Hodes

    Prof. Gary Hodes

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    Semiconductor-sensitized nanoporous solar cells and semiconductor film deposition
    Collaboration with:  D. Cahen (WIS)
    Electrochemical and chemical bath deposition of semiconductor films.
    Nanocrystalline solar cells; semiconductor-sensitized nanoporous cells
    Charge transfer in nanocrystalline films

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  • Picture of Prof. Ernesto Joselevich

    Prof. Ernesto Joselevich

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    Nanotubes and Nanowires: From Self-Organization to Functional Nanosystems
    Nanometer-scale materials can have unique properties due to their reduced dimensions, and serve as building blocks for the assembly of miniature functional systems. In macroscopic functional systems, wires, tubes and rods play critical roles of transporting energy, forces, matter and information. Which materials could play analogous roles at the smallest possible scale? How does the reduced dimensionality determine the properties of molecular wires? How can they be organized and integrated into functional systems?
    Our research focuses on the organization of one-dimensional nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes, inorganic nanotubes and nanowires, their integration into functional nanosystems (mechanical, electronic, electromechanical, optoelectronic, electromagnetic, thermal, etc.) and their characterization by mechanical, electrical and optical measurements at the nanometer scale.
    Projects
    Guided growth of horizontal nanowires
    Epitaxial approaches to carbon nanotube organization
    Non-equilibrium self-organization of complex nanostructures
    Nanotube torsion and NEMS
    Surface-directed self-assembly
    Polymers as molecular wires
    Theory of molecular wires

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  • Picture of Prof. Jacob Klein

    Prof. Jacob Klein

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    Biological lubrication; Hydration lubrication; surface interactions; nanotribology; soft matter
    Biological lubrication and its relation to osteoarthritis: this is the theme of a major new ERC grant (2017 - 2022)
    Lipids and liposomes as lubrication vectors
    Hydration lubrication and Boundary lubrication under water, and its relation to occular (eye) lubrication
    Surface forces under strong electric fields
    Properties of thin liquid films including aqueous electrolytes and polyelectrolytes.
    Hydrogels
    Soft matter at interfaces
    Surface-forces-measurement techniques at angstrom surface separations; polymers as molecular lubricants
    ATRP growth of polymers from surfaces
    Polyelectrolyte brushes
    Polymers, Complex Fluids, and Interfaces - Experimental studies of the behavior of confined simple and polymeric fluids.
    Collaboration with:  Sam Safran
    Nanotribology
    Surface forces between heterogeneous surfaces
    Confinement induced phase transitions

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  • Picture of Prof. Leeor Kronik

    Prof. Leeor Kronik

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    Our group's research is focused on understanding unique properties and behavior of materials and interfaces, using first principles quantum mechanical calculations based mostly on density functional theory and many-body perturbation theory. The group is actively engaged in prediction and interpretation of novel experiments, as well as in the development of formalism and methodology. For much more detailed information, please click the homepage link below.

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  • Picture of Prof. Meir Lahav

    Prof. Meir Lahav

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    Solid State Chemistry in 2- and 3-dimensions. Pyroelectricity. Ice nucleation.
    Collaboration with:  Prof Igor Lubomirsky Dr.David Ehre
    Organization of molecules at surfaces and interfaces;
    Chirality, Chemistry and the origin of life
    Pyroelectricity, Electrofreezing.

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  • Picture of Dr. Michal Leskes

    Dr. Michal Leskes

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    Our research is focused on correlating structure and function in energy storage and conversion materials by advanced magnetic resonance methods. We aim to understand how the composition of materials affects their functionality and how we can control their functionality through deviation from ideal stoichiometry. In particular we are interested in materials for energy storage, such as Li and Na ion batteries, and in the role interfacial chemistry plays in the functionality of electrode and electrolyte materials. We use a wide range of magnetic resonance techniques: solid state NMR, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP). Additionally we investigate the process of polarization transfer from electron spins to nuclear spins in solids DNP utilizing external and internal polarization agents. For more detailed information, please click below and see our home page.

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  • Picture of Prof. Igor Lubomirsky

    Prof. Igor Lubomirsky

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    Ice Nucleation on Charged Surfaces (Electrofreezing)
    Collaboration with:  Prof. Meir Lahav
    Ice nucleation
    design of polar crystals and surfaces by symmetry reduction
    non-classical crystal growth
    surface and bulk pyroelectricity
    Fundamentals of electro-chemo-mechanical effects
    local symmetry reduction
    non-classical electrostriction
    ionic conductivity
    elastic interactions in solids with a large concentration of point defects

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  • Picture of Dr. Sivan Refaely-Abramson

    Dr. Sivan Refaely-Abramson

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    Excited-State Dynamics in Crystals
    First-principles computations of scattering and time propagation processes of localized, long-lived excitons in crystals
    New many-body methods to study exciton separation at heterojunctions
    Excited-state processes in catalysis
    Collaboration with:  Sara Barja, Centro de Física de Materiales, CSIC-UPV/EHU and DIPC

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  • Picture of Prof. Jacob Sagiv

    Prof. Jacob Sagiv

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    Supramolecular Architecture at Interfaces (with R. Maoz)
    Supramolecular Surface Chemistry: Bottom-up Nanofabrication using Planned Self-Assembling Mono- and Multilayer Systems (with R. Maoz)
    Constructive Lithography: Contact Electrochemical Surface Patterning on Lateral Length Scales from Nanometer to Centimeter (with R. Maoz)
  • Picture of Prof. Reshef Tenne

    Prof. Reshef Tenne

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    Inorganic nanotubes from ternary "misfit" layered compounds
    Collaboration with:  Dr. R. Arenal, Laboratorio de Microscopías Avanzadas, Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50018 Zara-goza, Spain Dr. Luc Lajaunie, Departamento de Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Uni-versidad de Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro S/N, Puerto Real 11510, Cádiz, Spain Prof. Ernesto Joselevich, Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot 76100, Israel Dr. Lothar Houben, Chemical Research Support Department, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot 76100, Israel Prof. Alla Zak, Holon Institute of Technology, Israel Prof. Shmuel Kenig and Prof. Hanna Dodiuk, Shenkar College, Israel Prof. Yoshihiro Iwasa, University of Tokyo and the Riken Institute. Japan Prof. Janina Maultzsch, Department of Physics, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany Dr. Iddo Pinkas, Chemical Research Support Department, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot 76100, Israel
    Synthesis of nanotubes from misfit layered compounds (MLC), their structural electrical and optical characterization
    Optical properties of WS2 and MoS2 nanotubes

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