Ing. Štěpán Potocký, Ph.D.

Electrochemical energy storage devices, such as batteries or supercapacitors, are used in many applications ranging from mobile to stationary, requiring different energy densities. The current energy storage technologies are far from ideal, and there is a need to redesign the energy storage devices regarding materials development, architecture, electrolyte and novel physico-chemical mechanisms. The PhD thesis will be focused on the physico-chemical investigation of a new and unique synthesis of boron doped nanoparticles by varying parameters of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of boron-doped diamond (BDD) and formation of heterostructures between BDD and polyaniline (PANI) by acid-assisted polymerization. Theory, experiments, microscopic and spectroscopic analyses will be used to study correlation between CVD process parameters, diamond film properties, PANI synthesis process and resulting properties. Electrochemical methods will be applied to investigate properties and function of the heterostructures as active material in supercapacitors and propose physico-chemical models and mechanisms. The work will be conducted at the Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering CTU.

Diamond and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), as individual materials, both reveal extraordinary properties motivating researchers to develop growth technologies for such crystals with the desired crystal structure and excellent quality. It is still challenging to synthesize them over large areas, for example, optoelectronic applications. This requires understanding complex phenomena and correlations of process parameters with the synthesis of TMDs. The PhD thesis will be focused on the investigation of the impact of the employed substrate material, i.e., diamond as a long-wanted substrate for epitaxy of two-dimensional materials, benefits of distinguished deposition techniques by chemical vapor or pulse laser deposition and fundamental explanation of events at the TMD-diamond interface as charge transport in TMD and Förster resonance energy transfer between optical centers in diamond and TMD. The work will be conducted at the Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering CTU.