Mercouri G. Kanatzidis

About

Mercouri G. Kanatzidis is a Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University with a background that includes a B.S. from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki obtained in 1979 and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa completed in 1984. His research focuses on inorganic chemistry, solid state and coordination chemistry of chalcogenide compounds, with particular interest in the design of new materials, exploratory synthesis, thermoelectric materials, nanostructured materials, intermetallics, mesoporous semiconductors, phase-change materials, conducting polymers, and intercalation chemistry applications of new materials. Kanatzidis has made significant contributions to the understanding and development of high-performance semiconductors, thermoelectric materials, and novel chalcogenide phases, advancing the field through his innovative research and synthesis techniques.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Optoelectronics
• Crystallography
• Nanotechnology
• Physics
• Inorganic chemistry
• Condensed matter physics
• Optics
• Organic chemistry

Selected publications

• The 2D Halide Perovskite Rulebook: How the Spacer Influences Everything from the Structure to Optoelectronic Device Efficiency

  Chemical Reviews · 2021 · 1003 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskites have emerged as outstanding semiconducting materials thanks to their superior stability and structural diversity. However, the ever-growing field of optoelectronic device research using 2D perovskites requires systematic understanding of the effects of the spacer on the structure, properties, and device performance. So far, many studies are based on trial-and-error tests of random spacers with limited ability to predict the resulting structure of these syn…

  DOI

• High-performance thermoelectrics and challenges for practical devices

  Nature Materials · 2021 · 783 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Polycrystalline SnSe with a thermoelectric figure of merit greater than the single crystal

  Nature Materials · 2021 · 687 citations

  at 783 K, lower than the single crystals. The path to ultrahigh thermoelectric performance in polycrystalline samples is the proper removal of the deleterious thermally conductive oxides from the surface of SnSe grains. These results could open an era of high-performance practical thermoelectrics from this high-performance material.

  DOI

• Bimolecularly passivated interface enables efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells

  Science · 2023 · 652 citations

  interface. We passivated surface defects and enabled reflection of minority carriers from the interface into the bulk using two types of functional molecules. We used sulfur-modified methylthio molecules to passivate surface defects and suppress recombination through strong coordination and hydrogen bonding, along with diammonium molecules to repel minority carriers and reduce contact-induced interface recombination achieved through field-effect passivation. This approach led to a fivefold longe…

  DOI

• Semiconductor physics of organic–inorganic 2D halide perovskites

  Nature Nanotechnology · 2020 · 510 citations

  DOI

Recent grants

• Solid State Chemistry of Crystalline and Glassy Chalcogenides

  NSF · $488k · 2008–2011

• Solid State Chemistry of Crystalline and Glassy Chalcogenides

  NSF · $234k · 2006–2008

• Collaborative Research: FRG: Beyond Crystallography: Structure of Nanostructured Materials

  NSF · $240k · 2007–2012

Frequent coauthors

• Michael R. Wasielewski

  Northwestern University

  2994 shared

• Arthur J. Nozik

  Northwestern University

  2919 shared

• Jenny Nelson

  Imperial College London

  2917 shared

• Laura M. Herz

  University of Oxford

  2917 shared

• Nathan S. Lewis

  California Institute of Technology

  2917 shared

• Peng Wang

  Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences

  2916 shared

• See Pooi

  Griffith University

  2916 shared

• Linda F. Nazar

  University of Waterloo

  2916 shared

Labs

• Kanatzidis Research GroupPI

  The Kanatzidis Research Group focuses on the synthesis and study of novel materials for energy conversion and storage applications.

Education

• B.S.

  Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

  1979

• Ph.D.

  University of Iowa

  1984

Awards & honors

• Presidential Young Investigator Award (1989-1994)
• ACS Inorganic Chemistry Division Award: EXXON Faculty Fellow…
• Beckman Young Investigator (1992-1994)
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1991-1993)
• Michigan State University Distinguished Faculty Award (1998)

Similar researchers at Northwestern University

• Lin X. Chenh-92
• Chris Jacobsenh-91
• John B. Kettersonh-81