Golden Master Award 2019

Considerans

Indy du Fossé, TU Delft
Traps, Electrons and Holes in CdTe Quantum Dots

The Golden Master Award Jury has nominated the thesis of Indy du Fossé, entitled “Traps, Electrons and Holes in CdTe Quantum Dots” for the Golden Master Award 2019.

In his thesis Indy du Fossé describes in a very clear and well-illustrated way the research that was performed under supervision of Dr. W van der Stam from the department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology.

Indy’s project was ambitious the aim of his research was divided in two parts. In the first part he demonstrates the capacity to increase the photoluminescence of CdTE nanoparticle films by passivation of the mid-bandgap trap states using chloride salts, namely CdCl2. In the second part of the thesis, the candidate demonstrates that bleaching through injection of electrons or holes results in significantly different spectra by transient absorption spectroscopy. This study is the first experimental verification of the theoretical band structure of CdTe Qantum Dots by optical and electrochemical methods. The state of the art is broadly defined and the experiments are well performed and described in the thesis.

He compiled his results in a good master thesis with minimal help of supervisors. The thesis is well readable because it is clearly built up with a good structure. The experimental procedures look robust and reproducible and are illustrated with good figures. In addition, extensive literature references were cited. Moreover, part of the work has already been published in “Journal of the American Chemical Society” and “Chemistry Materials”. Two additional articles are still in progress.

The combination of the high level of the performed work, the quality of the thesis, and the diversity of optical and electrochemical methods, has convinced the committee to nominate the thesis as a winner for the Golden Master Award 2019.

The other two prizes were awarded to:

Marloes Arts - TU Delft/Erasmus University Rotterdam
BRCA2 mobility analysis using Deep Learning and the Moment Scaling Spectrum

Marie Brands - University of Amsterdam
Selective electrochemical oxidation of biomass-derived substrates to value-added products

The jury consisted of KNCV members in the broad range of chemistry: