Materials Scientist|Thin-Film Growth & Electron Microscopy
Studying a finished material tells us what formed. Watching it form helps explain how and why.
My work combines electron microscopy with the synthesis of carbon and 2D materials. I did my PhD in Japan, spent four years at the Cambridge Graphene Centre on the EU Graphene Flagship, and came to Bristol in 2024.
Managing Bristol's electron microscopy suite brings me into contact with a wide range of materials and research questions. Alongside facility research and training, I develop projects on carbon, 2D materials and sodium solid-state electrolytes with colleagues in the School of Chemistry.
I welcome collaborations on materials synthesis, growth mechanisms and characterisation, especially where microscopy can help explain how processing affects structure and properties.
I synthesise materials and study how they respond to heat, electrical bias and contact with other materials.
At the Cambridge Graphene Centre, I was responsible for Cambridge’s contribution to a Graphene Flagship hBN project with AIXTRON, where growth on 200 mm wafers was carried out. The collaboration connected large-area growth with film characterisation and integration. My broader research examines how growth conditions influence the structure and quality of graphene, hBN and other 2D materials.
Catalyst choice strongly influences carbon growth and structure. My work has examined ten catalyst systems, from Fe, Ni and Cu to Mo, Sn, In, Ga, Co, Pd and CuNi alloy. That work produced graphene growth at 180 °C on tin and 150 °C on indium.
Current
Heating and biasing holders let me follow catalytic graphitisation, electromigration and the formation of carbon nanostructures while they are happening. The intermediate states are usually where the answer is, and they are exactly what you lose if you only look at the finished sample.
Current
I am developing a project on coatings for sodium solid-state electrolytes, using synthesis and microscopy to investigate interfacial stability, with computational screening planned to guide candidate selection. Earlier collaborations include lithium-carbon nanocomposites for safer handling of lithium metal and a study of catalyst sites for zinc-air batteries combining virtual screening, machine learning and experiments.
Waste and renewable feedstocks can provide carbon sources for graphene synthesis. I have made it from solid waste plastic, and worked with others on waste chicken fat and other renewable precursors. The question is always the same one: what do the precursor and the catalyst do to the carbon you end up with?
The full list is on ORCID and Google Scholar.
CCS Chemistry 8, 1607–1621
Nanomaterials 10, 1483
Nanomaterials 15, 114
physica status solidi (b) 2000309
RSC Advances 9, 34377
Carbon 132, 165–171
RSC Advances 7
physica status solidi (b) 1600629
Applied Physics Letters 106, 253106
Carbon 72, 66–73
arXiv:2506.03281 · Preprint
Advanced Materials 35, 2302045
Applied Physics Letters 121 (3)
CrystEngComm 20, 550–555
Scientific Reports 5, 10426
Methods I use across research and facility work.
Electron microscopy
TEM and STEM: HRTEM, HAADF, EELS, EDX, SAED, CBED and two beam diffraction contrast imaging. In situ and operando work with heating and biasing holders. SEM and EDX. Specimen preparation for powders, films and cross sections.
Growth & deposition
My main hands-on expertise is thermal CVD at atmospheric and low pressure, alongside sputtering and polymer-assisted transfer of 2D films. I also have knowledge of MOCVD and ALD process principles and contributed to MOCVD equipment procurement at Cambridge Graphene Centre.
Supporting characterisation
Raman spectroscopy, XPS, AFM and XRD, used to tie processing conditions back to structure and properties.
Computation
I develop Python tools for electron diffraction analysis and for comparing predicted crystal structures with databases and published literature. With an awarded Isambard 3 computing allocation, I am developing workflows to connect AI-generated materials candidates with experimental investigation.
Instruments
I run the electron microscope suite in the Chemical Imaging Facility, a JEOL 2100F FEG TEM and a JEOL 1400, and take on analytical work and method development for groups inside and outside the university.
University of Bristol, School of Chemistry
Research on sodium solid-state electrolytes and on metal catalysed carbon growth, run alongside the electron microscope suite in the Chemical Imaging Facility. I take users from their first session to independent working, advise on experiment design, and carry out analytical work from phase identification to defect and dislocation analysis.
Advanced Furnace Technology, Cambridge
Developed tantalum carbide coating processes for high-temperature furnace components and worked on scale-up from laboratory trials towards production.
Cambridge Graphene Centre, University of Cambridge
Responsible for Cambridge’s contribution to a Graphene Flagship hBN project with AIXTRON, where growth on 200 mm wafers was conducted. Worked on film characterisation and transfer, collaborated with European partners, and supported student research. Contributed to MOCVD equipment procurement at Cambridge Graphene Centre.
Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan
Compared ten metal catalysts for carbon growth using in situ TEM, CVD and sputtering, and kept the national platform instruments running for researchers from outside the institute.
Nanotechnology Platform Japan (MEXT)
National certification recognising advanced competence with shared research instrumentation.
Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan
Synthesis of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride thin films using solid precursors by CVD.
Chubu University, Japan
Production of TiN/TiO2 thin films and their properties, by PVD sputtering.
Tribhuvan University, Nepal
I welcome collaborations on thin-film synthesis, materials discovery and the mechanisms of growth and degradation. My work combines synthesis with microscopy to investigate interfaces and changes under heat or electrical bias. I also provide analytical support for research groups inside and outside Bristol.