神马福利影片

Research overview

Our group uses transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to understand the dynamic structural and chemical changes that nano and energy materials undergo while being operated in conditions relevant to applications. We are interested in two-dimensional materials for 'beyond Moore' electronics, new material chemistries for better rechargeable batteries, and understanding nanostructuring in heterogeneous catalysts. We are part of the larger Microscopy Group in the Physics Department, and we use Warwick's Electron Microscopy Research Technology Platform among other facilities to do research at the nanoscale.

2D MATERIALS

Two-dimensional materials are an exciting class of nano-material with potential application in unlocking 'beyond Moore' electronics - that is, the devices we will need once silicon hits its scaling limits. Understanding how their atomic structure relates to their properties is essential, as even single atom defects can have a pronounced effect. We use TEM to understand these relationships.

BATTERIES

Better rechargeable batteries are a 'grand challenge' in materials science, as they are fundamental for decarbonisation. Yet the processes at the heart of a battery are inherently complex, with many interlinked factors that need to be untangled if we wish to understand how to design better materials. We use advanced TEM techniques to image these processes as they occur at the nanoscale to diagnose these processes.

CATALYSTS

Catalysts are indispensable for our modern society, allowing us to create essential chemicals, from fertilisers to medicines to fuel, that keep us fed and healthy. Designing new catalysts will be central for unlocking new green industries, including hydrogen energy, CO₂ conversion, biofuels, and more. Many catalysts rely on nanostructures, or even single atoms, on their surface to provide activity. We identify these sites to inform better catalyst design.

Teaching and administration

I am the postgraduate admissions tutorLink opens in a new window, which means I help handle the Department's recruitment of PhDs and research MSc students alongside Rosalind Johnstone (postgraduate programmes officer - ). If you are interested in applying to study Physics at Warwick and have any questions then please contact me at .

I supervise final year experimental research projects (BSc and MPhys) and currently lecture the first half of the Condensed Matter Physics I module (PX385).

My background

Since 2021 I've been an academic in the Department of Physics here at Warwick, starting as a Royal Society University Research Fellow (from 2018 to 2026). Prior to moving to Warwick I had based my URF at the Materials Department at Oxford University. During 2017 I worked as a post-doc at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the USA. Prior to that, I was a post-doc at Oxford from 2013 to 2016, partly funded by an EPSRC doctoral prize award, supervised by Prof Jamie Warner, whom I also studied under for my PhD in Materials Science at Oxford. I studied for my undergraduate MPhys degree at Durham University.

Some recent papers

You can have a look at some of our recent research highlights at the Research Highlights page, or the complete publication list by following the Google Scholar link . Below are links through to some of our recent papers.

• in Angewandte Chemie, 2026.
• in 2D Materials, 2026.
• in MRS Energy & Sustainability, 2026.
• in Energy & Environmental Science, 2025.
• in Chemical Physics Reviews, 2025.

• in Energy & Environmental Science, 2025. Selected as a Research Highlight in .

• in Chemical Communications, 2024.

• in Advanced Materials, 2024.
• a review in Advanced Electronic Materials, 2024.
• in Nature Materials, 2024.
• in Advanced Materials, 2023.
• in Energy & Environmental Science, 2023.
• in Joule, 2023.
• a review in Battery Energy, 2023.
• in Advanced Materials, 2022.
• in Advanced Energy Materials, 2021.
• a review in Materials Today Advances, 2021.
• in Science Advances, 2020.
• in Royal Society Open Science, 2020.
• in ACS Nano, 2019.
• in Nature Materials, 2019.

Associate Professor

Office:

E: alex.w.robertson@warwick.ac.uk

The research group (2025)

Funders