Mircea Cotlet

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735, Room 2019
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-7778
cotlet@bnl.gov

Expertise | Research | Education | Appointments | Publications | Highlights | Awards | Certifications

Expertise

• interfacial charge carrier transport, chirality in low dimensional materials, chiral induced spin selective effect.
• pump-probe ultrafast spectroscopy and microscopy, single nanostructure optical microscopy, low temeprature physics, photophysics and photochemistry.

Research Activities

We use ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy and time-resolved optical microscopy to investigate the behavior of low dimensional semiconductor nanomaterials and related heterostructures. Our candidates are excitonic nanomaterials in the form of 2D van Der Waals materials, perovskites, II-IV collidal quantum dots, and combinations of them which can be grouped in hybrids and heterostructures. We design and assemble heterostructures for producing emerging  properties and improved optoelectronic and quantum materials performance. Our group also manages the Advanced Optical Facility of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, a state-of-the-art laboratory housing various linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy and microscopy methods utilized for photophysical and photochemical characterization of nanomaterials. 

Education

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, Ph.D. 2002, Chemistry         

Professional Appointments

2014 –present  Senior Scientist (RS6) with continuous appointment, Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory

2007 –2013      Scientist (S2-S3, term appointment), Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory

2006 – 2007    Technical Staff Member, Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos NM

2004 – 2006    Director’s Postdoctoral Researcher, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos NM

2003                  Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher (European Science Foundation), Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Selected Publications

• Zhu K, Reid O, Rangan S, et al (2025) Dual interfacial H-bonding-enhanced deep-blue hybrid copper–iodide LEDs. Nature 643:1246–1254. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09257-8
• Ramakrishnan S, Chen B, Zhang X, et al (2025) Phase-stabilized 2D/3D hetero-bilayers via lattice matching for efficient and stable inverted solar cells. Joule 9:101954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.101954
• Li H, Sarker P, Zhang X, et al (2024) Enhancing Chiroptoelectronic Activity in Chiral 2D Perovskites via Chiral–Achiral Cation Mixing. Advanced Optical Materials. https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202401782
• Shrestha S, Li M, Park S, et al (2023) Room temperature valley polarization via spin selective charge transfer. Nature Communications 14:. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40967-7
• Li J, Zhu K, Reid O, et al (2024) Dual Interfacial Hydrogen Bonds Enable Efficient Deep-Blue LEDs Based on a Hybrid Copper Iodide. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4114691/v1
• Shrestha S, Cotlet M (2023) Interfacial Charge Transfer in Atomically Thin 2D Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Heterostructures. ACS Applied Optical Materials 1:1192–1207. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaom.3c00122
• Tsai H, Shrestha S, Vilá RA, et al (2021) Bright and stable light-emitting diodes made with perovskite nanocrystals stabilized in metal–organic frameworks. Nature Photonics 15:843–849. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00857-0
• Li Q, Zhou D, Chai J, et al (2020) Structural distortion and electron redistribution in dual-emitting gold nanoclusters. Nature Communications 11:. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16686-8
• Ramakrishnan S, Song D, Xu Y, et al (2023) Solvent-Mediated Formation of Quasi-2D Dion-Jacobson Phases on 3D Perovskites for Inverted Solar Cells Over 23% Efficiency. Advanced Energy Materials 13:. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202302240
• Chen J-S, Li M, Cotlet M (2019) Nanoscale Photoinduced Charge Transfer with Individual Quantum Dots: Tunability through Synthesis, Interface Design, and Interaction with Charge Traps. ACS Omega 4:9102–9112. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b00803
• Li M, Chen J-S, Cotlet M (2019) Light-Induced Interfacial Phenomena in Atomically Thin 2D van der Waals Material Hybrids and Heterojunctions. ACS Energy Letters 4:2323–2335. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.9b01399

Research Highlights

Synergistic activities

2018–on   Member, Editorial Advisory Board Wiley - Particle and Particle Systems Characterization (PPSC) Journal

2021 Organizer ACS Spring Symposium on 2D Materials Synthesis, Theory and Characterization, Philladelphia, PA

2023-0n    Advisory Member NSLS2- BAT-QCT

2016-2020 Panel Member European Reseach Council ERC-STG Grants

Awards & Recognition

2021   The 519th Brookhaven Lecture 

2020   Brookhaven National Laboratory Science and Technology Award        

2019   Inventor of the Year Award, Battelle Corporation

2004   Director's Fellow Los Alamos National Laboratory

2003   European Science Foundation, The Human Frontier for Science Promotion Fellow Programme

Certifications

2010-2022 Adjunct Professor, Material Science and Chemical Engineering Department, Stony Brook University

2020-2022 Lecturer, Material Science and Chemical Engineering Department, Stony Brook University