Professor Chris Groves, BEng PhD FHEA

Personal web page

(email at chris.groves@durham.ac.uk)

Research

Dr Groves' research centres on the exploitation of new materials for energy generation and unconventional computing. This involves the development of simulation models to link the stucture of organic materials to the performance of devices, new experimental techniques such as 1/f noise spectroscopy, and engineering better performance via additive manufacture. He has published more than 40 papers, book chapters, and review articles that have been cited more than 2000 times. He is Institution Director for the North East Centre for Energy Materials and the EPSRC Centre for Renewable Energy Northeast Universities (ReNU), as well as an Editor for the Springer Nature Journal, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics.

Research Groups

Department of Engineering

• Future Energy Systems
• Next Generation Materials and Microsystems

Research Interests

• Unconventional computing
• Modelling of electronic transport in conducting polymers
• Organic Electronic devices
• Photovoltaics

Indicators of Esteem

• 2018: Appointed Editor of Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics:
• 2017: Work highlighted in IEEE Spectrum:
• 2016: Invited review in Reports in Progress in Physics:
• 2014: Article chosen as Hot Article by PCCP:
• 2014: Article chosen to be on the cover of a special issue of PCCP:
• 2014: Invited seminar at TU Graz:
• 2014: Invited talk at CECAM:
• 2014: Seminar at Technical University of Eindhoven:
• 2013: Article selected for Editor's choice: The advisory board of Energy & Environmental Science has selected our recent paper on charge separation in cascaded energy heterojunctions as Editor's choice.
• 2013: Invited talk at Optical Probes:
• 2013: Seminar at Sheffield University:
• 2012: Invited article in Energy & Environmental Science:
• 2012: Invited short talk at ICSM, Atlanta GA:
• 2012: Invited talk at 6th winterschool on Organic Electronics (HYMEC): Dr Groves has been invited to give a presentation on the modelling of nanoscale organic devices
• 2012: Invited talk at the International conference on the simulation of organic electronics and photovoltaics: Dr Groves has been invited to give a presentation in Valencia on the modelling of nanoscale organic devices
• 2011: Invited talk and session chair at international JUDO-PV conference: Dr Groves has been invited to give a talk at Oxford University on the effects of surface wetting layers on organic photovoltaic device performance.
• 2011: Seminar at Cambridge University :

Selected Publications

Chapter in book

• Vissol-Gaudin, E, Kotsialos, A, Massey, MK, Zeze, DA, Pearson, C, Groves, C & Petty MC (2016). Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation. In
• Groves, C & Greenham, NC (2014). Chapter 467 Monte Carlo Simulations of Organic Photovoltaics. In Computational Photovoltaics. Beljonne, D & Cornil, J Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
• Groves, C (2014). Modeling OPV Performance - Morphology, Transport and Recombination. In Organic Solar Cells - Fundamentals, Devices and Upsacling. Rand, BP & Richter, H Pan Stanford.

Conference Paper

• Vissol-Gaudin, E., Kotsialos, A., Groves, C., Pearson, C., Zeze, D.A., Petty, M.C. & Al-moubayed, N. (2018), Confidence Measures for Carbon-Nanotube / Liquid Crystals Classifiers, 2018 IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (WCCI 2018). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, IEEE, Piscataway, 646-653.
• Vissol-Gaudin, E., Kotsialos, A., Massey, M. K., Zeze, D. A., Pearson, C., Groves, C. & Petty, M. C. (2016), Training a Carbon-Nanotube/Liquid Crystal Data Classifier Using Evolutionary Algorithms, in Amos, M. & Condon, A. eds, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 9726 15th International Conference on Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation. Manchester, UK, Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 130-141.

Journal Article

• Vissol-Gaudin, Eléonore, Pearson, Chris, Groves, Chris, Zeze, Dagou A., Cantiello, Horacio F., Cantero, María del Rocio & Petty, Michael C. (2021). Electrical behaviour and evolutionary computation in thin films of bovine brain microtubules. Scientific Reports 11: 10776.
• Nieto-Díaz, Balder A. , Pearson, Christopher, Al-Busaidi, Zakiya, Bowen, Leon, Petty, Michael C. & Groves, Christopher (2021). Enhanced lifetime of Organic Photovoltaic diodes achieved by blending with PMMA: Impact of morphology and Donor:Acceptor combination. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 219: 110765.
• Crossland, A., Scoles, K., Wang, A., Groves, C. & Sun, S. (2020). Assessment of Electricity Decarbonization Scenarios for New Zealand and Great Britain using a Plant Dispatch and Electrical Energy Storage Modelling Framework. Energies 13(11): 2799.
• Nam, Sungho, Chaudhry, Mujeeb Ullah, Tetzner, Kornelius, Pearson, Christopher, Groves, Chris, Petty, Michael C., Anthopoulos, Thomas D. & Bradley, Donal D.C. (2019). Efficient and Stable Solution-Processed Organic Light Emitting Transistors using a High-k Dielectric. ACS Photonics 6(12): 3159-3165.
• Chaudhry, Mujeeb Ullah, Tetzner, Kornelius, Lin, Yen-Hung, Nam, Sungho, Pearson, Christopher, Groves, Chris, Petty, Michael C., Anthopoulos, Thomas D. & Bradley, Donal D. C. (2018). Low-Voltage Solution-Processed Hybrid Light-Emitting Transistors. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 10(22): 18445-18449.
• AL-Busaidi, Z., Pearson, C., Groves, C. & Petty, M.C. (2017). Enhanced Lifetime of organic photovoltaic diodes utilizing a ternary blend including an insulating polymer. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 160: 101-106.
• Groves, C (2017). Simulating charge transport in organic semiconductors and devices: a review. Reports on Progress in Physics 80(2): 026502.
• Massey, M.K., Kotsialos, A., Volpati, D., Vissol-Gaudin, E., Pearson, C., Bowen, L., Obara, B., Zeze, D.A., Groves, C. & Petty, M.C. (2016). Evolution of Electronic Circuits using Carbon Nanotube Composites. Scientific Reports 6: 32197
• Jones, M.L., Huang, D.M., Chakrabarti, B. & Groves, C. (2016). Relating Molecular Morphology to Charge Mobility in Semicrystalline Conjugated Polymers. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 120(8): 4240-4250.
• Kaku, K., Williams, A.T., Mendis, B.G. & Groves, C. (2015). Examining Charge Transport Networks in Organic Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Diodes using 1/f Noise Spectroscopy. Journal of Materials Chemistry C 3(23): 6077-6085.
• Jones, M.L., Dyer, R., Clarke, N. & Groves, C. (2014). Are hot charge transfer states the primary cause of efficient free-charge generation in polymer:fullerene organic photovoltaic devices? A kinetic Monte Carlo study. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 16(38): 20310-20320.
• Williams, A.T., Farrar, P., Gallant, A.J., Atkinson, D. & Groves, C. (2014). Characterisation of Charge Conduction Networks in Poly(3-hexylthiophene)/Polystyrene Blends using Noise Spectroscopy. Journal of Materials Chemistry C 2(9): 1742-1748.
• Jones, L.M., Chakrabarti, B. & Groves, C. (2014). Monte Carlo Simulation of Geminate Pair Recombination Dynamics in Organic Photovoltaic Devices: Multi-Exponential, Field-Dependent Kinetics and Its Interpretation. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 118(1): 85-91.
• Groves, C. (2013). Developing understanding of organic photovoltaic devices: kinetic Monte Carlo models of geminate and non-geminate recombination, charge transport and charge extraction. Energy & Environmental Science 6(11): 3202-3217.
• Groves, C. (2013). Organic light-emitting diodes: bright design. Nature Materials 12: 597-598.
• Mendis, Budhika G. , Bishop, Sarah J. , Groves, Chris , Szablewski, Marek , Berlie, Adam & Halliday, Douglas P. (2013). Plasmon-loss imaging of polymer-methanofullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells. Applied Physics Letters 102(25): 253301.
• Groves, C. (2013). Suppression of geminate charge recombination in organic photovoltaic devices with a cascaded energy heterojunction. Energy and Environmental Science 6(5): 1546-1551.
• Luria, J.L., Hoepker, N., Bruce, R., Jacobs, A.R., Groves, C. & Marohn, J.A. (2012). Spectroscopic Imaging of Photopotentials and Potential Fluctuations in a Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell Film. ACS Nano 6(11): 9392-9401.
• Lyons, B. P., Clarke, N. & Groves, C. (2012). The relative importance of domain size, domain purity and domain interfaces to the performance of bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaics. Energy & Environmental Science 5(6): 7657-7663.
• Lyons, B.P., Clarke, N. & Groves, C. (2011). The Quantitative Effect of Surface Wetting Layers on the Performance of Organic Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaic Devices. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115(45): 22572–22577.
• Groves, C., Reid, O.G. & Ginger, D.S. (2010). Heterogeneity in Polymer Solar Cells: Local Morphology and Performance in Organic Photovoltaics Studied with Scanning Probe Microscopy. Accounts of Chemical Research 43(5): 612-620.
• Yan, H., Swaraj, S., Wang, C., Hwang, I., Greenham, N.C., Groves, C., Ade, H. & McNeill, C.R. (2010). Influence of annealing and interfacial roughness on the performance of bilayer donor/acceptor polymer photovoltaic devices. Advanced functional materials 20(24): 4329-4337.
• Giridharagopal, R., Shao, G., Groves, C. & Ginger, D.S. (2010). New SPM techniques for analyzing OPV materials. Materials Today 13(9): 50-56.
• Groves, C., Kimber, R.G.E. & Walker, A.B. (2010). Simulation of loss mechanisms in organic solar cells: A description of the mesoscopic Monte Carlo technique and an evaluation of the first reaction method. Journal of Chemical Physics 133(14): 144110.
• Groves C., Blakelsey J.C. & Greenham N.C. (2010). The effect of charge trapping on geminate recombination and polymer solar cell performance. Nano Letters 10(3): 1063-1069.
• Groves, C, Koster, LJA & Greenham, NC (2009). The effect of morphology upon mobility: Implications for bulk heterojunction solar cells with nonuniform blend morphology. Journal Of Applied Physics 105(9): 094510
• Groves, C & Greenham, NC (2008). Bimolecular recombination in polymer electronic devices. Physical Review B 78(15): 155205.
• Petrozza, A, Groves, C & Snaith, HJ (2008). Electron transport and recombination in dye-sensitized mesoporous TiO2 probed by photoinduced charge-conductivity modulation spectroscopy with Monte Carlo modeling. Journal Of The American Chemical Society 130(39): 12912-12920.
• Zaumseil, J., Groves, C., Winfield, J.M., Greenham, N.C. & Sirringhaus, H. (2008). Electron-Hole Recombination in Uniaxially Aligned Semiconducting Polymers. Advanced Functional Materials 18(22): 3630-3637.
• Groves, C., Marsh, R.A. & Greenham, N.C. (2008). Monte Carlo modeling of geminate recombination in polymer-polymer photovoltaic devices. Journal Of Chemical Physics 129(11): 114903.
• Marsh, R.A., Groves, C. & Greenham, N.C. (2007). A microscopic model for the behavior of nanostructured organic photovoltaic devices. Journal Of Applied Physics 101(8): 083509, 083509.
• Groves, C & David, JPR (2007). Effects of ionization velocity and dead space on avalanche photodiode bit error rate. Ieee Transactions On Communications 55(11): 2152-2158.
• McNeill, CR, Westenhoff, S, Groves, C, Friend, RH & Greenham, NC (2007). Influence of nanoscale phase separation on the charge generation dynamics and photovoltaic performance of conjugated polymer blends: Balancing charge generation and separation. Journal Of Physical Chemistry C 111(51): 19153-19160.
• Aivaliotis, P, Vukmirovic, N, Zibik, EA, Cockburn, JW, Indjin, D, Harrison, P, Groves, C, David, JPR, Hopkinson, M & Wilson, LR (2007). Stark shift of the spectral response in quantum dots-in-a-well infrared photodetectors. Journal Of Physics D-applied Physics 40(18): 5537-5540.
• Groves, C, Chia, CK, Tozer, RC, David, JPR & Rees, GJ (2005). Avalanche noise characteristics of single AlxGa1-xAs(0.3 < x < 0.6)-GaAs heterojunction APDs. Ieee Journal Of Quantum Electronics 41(1): 70-75.
• Groves, C, Tan, CH, David, JPR, Rees, GJ & Hayat, MM (2005). Exponential time response in analogue and Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes. Ieee Transactions On Electron Devices 52(7): 1527-1534.
• Groves, C, David, JPR, Rees, GJ & Ong, DS (2004). Modeling of avalanche multiplication and noise in heterojunction avalanche photodiodes. Journal Of Applied Physics 95(11): 6245-6251.
• Groves, C, Harrison, CN, David, JPR & Rees, GJ (2004). Temperature dependence of breakdown voltage in AlxGa1-xAs. Journal Of Applied Physics 96(9): 5017-5019.
• Groves, C, Ghin, R, David, JPR & Rees, GJ (2003). Temperature dependence of impact ionization in GaAs. Ieee Transactions On Electron Devices 50(10): 2027-2031.
• Groves, C, David, JPR & Rees, GJ (2003). The effect of ionization threshold softness on the temperature dependence of the impact ionization coefficient. Semiconductor Science And Technology 18(7): 689-692.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

• Giridharagopal R., Shao G., Groves C. & Ginger D.S. (2010). New scanning probe microscopy techniques for analyzing organic photovoltaic materials and devices. Photovoltaics World 2(4): 23-27.

Show all publications

Supervises

• Mr David Palacios-gomez
• Mr Dongseok Song
• Mr Balder Nieto-diaz
• Mr Matthew Littlefair
• Mr. Ewan Matheson
• Mr. Matthew Naylor
• Ms. Miriam Fsadni
• Mr Benedict Jones
• Mr. Cai Williams

Selected Grants

International Collaboration

• Dr David Huang, University of Adelaide
• Prof David Ginger, University of Washington
• Dr Jan Anton Koster, University of Groningen
• Dr Chris McNeill, Monash University
• Dr Karin Zojer, Technical University of Graz

Teaching Areas

• ENGI 1161 - Analogue Electronics (15 hours/year.)
• ENGI2181 - Sensors and Actuators (10 hours/year.)
• L1 Design (5 hours/year.)