January- 2025
Berini's group 

Finite-difference coupled-mode analysis of waveguide gratings and their optimization for single-mode DFB lasers

This study presents a semi-numerical algorithm based on the coupled-mode theory combined with finite differencing to assess the performance of one-dimensional trapezoidal waveguide gratings, as well as arbitrarily shaped ones.

January- 2025
Aziz's group 

Perovskite Photodetector Integrated with Microfluidics for Low-Level Fluorescence Detection: Toward Self-Powered Biomarker Sensing

Herein, a self-driven perovskite photodetector for fluorescence detection is reported, elucidating controlled charge carrier dynamics under the light matter interaction. The light-induced doping phenomenon, resulting from the migration of optically activated ions, generates an electric field that enables device operation without external power. 

January- 2025
Berini's group 

Selective modal excitation in a multimode nanoslitby interference of surface plasmon waves

Interference of surface plasmons has been widely utilized in optical metrology for applications such as highprecision sensing. In this paper, we introduce a surface plasmon interferometer with the potential to be arranged in arrays for parallel multiplexing applications. 

January- 2025
Murugesu's group 

Near-Infrared Magnetic Circularly Polarized Luminescence and SlowMagnetic Relaxation in a Tetrazinyl-Bridged Erbium Metallocene

he magnetic and magneto-optical properties of a tetrazinyl radical-bridged ErIII metallocene, [(Cp*2ErIII)2(bpytz•–)][BPh4] (1; Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, bpytz = 3,6-bis(3,5-dimethyl-pyrazolyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine), are reported. As confirmed by these studies strong Ln-rad coupling is achieved, with 1 exhibiting slow magnetic relaxation under a 1000 Oe dc field. 

December - 2024
Weck's group

Ultrafast laser-induced formation of AgO and Ag2O on silver

Ultrafast lasers have been widely used to texture materials, and while a lot of focus has been placed on controlling surface morphology, literature is lacking on ultrafast laser-induced surface chemistry, even though surface chemistry is essential in many applications. 

December - 2024
Weck's group 

Deformation mechanisms at the tip of internal fatigue cracks in vacuum and in the presence of an air environment in a Ti alloy

Ultrasonic fully reversed tension fatigue tests have been performed in the Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) regime (NR>107−108cycles) on Ti-6Al4V specimens containing a controlled internal notch. Two sets of samples have been used. The first one contains a central chimney along the specimen longitudinal axis which brings air to the internal notch; in the second series the notches are not connected to the surface.

December - 2024 
Jabbour's group 

Electromagnetic shieldingefficiency of hybrid knittedfabrics treated with mxene

This study details the fabrication of a hybrid fabric structure achieved through the utilization of copper-cotton core-spun yarns and a streamlined dip-coating method for the coating of MXene sheets. This fabrication approach results in a substantial enhancement in electromagnetic interference shielding efficiency (EMI SE) in the X-band frequency (8.2-12.4 GHz) while significantly reducing the required number of MXene coating steps

December - 2024
Pawel's group 

Electrically tunable MoSe2/WSe2 heterostructure-based quantum dot

We describe here a theory of a quantum dot in an electrically tunable MoSe2/WSe2 heterostruc- ture. Van der Waals heterostructures allow for tuning their electronic properties beyond their monolayer counterparts. We start by determining their electronic structure using density functional theory. We obtain the type-II band alignment and close in energy conduction band minima (valleys) at the K and Q points in the Brillouin zone.

December- 2024
Ghuman's group 

Nickel oxide/nickel nanohybrids for oxygen and hydrogen evolution in alkaline media

Ni-based materials are cost-efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions (OER and HER). Specifically, high-valence nickel oxides have been recently identified as highly active for both reactions; however, the origin of their activity during operation, particularly towards the HER, is still undefined. 

September- 2024
Al-Abadleh's group 

Quantifying the Effect of Basic Minerals on Acid- and Ligand-Promoted Dissolution Kinetics of Iron in Simulated Dark Atmospheric Aging of Dust and Coal Fly Ash Particles

The content and multiphase chemistry of iron (Fe) in multicomponent atmospheric aerosols are important to global climate and oceanic models. To date, reported dissolution rates of Fe span orders of magnitude with no quantifiable dependency on the content of basic minerals that coexist with Fe. 

December- 2022
Berini's group 

Tunable plasmonics on epsilon-near-zero materials: the case for a quantum carrier model

The carrier density profile in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors is computed under gating using two classical models - conventional drift-diffusion (CDD) and density-gradient (DG) - and a self-consistent Schrödinger-Poisson (SP) quantum model.

December- 2022
Al-Abadleh's group 

The “Clean Air Outreach Project”: A Paired Research and Outreach Program Looking at Air Quality Microenvironments around Elementary Schools

The City of Kitchener is the largest city in Waterloo Region in the province of Ontario, the third fasting growing region in Canada, yet it has only one air quality monitoring station. Our research group launched a pilot project in September 2020 to install a network of AQMesh multisensor mini air quality monitoring stations (pods) near elementary schools in Kitchener. 

December - 2022
Pawel's group 

Edge States and Strain-Driven Topological Phase Transitions in Quantum Dots in Topological Insulators

The trivial versus topological properties of the BHZ Hamiltonian are characterized by the different topologies that arise when mapping the in-plane wavevectors through the BHZ Hamiltonian onto a Bloch sphere. In the topologically nontrivial case, edge states are formed in the disc and square geometries of the quantum dot. We account for the effects of compressive strain in topological insulator quantum dots by means of the Bir–Pikus Hamiltonian. 

September- 2022
Beranova's group 

Cu3Si-Modified Silicon Nanoparticles Encapsulated within SiOx and Hollow Carbon for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Silicon (Si), a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries, usually suffers from low capacity retention and poor rate performance due to its huge volume change issue and low electronic conductivity. 

September - 2022
Murugesu's group 

Ni-Centered Coordination-Induced Spin-State Switching Triggered by Electrical Stimulation

We herein report the synthesis and magnetic properties of a Ni(II)-porphyrin tethered to an imidazole ligand through a flexible electron-responsive mechanical hinge. The latter is capable of undergoing a large amplitude and fully reversible folding motion under the effect of electrical stimulation. 

September - 2022
Jabbour's group 

Enhanced Broadband Metamaterial Absorber Using Plasmonic Nanorods and Muti-Dielectric Layers Based on ZnO Substrate in the Frequency Range from 100 GHz to 1000 GHz

A broadband thin film plasmonic metamaterial absorber nanostructure that operates in the frequency range from 100 GHz to 1000 GHz is introduced and analyzed in this paper. The structure consists of three layers: a 200 nm thick gold layer that represents the ground plate (back reflector), a dielectric substrate, and an array of metallic nanorods. A parametric study is conducted to optimize the structure based on its absorption property using different materials

May - 2022
Weck's group 

Rapid Strengthening of Interstitial Free Steel Using Amorphous FeC Thin Films and Induction Heating

A new process to rapidly obtain high-strength interstitial free (IF) steel was investigated. Thin sheets of IF steel were coated on one or both sides with an amorphous FeC film and subjected to a two-step induction heating cycle (1100 °C followed by an isothermal hold at 780 °C for 2 or 4 min) and a rapid quench in water. 

February - 2022
Ghuman's group 

Role of surface engineering of hybrid structure for high performance quantum dots based photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation

We report the synthesis of a TiO2 hybrid structure, consisting of a combination of nanorods and nanoparticles, subsequently treated with hydrazine to enhance the performance of photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen (H2) generation. The optimized TiO2 hybrid photoanode sensitized with Quantum dots (QDs), yields a saturated photocurrent density of 4.25 mA cm−2 (at 0.8 V vs RHE), which is 172% higher than that of the reference sample.

Open questions on transition metals driving secondary thermal processes in atmospheric aerosols

December - 2021
Al-Abadleh's group 

Transition metals are increasingly recognized as key drivers in the formation and aging of light-absorbing organic aerosols, known as brown carbon, which impact the energy flux in the atmosphere. 

Spin-valley qubits in gated quantum dots in a single layer of transition metal dichalcogenides

November - 2021
Pawel's group 

We develop a microscopic and atomistic theory of electron-spin-based qubits in gated quantum dots in a single layer of transition metal dichalcogenides. The qubits are identified with two degenerate locked spin and valley states in a gated quantum dot. 

Perovskite Solid-State Electrolytes for Lithium Metal Batteries

November - 2021
Weck's group 

Solid-state lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have become increasingly important in recent years due to their potential to offer higher energy density and enhanced safety compared to conventional liquid electrolyte-based lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). 

Morphology alteration of nickel microstructures for glycerol electrooxidation

October - 2021 Beranova's group 

Shape-controlled microstructures (triangles and urchin-like) of Ni were synthesized using polyol synthesis in the presence/absence of capping agent (polyvinilpyrrolidone, PVP). Direct visualization of crystal structure and morphology before/after electrochemical tests in KOH were characterized using electron microscopy techniques. 

Radical-Bridged Ln4 Metallocene Complexes with Strong Magnetic Coupling and a Large Coercive Field

October - 2021
Murugesu's group 

Inducing magnetic coupling between 4f elements is an ongoing challenge. To overcome this formidable difficulty, we incorporate highly delocalized tetrazinyl radicals, which strongly couple with f-block metallocenes to form discrete tetranuclear complexes. 

Non-specific adsorption of protein to microfluidic materials

September - 2021
Berini's group 

Non-specific adsorption proteins to the surfaces of microfluidics channels poses a serious problem in lab-on-a-chip devices involving complex biological fluids

Silver Nanoparticle-Decorated Personal Protective Equipment for Inhibiting Human Coronavirus Infectivity

September - 2022
Jabbour's group 

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global outbreak and its continued growth and mutation into various forms emphasize the need for effective disinfectants to assist in the reduction of the virus’s spread from individual to individuals and community to communities through various modes, including coughing, sneezing, touching of contaminated surfaces, and being in proximity of an unprotected infected person, to mention a few.

Disorder in energy materials and strategies to model it

February - 2021
Ghuman's group 

The functionality of the materials used for energy applications is critically determined by the physical properties of small active regions such as dopants, dislocations, interfaces, grain boundaries, etc.