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Staff Profile

Professor Elizabeth Gibson

Co Director of Post Graduate Research, School of Natural and Environmental Science, Professor of Energy Materials

Background

Libby is a Professor of Energy Materials at Newcastle University. Research in the Energy Materials group focuses on developing materials and devices for sustainable power, fuel and feedstocks. This includes solar cell and solar fuel devices that function at a molecular level and challenge the conventional solid-state photovoltaic technologies. It also involves extracting value from waste. Her team's research involves materials development, device assembly and characterization of the underpinning photophysics and electrochemistry. Her current roles include being the academic lead for the Northern Net Zero Accelerator PB-IAA, the EPSRC Northeast Transient Absorption Spectroscopy & Microscopy Facility, Institution Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training, Renewable Energy at Northeast Universities (ReNU), and she is the engagement lead for the UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Chemical Economy and the Light Harvesting theme lead for the UK Solar Chemicals Network. She is co-Director for Post-Graduate Research in the School of Natural and Environmental Science.


Libby took up a lectureship at Newcastle in September 2014 and was promoted to Reader in 2018 and Professor in 2022. Her roles have included the founding co-Director of the Centre for Energy at Newcastle and Director of the £30M Newcastle University Academic Track (NUAcT) Fellowship scheme. Previously, she was awarded a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship and a University of Nottingham Anne McLaren Research Fellowship 2010, having spent 3 years as a post-doc at the Centre for Molecular Devices, Uppsala University, Sweden, developing dye-sensitized solar cells. She completed her PhD in 2007 at the University of York, supervised by Prof Robin Perutz FRS and Prof Anne-Kathrin Duhme-Klair.


ORCID 0000-0002-6032-343X

ResearcherID G-8699-2014



Research

If you are looking for a PhD studentship in any of the following areas, please check up to date information on funding available by visiting the following page before emailing: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/fees-funding/search-funding/


If you are an undergraduate student looking for a summer research internship, please get in touch. Funding calls are usually announced early in the calendar year, for example:

https://saltersinstitute.org/programmes/awards/porter-prize/

https://www.rsc.org/membership-and-community/connect-with-others/join-scientific-networks/subject-communities/analytical-science-community/funding-for-the-analytical-science-community/summer-studentships/

https://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/funding/find-funding/undergraduate-research-bursaries/


Expertise and facilities available in the Energy Materials Laboratory:

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/sage/facilities/analytical-services/transient-absorption-spectroscopy/

A suite of spectroscopic characterisation for in situ and operando characterisation of samples including liquids and solids (UV-Vis-NIR, photoluminescence (including lifetimes), FT-IR (including ATR and time-resolved); thermal analysis (TGA/DSC), Gas Chromatography, Ion Chromatography, Electrochemistry and Spectroelectrochemistry. Flagship facility is a fs time resolved laser facility including transient absorption spectroscopy and microscopy.


Materials synthesis and characterisation, ranging from PV materials, metal oxide electrodes, semiconductor quantum dots and photoluminescent carbon dots, catalysts (including water splitting, CO2 reduction etc.), dyes and photoactive materials, coordination complexes. Facilities for inert atmosphere synthesis/handling of materials, furnaces and hot plates (including inert atmosphere), ball milling, conductivity measurement.


Device development (gas diffusion cells for electrochemical CO2 reduction, H-cells for photoelectrochemistry, photocatalysis reactors, all with flow to allow for inline product analysis; printable photovoltaics) with facilities for 1 cm to 10 x 10 cm devices including inert atmosphere glove boxes with integrated spin coaters, screen printing, slot die coating, spray pyrolysis (automated), laminator for encapsulation.


Device testing: Solar Simulators and Spectral Response (EQE/IQE with integrating sphere), outdoor testing facility for PV on campus (lab scale) and RAF Leeming (lab to mini-module scale currently), charge carrier density, lifetime and transport time analysis (mechanistic studies from fs to seconds).


Our ERC-funded project focuses on dye-sensitized photocathodes which offer new opportunities for converting sunlight into storable energy cheaply and sustainably. We are developing dye-sensitized photocathodes for use in tandem dye-sensitized solar cells and for the photo-reduction of carbon dioxide or water to high energy products (solar fuels). Despite the infancy and complexity of this research area, we have brought about a number of exciting developments which have improved our understanding of the system and allowed us to substantially improve the photoconversion efficiency. Addressing the main limitations to p-type dye-sensitized solar cells, by improving the quality of the NiO electrodes, substituting the conventional triiodide/iodide electrolyte for more suitable alternatives and engineering new dyes specifically for the p-type system, has enabled us to substantially increase the efficiency of the device. We are now developing this idea further by replacing NiO with alternative transparent p-type materials and using the lessons we have learnt from solar cells to address the issue of solar fuel production. Here, the kinetic balance is even more critical and so we are simultaneously developing new methods to monitor the charge-transfer rates under conditions which are as close as possible to working devices.

Find out more here:

https://research.ncl.ac.uk/p-type/

Solar Cells: https://vimeo.com/703752026/440b5d0fc6

Sustainability: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFtYxtm_eow


Our UKRI-funded project within the National Interdisciplinary Centre for the Circular Chemical Economy (CircularChem) brings together stakeholders from academia, industry, government, NGOs and general public to transform the UK’s chemical industry into a fossil-independent, climate-positive and environmentally-friendly circular economy.  

https://www.circular-chemical.org/


Our Defence Innovation Funded project within the ViTAL Living Lab at RAF Leeming is looking at prospects for next generation solar technology to meet the MOD's commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. 

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2021/11/vitallivinglab/ 

Teaching

Current Courses:

Stage 1: General Chemistry

Stage 4: Energy Materials, Research Project


Research Publicity and Outreach

In addition to academic achievements I feel it is important to publicise my solar energy research to the public through a variety of activities. Recently I was filmed being interviewed in my laboratory as part of the Royal Society 350 Years of Scientific Publishing, “Science Stories”, which will be promoted in March 2015. I have completed a course in Public Engagement from the Royal Society in October 2014. My group and I take part in regular science fairs including the RSC Big Bang and the Royal Society Summer Exhibition. I lead workshops with local primary and secondary schools and science learning centres and was the Guest Speaker at the Year 12 Higher Education evening, Loughborough High School, (04/ 2011 and 04/2012) to promote STEM subjects to female school leavers. I was Science Week Guest Speaker, Bournemouth Natural Science Society, (03/2012), Guest Expert, University Radio Nottingham Science Show, (02/2012), Guest Speaker, ‘Celebrating Women in STEM' Nottingham University (01/2012) and a Campaign Showcase, ‘Impact: The Nottingham Campaign’ launch day (10/2011).

Publications