With an international team of researchers led by Prof. R.A.Fischer (TUM), we obtained a further increase of asymmetric supercapacitors’ energy density. The team synthesized a new graphene-based material with an Amine functionalized Metal-Organic Framework (MOF), successfully spacing the graphene layers and creating a hierarchical porous…
High Power Radio Frequency Shielding using Modern Materials
A collaborative research project involving QUT and Defence aims to develop a printable ultrathin layer of carbon to shield sensitive electronics from electromagnetic radiation. QUT research team: Nunzio Motta, Jacob Coetzee, Soniya Yambem, Michael Horn and Fraser Williams DST research team: Kamal Gupta, Sean Braidwood
New paper on Carbon "Double grain boundaries configurations on graphite surfaces"

As a result of an international collaboration spanning across four countries and three continents, we have been able to disclose the atomic structure of double grain boundaries in graphite. We categorized several grain boundary configurations as a function of the misorientation angle between the adjacent grains in HOPG. Molecular…
PhD scholarship – Single-layer 2D heterostructures on epitaxial graphene for future electronics
Ph.D. scholarship funded by the recently established Centre for Materials Science at QUT Supervisory team: Prof. Nunzio Motta, Dr. Dongchen Qi, Dr. Joseph Fernando Expected Starting date: June 2020. Eligibility: The candidate must have a physics/material science background and some experience in surface science and/or growth and…
New paper on Advanced Materials – Interfaces
Transfer‐Free Synthesis of Lateral Graphene–Hexagonal Boron Nitride Heterostructures from Chemically Converted Epitaxial Graphene Jonathan Bradford, Mahnaz Shafiei, Jennifer MacLeod, Nunzio Motta The synthesis of lateral heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN) has attracted attention due to the ability to broadly…
Multiscale Plasma‐Catalytic On‐Surface Assembly
Just appeared on Small! Hugo Hartl, Jennifer MacLeod, Anthony P. O’Mullane, Nunzio Motta, Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov Abstract: Controlled modification of surfaces is one of the key pursuits of the nanoscience and nanotechnology fields, allowing for the fabrication of bespoke materials with targeted functionalities. However, many surface…
Catapult grant funded – Transforming waste in battery materials
New Catapult Grant funded! Congratulations to Dr Deepak Dubal and his team! Deepak is the lead investigator on the project entitled “Empowering Waste: Transformation of Cotton-Waste into value-added Materials for Next Generation Battery Technology”, which was awarded funding of $64,084 in the most recent round of IFE Catapult
Monocrystalline Au Metasurfaces for Localized surface plasmon resonance sensing devices
Authors: Zelio Fusco, Mohsen Rahmani, Renheng Bo, Thanh Tran-Phu, Mark Lockrey, Nunzio Motta, Dragomir Neshev and Antonio Tricoli Title: High Temperature Large-Scale Self-Assembly of Highly Faceted Monocrystalline Au Metasurfaces. Journal: Advanced Functional materials (Accepted 5 Nov 2018) In this paper, we present first insights on…
Supercapacitors: A new source of power for electric cars?
Our paper “Supercapacitors: A new source of power for electric cars?” is now online on “Economic analysis and Policy” (Elsevier). Authors: Michael Horn , Jennifer MacLeod , Meinan Liu , Jeremy Webb , Nunzio Motta The paper is one of the fruits of the collaboration between QUT and SINANO (Chinese Academy of Science) in the frame of the…
NanoSea 2018 conference
Group photo – NanoSea 2018 – Carqueiranne The 7th International conference NANO-structures and nanomaterials SElf-Assembly was successfully held in Carqueiranne (Provence) from 1st to 7th july 2018. Our group presented and invited talk and an oral on the growth of graphene and 2D materials heterostructures. More details at:
New Xe-Plasma Dual Beam funded by ARC

Prof Nunzio Motta is leading a team of investigators who was awarded by ARC a LIEF grant to purchase a Xe-plasma dual beam for advanced future materials which will be installed at QUT. Partner institutions: QUT, UQ, Griffith, Monash, UTS – ARC contribution: $1,1M$ – Total cost of the equipment: 2.3M$ This project aims to establish a…
NanoS-E3 School and Workshop

Following the successful NanoS-E3 schools and workshops in 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2015 this 7th edition broadened the topics to 2D materials, batteries, supercapacitors and superconductors. With an impressive list of lecturers and keynote speakers, including several ARC Laureate Fellows, this well-established international meeting…