Vincenzo Pecunia
Associate Professor
Principal Investigator of the Pecunia
Group for Thin Film Optoelectronics
BSc, MSc, PhD Cantab.
M. Inst. P., M. MRS, M. IEEE
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I am an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator at the Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials of Soochow University, China, where I founded and now lead the Pecunia Group for Thin-Film Optoelectronics. My group’s multidisciplinary research is at the intersection of physics, materials science, and electronics engineering. Specifically, I investigate emerging, environmentally-friendly, solution-processed semiconductors, such as organic semiconductors, lead-free perovskites, amorphous metal-oxide semiconductors, and carbon nanotubes. My interest in these semiconductors is motivated by their considerable potential for next-generation sustainable electronics, optoelectronics, and photovoltaics.
My research focuses on the experimental characterisation and conditioning of the photo-electronic properties of these materials, as well as their device applications in thin-film transistors, solar cells, and photodetectors. By gaining detailed understanding of their optoelectronic and device properties, I seek to rationally realise the full potential of these semiconductors for large-area optoelectronics and energy applications. My ultimate goal is to develop semiconductor technologies that can address emerging societal challenges in sustainability and healthcare, or that can improve our quality of life.
Prior to establishing the Pecunia Group for Thin-Film Optoelectronics, I worked full-time for over six years at the Optoelectronics Group of the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. Whilst there I earned my PhD in Experimental Physics and worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate under the supervision of Professor Henning Sirringhaus, FRS. Before that, I completed my BSc and MSc in Electronics Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, where the MSc also included a joint programme with the University of Texas at Austin, USA.
I have to date published numerous research articles in highly reputable journals such as
Nature,
Advanced Materials,
Advanced Energy Materials, Nano Energy,
Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Optical Materials, and
Nano-Micro Letters. Moreover, drawing from my research experience, I have also authored the book entitled
Organic Narrowband Photodetectors (Institute of Physics Publishing) and the monograph entitled
Organic and Amorphous-Metal-Oxide Flexible Analogue Electronics (Cambridge University Press). Please click
here for a complete list of my publications.
I currently serve on the Editorial Boards of the journals
Nanotechnology,
Journal of Physics: Materials,
Springer Nature Applied Sciences, and
Frontiers in Electronics. I am Co-Editor of the Research Topic entitled ‘Next-Generation Optoelectronics with Emerging Hybrid Materials’ for
Frontiers in Electronics, Lead Guest Editor of the Focus Issue entitled ‘Grand Challenges in Halide Perovskites: Next Generation Photodetectors’ for
Journal of Physics: Materials, and Lead Guest Editor of the Focus Issue entitled ‘Green Nanomaterials for a Sustainable Internet of Things’ for
Nanotechnology. I am a member of the
Institute of Physics (IOP), the
Materials Research Society (MRS), and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Representative Publications
Books
V. Pecunia†*, “Organic Narrowband Photodetectors: Materials, Devices and Applications”, Institute of Physics (IOP) Publishing, Bristol, UK, 2019. ISBN: 9780750326629, DOI: 10.1088/978-0-7503-2663-6.
V. Pecunia†*, M. Fattori, S. Abdinia, E. Cantatore, H. Sirringhaus, “Organic and Amorphous-Metal-Oxide Flexible Analogue Electronics”, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2018. ISBN: 9781108458191, DOI: 10.1017/9781108559034
Research Papers
V. Pecunia†*, J. Zhao, C. Kim, B. R. Tuttle, J. Mei, F. Li, Y. Peng, T. Huq, R. L.Z. Hoye, N. D. Kelly, S. E. Dutton, K. Xia, J. MacManus-Driscoll, H. Sirringhaus, Assessing the Impact of Defects on Lead-Free Perovskite-Inspired Photovoltaics via Photoinduced Current Transient Spectroscopy, Advanced Energy Materials, 2021. DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202003968
Y. Peng*, T. N. Huq*, J. Mei*, L. Portilla, R. A. Jagt, L. G. Occhipinti, J. L. MacManus-Driscoll, R. L. Z. Hoye†,
V. Pecunia†, Lead-Free Perovskite-Inspired Absorbers for Indoor Photovoltaics,
Advanced Energy Materials, 11, 1, 2002761, 2021. DOI:
10.1002/aenm.202002761
L. Portilla*, J. Zhao†, Y. Wang, L. Sun, F. Li, M. Robin, M. Wei, Z. Cui, L. G. Occhipinti†, T. D. Anthopoulos†,
V. Pecunia†* (
equal-contribution first author), Ambipolar Deep-Subthreshold Printed-Carbon-Nanotube Transistors for Ultralow-Voltage and Ultralow-Power Electronics,
ACS Nano, 14, 10, 14036–14046, 2020. DOI:
10.1021/acsnano.0c06619
K. Xia*, Y. Li, Y. Wang, L. Portilla,
V. Pecunia†* (
equal-contribution first author), Narrowband-Absorption-Type Organic Photodetectors for the Far-Red Range Based on Fullerene-Free Bulk Heterojunctions,
Advanced Optical Materials, 1902056, 2020. DOI:
10.1002/adom.201902056
F. Li*, Y. Wang, K. Xia, R. L. Z. Hoye,
V. Pecunia†* (
equal-contribution first author), Microstructural and Photoconversion Efficiency Enhancement of Compact Films of Lead-Free Perovskite Derivative Rb3Sb2I9”,
Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 8, 4396–4406, 2020. DOI:
10.1039/C9TA13352F
V. Pecunia†*, Y. Yuan*, J. Zhao, K. Xia, Y. Wang, S. Duhm, L. Portilla, F. Li, Perovskite-Inspired Lead-Free Ag2BiI5 for Self-Powered NIR-Blind Visible Light Photodetection,
Nano-Micro Letters, 12:27, 2020. DOI:
10.1007/s40820-020-0371-0
F. S. F. Brossard†* and
V. Pecunia†* (
equal-contribution first author), A. J. Ramsay, J. P. Griffiths, M. Hugues, H. Sirringhaus, Inkjet Printed Nanocavities on a Photonic Crystal Template,
Advanced Materials, 29 (47), 1704425, 2017. DOI:
10.1002/adma.201704425
V. Pecunia†* and M. Nikolka*, A. Sou, I. Nasrallah, A. Y. Amin, I. McCulloch, H. Sirringhaus†*, Trap Healing for High-Performance Low-Voltage Polymer Transistors and Solution-Based Analog Amplifiers on Foil,
Advanced Materials, 29, 1606938, 2017. DOI:
10.1002/adma.201606938
Y. Hu* and
V. Pecunia* (
equal-contribution first author), L. Jiang, C. Di, X. Gao, H. Sirringhaus†, Scanning Kelvin Probe Microscopy Investigation of the Role of Minority Carriers on the Switching Characteristics of Organic Field-Effect Transistors,
Advanced Materials, 28, 4713–4719, 2016. DOI:
10.1002/adma.201503812
V. Pecunia*, K. Banger, H. Sirringhaus†, High-Performance Solution-Processed Amorphous-Oxide-Semiconductor TFTs with Organic Polymeric Gate Dielectrics,
Advanced Electronic Materials, 1, 1400024, 2015. DOI:
10.1002/aelm.201400024
D. Venkateshvaran*, M. Nikolka, A. Sadhanala, V. Lemaur, M. Zelazny, M. Kepa, M. Hurhangee, A. J. Kronemeijer,
V. Pecunia, I. Nasrallah, I. Romanov, K. Broch, I. McCulloch, D. Emin, Y. Olivier, J. Cornil, D. Beljonne, H. Sirringhaus†, Approaching Disorder-Free Transport in High-Mobility Conjugated Polymers,
Nature, 515, 384–388, 2014. DOI:
10.1038/nature13854
J. Kronemeijer†*,
V. Pecunia, D. Venkateshvaran, M. Nikolka, A. Sadhanala, J. Moriarty, M. Szumilo, H. Sirringhaus†, Two-Dimensional Carrier Distribution in Top-Gate Polymer Field-Effect Transistors: Correlation between Width of Density of Localized States and Urbach Energy,
Advanced Materials, 26, 728–733, 2014.DOI:
10.1002/adma.201303060
Patents
H. Sirringhaus, K. Banger, V. Pecunia (equal contribution), Organic polymer gate dielectric material for transistor devices, US Patent no. 10,573,759 B2, 25 February 2020 (granted).
Y. Pan, V. Pecunia (equal contribution), Y. Peng, F. Li, Lead-free Perovskites in Indoor Construction Materials, 201910588300.9 (Chinese Patent Application), November 2019 (pending).
F. S. F. Brossard,
V. Pecunia (
equal contribution), Photonic Device, European Patent no.
EP3333605, October 2019 (granted).