Dr Ilka Hermes

Ilka Hermes is a research group leader at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research in Dresden, Germany. Her group focuses on electrical AFM techniques and correlated optical spectroscopy to investigate how microstructural features - such as grain boundaries or heterointerfaces - affect the charge carrier transport in optoelectronic materials. By combining conductive AFM and Kelvin Probe AFM with in-situ illumination, her group gains nanoscale insights into transport barriers and local electronic variations caused by defects or dopants. These insights are crucial for the understanding and improvement of light absorbers for solar cell applications, as well as emerging synthetic two-dimensional materials for next-generation optoelectronics. For the latter in particular, correlated optical spectroscopy complements AFM measurements by revealing excitonic transport phenomena, which are invisible to Kelvin probe AFM.

In addition to her own research, Ilka Hermes serves as scientific head of the institute's AFM laboratory, overseeing a wide range of applications - from high-resolution imaging of DNA molecules to the nanomechanical characterisation of polymer blends.

Ilka Hermes

Recent AFM-related papers:

• Mitrofanov, A.; Rymsha, K.; Sychev, D.; Zakirova, K.; Formanek, P.; Pohl, D., Bittrich, E.; Hermes, I.M.; Besford, Q.A.; Voit, B. (2024) Surface-assisted Synthesis of Perovskite Nanosheets with Bivalent Aromatic Cations. J. Mater. Chem. C, 12, 1440-1445

• Hermes, I.M.; Best, A.; Winkelmann, L.; Mars, J.; Vorpahl, S.M.; Mezger, M.; Collins, L.; Butt, H.-J.; Ginger, D.S.; Koynov, K.; Weber, S.A.L. (2020) Anisotropic carrier diffusion in single MAPbI3 grains correlates to their twin domains. Energy Environ. Sci., 13, 11, 4168-4177

• Hermes, I.M.; Hou, Y.; Bergmann, V.W.; Brabec, C.J.; Weber, S.A.L. (2018) The interplay of contact layers: How the electron transport layer influences interfacial recombination and hole extraction in perovskite solar cells. J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 9, 21, 6249-6256,

Biography: Ilka Hermes studied chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and began her work on AFM in 2013 by invesigating the arrangement of water molecules on mineral surfaces. For her doctoral work, she joined the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, where she employed electrical and electromechanical AFM techniques and correlated photoluminescence spectroscopy to study how various structural interfaces influence charge carrier transport in perovskite solar cells. Following her practical PhD research, she spent three years in industry as Principal Scientist at the AFM manufacturer Park Systems Europe GmbH. In 2022, Ilka established a junior research group focused on advanced correlative AFM at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research in Dresden.

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