Dr Warwick Belcher

Biography

I am a synthetic organic chemist with 10 publications and two international patents in the areas of conducting polymers, organic photovoltaic devices and the development of new materials for inclusion into these devices and have been responsible for the establishment of successful multidisciplinary collaborations with Nobel Laureate and conducting polymer chemist Prof. Alan MacDiarmid and physicist A/Prof. Paul Dastoor in areas directly applicable to this application. The patent held in conjunction with Prof. MacDiarmid, covers the preparation and processing of conducting polymers, a major consideration in the use of these materials in organic devices where often costly and time consuming methods are required. This contribution led to my employment in 2005 with A/Prof. Dastoor at the University of Newcastle studying the effect of incorporating porphyrin dye materials into conventional organic photovoltaic devices. This research has significantly improved the understanding of how devices of this type function. The work led to a patent covering the fabrication of multicomponent organic photovoltaic devices of the type which will be built and examined within this project and has highlighted the critical need to control the morphology of materials within these devices if significant advances are to be made in efficiency. As a result I have recently become active in the development and use of Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy (STXM), Near-field Scanning Photocurrent Microscopy (NSPM) and other techniques to study the morphology of materials and relate this characteristic to key properties such as charge mobility and photocurrent generation within them. Utilising the expertise and skills developed in these studies I am now developing new organic field effect transistors for use as biosensors and extending my understanding of these materials to organoelectronics in general. The current project is the logical extension of my career to date, recognising the need to control the morphology of the materials within organoelectronic devices and directly addressing this need. Recognition of my contribution to the field came at the beginning of 2007 when I was appointed as a lecturer in chemistry at the University of Newcastle within the new Priority Research Centre for Organic Electronics. 

Research Interest

Physics, Physical Chemistry of Materials,