Dr Yongtao Qu

Dr Qu is expertized in the development, fabrication, characterisation, thin film PV devices from printable nanoparticle inks, which provides added benefit to high volume and high value manufacturing to develop a reliable and transferable technology in light weight Earth abundant solar cells. His current research interest is to explore and understand the interfaces between the materials within the solar cells over a full range of length scales (atom to device), from the investigation of atomic ordering in the absorber to the improvement of PV devices via reduced back contact barrier using alternative nanoparticle fabrication strategy. He also has wide research interests in green energy materials, including fullerene C₆₀ carbon materials, insulation/flame-retardant materials and CO₂ adsorption/storage materials.

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• Point-Line Conductive Networks via Carbon Black/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Fillers and Surfactant Modification in Silicone Rubber Electromagnetic Shielding Composites, Cheng, Y., Liu, Y., Chen, Z., Liu, L., Zhang, B., Qu, Y. 29 Apr 2026, In: Polymers
• ZnO nanorod hemispherical light scatterers for thin film solar cell applications, Matheson, E., Campbell, S., Maiello, P., Zoppi, G., Barrioz, V., Beattie, N., Qu, Y. 31 Mar 2026, In: Journal of Physics: Energy
• Advancements in AgBiS2 thin film solar cells: strategies, challenges, and perspectives, Maurya, A., Qu, Y., Gour, K. 15 Sep 2025, In: JPhys Energy
• Diode laser induced crystallization of CZTS thin films deposited on flexible molybdenum foils, Olavil-Karayi, S., Sezer, K., Kartopu, G., Jones, M., Punathil, P., Oklobia, O., Tyrer, J., Jones, L., Qu, Y., Barrioz, V., Zoppi, G., Beattie, N., Woolley, E. 15 Jun 2025, In: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing
• Polymerization-enhanced flexible perovskite solar cells: a mini review, Huang, S., Han, B., Chen, S., Li, S., Yu, Z., Dong, J., Qu, Y., Yan, C. 31 Oct 2025, In: Journal of Physics: Energy
• Recent Advances in Surface Functionalized 3D Electrocatalyst for Water Splitting, Meethale Palakkool, N., Taverne, M., Bell, O., Mar, J., Barrioz, V., Qu, Y., Huang, C., Ho, D. 1 Feb 2025, In: Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research
• Towards more sustainable photovoltaics: Reducing environmental impact at the laboratory scale, Willis, B., Jones, M., Rigby, O., Jones, L., Woolley, E., Vialle, C., Sablayrolles, C., Qu, Y., Beattie, N. 17 Jul 2025, In: Procedia CIRP
• Ecodesign of kesterite nanoparticles for thin film photovoltaics at laboratory scale, Jones, M., Willis, B., Campbell, S., Kartopu, G., Maiello, P., Punathil, P., Cheung, W., Woolley, E., Jones, L., Oklobia, O., Holland, A., Barrioz, V., Zoppi, G., Beattie, N., Qu, Y. 5 Aug 2024, In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
• Editorial: Functional materials with charge transfer properties and their application in photoelectric devices—volume II, Zheng, M., Liu, Y., Gatti, T., Qu, Y. 8 Apr 2024, In: Frontiers in Chemistry
• In-depth Compositional Analysis of the Carbon-Rich Fine-Grain Layer in Solution-Processed CZTSSe Films Accessed by a Photonic Lift-off Process, Javed, A., Jones, M., Campbell, S., Yerci, S., Barrioz, V., Qu, Y. 15 Feb 2024, In: Advanced Materials Interfaces

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• Lightweight Absorber Photovoltaic Based Indoor Energy Harvesting for Internet of Things (IoT) Devices, Qu, Y. (Principal Investigator), The Royal Society, 01/01/23 - 31/12/24, £134,992.00

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• Oral presentation: Fabrication of Novel 3D Structured Electrode for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Generation Applications using Additive Manufacturing 2023

• Physics PhD April 05 2016
• Other Courses MSc June 30 2011
• Member Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) 2015
• Member Institute of Physics