Marta Di Girolamo is a Research Postgraduate in magnetic characterisation. Her research investigates the functional properties of chiral materials and how these materials could make more efficient LEDs or new storage media for the computers of the future.
What inspired you to study for a PhD?
After I finished my Master’s in Applied and Engineering Physics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), I was not sure about studying for a PhD. I started in the Department of Materials as a Research Assistant in December 2022, and I found the topic so fascinating and the atmosphere in the group so positive that I realised I wanted to stay and challenge myself to do a PhD.
How would you explain your research to someone outside the field?
I characterise the functional properties of chiral materials. Chiral objects exist in pairs with a definite handedness, which are the mirror image of each other; there are such objects across multiple length scales. Macroscopically, a great example is our hands, but most biomolecules are chiral, too: think about the shape of our DNA! I collaborate with Chemistry, where my colleagues synthesize chiral small chiral molecules and I try to understand how to use them for small electronic devices. They could for example help make more efficient LEDs or new storage media for the computers of the future. This kind of electronics is called spin-optoelectronics and is a fascinating field for application of materials that interact with light and/or the electron spin.
Why did you study this area and why is it important?
I have always been interested in the energy sector and completed research placements during my bachelor’s and master’s on organic batteries and solar cells. During the last year of my master’s, I became more interested in the materials science of the active layers in the devices than in the device fabrication, which had been my main interest until then. It fascinated me how you can shape the device, but it felt a bit like skipping a step not knowing well how the materials in it are oriented and interact. Deciding what the right use for a material depends on its structural and functional properties feels more natural to me and can lead us to targeted and informed device fabrication, so that is how I got into characterisation.
How could this research make an impact?
Chiral materials, especially chiral organic semiconductors, are promising for optoelectronics because of the way in which they can absorb and emit circularly polarised light. Their less explored property that my PhD focuses on is their ability to select the electron spin in the presence of a magnetic field. Advances in this field would have a massive impact on spintronics as it could allow the translation of spin information in to charge information, which is much easier to measure in a device and could thus one day help make new type of computers a commercial reality.
Who do you collaborate with at Imperial and beyond?
I work across two departments, mainly Materials and Chemistry. I work in the groups of Dr Jess Wade and Professor Sandrine Heutz in Materials, but I also have Professor Matthew Fuchter as a third supervisor in Chemistry. I also often collaborate with a group in Physics that focuses on magnetism and, beyond Imperial, with a group that works on magnetic thin films at the University of Sheffield.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
I really like how interdisciplinary the field is. One day, I might focus on structural characterisation, so materials science; another, I might try to understand the chemistry of the materials I work with. Meanwhile, when I focus more on applications, I always must think about the physics of the processes. It is a constant challenge for me, especially the chemistry bits, but I absolutely love it.
I also enjoy the part of my work that has brought me to meet new people. I have made friends amongst other students and Imperial is full of researchers from everywhere in the world. Every day feels like travelling somewhere new when you ask your colleagues about their background!
What do you enjoy outside of research?
I was born in Sicily in a town on the seaside, so I have always loved swimming. I go twice a week in Ethos and try to go back home every few months to do it in the sea as well. I love reading too: I almost always go through a book a month and since I live in the UK I started reading more of the English literature classics. Other than that, I am trying to enjoy my time in London and to look for good live music around the city; I also really like to cook: my friends and family say I make great pancakes.
What’s something your colleagues would be surprised to learn about you?
I am training to swim from Sicily to mainland Italy, hopefully I will make it next summer!