Dr. Polycarpos Falaras

Senior Research Scientist

Tel: +30 210 6503644, +30 210 6503632, Fax: +30 210 6511766

e-mail: papi@chem.demokritos.gr

Service Staff

Dr Athanassios Philipopoulos (Research Associate)

Ιoannis Arabatzis (PhD student)

Thomas Stergiopoulos (PhD student)

Evangelia Hatzivasiloglou (PhD student)

Collaborating Scientists

Dr A. Provata, Dr A. Hiskia, Dr A. Koutsodimou, Dr K. Papadokostaki, Dr A. Chryssou

Research Activities

The current  activities of our lab are focusing on photoinduced applications of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide. More specifically the research has the following targets:

1.Develo pment and optimisation of dye-sensitised solar cells (prototypes).

• Synthesis of new sensitizers presenting broad and intense MLCT absorption bands in the visible: Ru(II) complexes of bipy, terpy, phenanthroline and related ligands bearing carbolylic or phosphonic acid functional groups.

Synthesis of novel polymeric and supramolecular dyes.

• Preparation of fractal, high surface area nanostructured TiO₂ thin films by sol-gel, spin coating, screen printing and sintering techniques.

Use of well ordered TiO₂nanotubes prepared by anodic oxidation. 

Preparation of novel composite solid-state or plasticized redox electrolytes.Use of nanocrystalline particles as fillers.

2. Investigation of photocatalytic methods based on TiO₂as well as the fabrication of self -cleaning, and self-sterilizing (antibacterial) photocatalytic surfaces. Immobilization of the photocatalyst on different substrates. Effect of the structure and morphology of the immobilized catalysts on the photodecomposition processes in aquatic and air media

Photoinducedsuperhydrophylicity.

Design and fabrication of novel gas phase photocatalytic packed bed photoreactor.

Micro-Raman characterization of semiconductors (doped and undoped), transition metal complexes and  redox-electrolytes (in the form of liquid, powder  or film).State of the art spectrophotoelectrochemistry on complete solar cells. 

 Atomic Force Microscopy characterizations of semiconductors (doped and undoped), electrolytes, cement, nanotubes,