Oliver Brune

Oliver Brune received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Münster in 2020. His bachelor’s thesis focused on the “Design of an Automated Experimental Setup for Photoluminescence Excitation Spectroscopy.” During this time, he gained expertise in working with laser systems and their application in spectroscopic characterization. He then earned his Master of Science in Applied and Technical Physics at the Technical University of Munich from October 2020 to September 2023, with a focus on energy science. His master’s thesis was titled “Exploration of Zirconium-Doped Tantalum Nitride Thin Films as Semiconductor Photoanodes.” During his studies, Oliver gained further expertise in various fields, including reactive co-sputtering, (photo)electrochemistry, and electrical characterization techniques.

Oliver Brune is a PhD student in the CO₂UPLED project. Under the supervision of Dr. Verena Streibel, he is focusing on the development of novel semiconductor photoanodes based on oxynitrides. His work involves the reactive sputtering deposition of these materials, using a design of experiments (DoE) to optimize the deposition parameters. Another focus is on characterizing the photoelectrochemical activity of the synthesized layers in half-cell setups, including stability analyses using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The goal is to develop stable, tailor-made, oxynitride-based thin-film photoelectrodes to achieve a balance between efficient light absorption and stability at the solid-electrolyte interface.