Molecular Devices @ UoL

Dr. Amit Sil
Research Coordinator 2024-
PDRA 2021-2024

Amit obtained his M.Sc in Chemistry from IIT Kharagpur (India) in 2012. His master thesis was focused on synthesis and catalytic studies of active Sn(0) nano-particles for Barbier reaction. He was awarded a PhD degree (2018) from IIT Kharagpur under the supervision of Dr. S. K. Patra. His PhD work was focused on synthesis and characterization of functional polypyridyl conjugates to access NIR absorbing materials, sensory applications and soluble emissive polymers. He then stayed in the same group for a short-postdoctoral position on the topic of developing metallocene catalyst for olefin polymerisation. In 2019 he moved to Durham University (UK) as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Prof J. A. Gareth Williams, where he worked on synthesis and characterization of functional luminescent Pt(II) or Ir(III) complexes for near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes (NIR–OLEDs).

After that, in October 2021, he moved to University of Liverpool (UK) for a postdoctoral position to work in the field of single molecular electronics and, in particular, to investigate the piezoresistive properties of molecular devices. In 2024, he was promoted to a research coordinator position. In his spare time Amit loves travelling and watching movies and web series.

Dr. Linlin Hou
PDRA 2024-

Linlin obtained her BSc in Polymer Materials and Engineering from Zhejiang University and her MSc in Advanced Materials from Imperial College London. Following this, she completed her DPhil at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Professor Jamie Warner, focusing on 2D material-based electronic and optoelectronic devices. Her DPhil studies involved the growth and characterization of 2D thin film materials, as well as the nanofabrication and measurements of 2D material-based nanodevices, such as field-effect transistors (FETs), photodetectors, light-emitting devices (LEDs), and photovoltaic devices. In January 2024, she moved to the University of Liverpool for a PDRA position and started her research on Molecular Photonics.

Mr. Marco F. Gatto
PDRA 2024-
PhD Student 2020-2024

Marco obtained his M. Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Messina in 2017. His thesis project focussed on the study of nanostructured systems for the photocatalytic water oxidation, under the supervision of Prof. Fausto Puntoriero. After his graduation, he worked on hydrogen storage in solid systems for Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche – Istituto di Tecnologie Avanzate per l’Energia under the supervision of Dr. Rolando Pedicini, spending September to December 2019 in Stuttgart at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, in the research team of Dr. Michael Hirscher.

In 2020, he then started his PhD at the University of Liverpool within the Molecular Devices group. His PhD project focuses on synthesis of organometallic compounds and the characterisation of their electronic properties for thermoelectric conversion.

Mx. Ruby Barry
PhD Student 2024-

Ruby graduated with a masters in chemistry from the University of Central Lancashire in 2022. This work concluded with a year long project working on the synthesis and characterisation of super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for use in DNA/RNA binding and elution. Following this they completed a PGDE in secondary science education at LJMU graduating in 2023. Immediately after this they spent 6 months working in the industrial waste management industry until January 2024.

As of February 2024, Ruby has started their PhD, working on the synthesis of molecular wires under Andrea’s supervision.