Overview

I am a postdoctoral research fellow in the Physics Department at the University of Exeter, UK. I am a theoretical materials scientist, with focuses on materials discovery, material operational limits, and the application of machine learning to these fields. Many of our modern devices rely on the unique physical properties of interfaces (the joins between materials). At the same time, these interfaces are often the limiting factor of device operation - often being the first point of failure when it comes to varying electrical, thermal, chemical, and mechanical conditions.

Research: I study the limits of material interfaces and their impact on electronic devices. I have applied this research to green energy solutions, including solar cells, water-splitters, capacitors, and batteries. I am exploring how machine learning techniques can help to identify material properties and be used to aid in materials discovery. I have worked with various companies to identify viable materials for applications in renewable devices. I am starting to investigate how material interfaces affect operation of devices for space applications.

Current projects: I am currently a postdoc within Dr Hepplestone's research group.The grant I am currently working on  research focuses on exploring dielectric properties such as permittivity and breakdown strength of materials through use of theoretical computational modelling methods such as density functional theory. I also research interface physics, with a particular focus on properties that originate at the interface and interface structure prediction.

I have developed the ARTEMIS software package to aid users in identifying the most energetically favourable interface to form between any two given materials.

I am also developing a Fortran-based open-source neural network library, ATHENA, allowing users to easily implement machine learning into their Fortran-based workflows.

Collaborations: I am always looking to work with other academics and industrial partners on projects within, and beyond, my scope of research experience. Collaboration is a key way to improve the transfer and application of knowledge, and ebales the generation of new ideas.

Impact & Outreach: I have designed and delivered outreach to local schools. I have also recently created a social media account, ScienceFromTerra, to disemminate scientific information to the general public in an entertaining.

Career History:

2021-present - Postdoctoral research fellow: University of Exeter
Department of Physics and Astronomy, identifying operational breakdown of materials and interfaces

2020-2021 - Postdoctoral research fellow: University of Exeter
Department of Computer Science, imputing missing road traffic data and forecasting traffic trends

2016-2020 - PhD: University of Exeter
Ab initio Exploration of Interface Structures and their Properties

2012-2016 - MPhys: University of Exeter
The Quantum Theory of Plasmon Polaritons in Nanoplasmonic Metamaterials

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Publications

_{Copyright Notice: Any articles made available for download are for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the copyright holder.}

| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2017 |

2024

• Pitfield J, Taylor NT, Hepplestone SP. (2024) Predicting Phase Stability at Interfaces, Physical Review Letters, volume 132, no. 6, article no. 066201, DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.132.066201. [PDF]
• Pitfield J, Taylor N, Hepplestone S. (2024) Predicting phase stability at interfaces (dataset).

2023

• Taylor NT, Hepplestone SP. (2023) Effect of charge transfer on band alignment in 2D|3D heterostructures: A study of HfS2|HfO2 interfaces, Physical Review B, volume 107, no. 20, article no. 205302, DOI:10.1103/physrevb.107.205302. [PDF]
• Taylor N, Hepplestone S. (2023) Effect of charge transfer on band alignment in 2D|3D heterostructures: A study of HfS₂|HfO₂ interfaces (dataset).

2022

• Chan TH, Taylor NT, Sundaram S, Hepplestone SP. (2022) Phase Stability and Electronic Properties of Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Solid Solution (CH(NH₂)₂)_x(CH₃NH₃)_1-xPb(BryI_1-y)₃ as a Function of Composition, JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, DOI:10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c03555AJ. [PDF]
• Chan TH, Taylor NT, Sundaram S, Hepplestone SP. (2022) Phase Stability and Electronic Properties of Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Perovskite Solid Solution (CH(NH₂)₂)_x(CH₃NH₃)_1–xPb(Br_yI_1–y)₃ as a Function of Composition, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, volume 126, no. 32, pages 13640-13648, DOI:10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c03555. [PDF]

2021

• Davies FH, Price CJ, Taylor NT, Davies SG, Hepplestone SP. (2021) Band alignment of transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures, Physical Review B, volume 103, no. 4, article no. 045417, DOI:10.1103/physrevb.103.045417. [PDF]

2020

• Taylor N. (2020) Ab Initio Exploration of Interface Structures and Their Properties.
• Taylor N, Galbiati A, Saavedra M, Hepplestone S. (2020) Calcium-Stannous Oxide Solid Solutions for Solar Devices, Applied Physics Letters, volume 117, no. 15, pages 153901-153901, DOI:10.1063/5.0024947. [PDF]
• Taylor N, Davies F, Rudkin IEM, Price C, Chan E, Hepplestone S, Taylor N. (2020) ARTEMIS: Ab initio Restructuring Tool Enabling the Modelling of Interface Structures, Computer Physics, volume 257, pages 107515-107515, DOI:10.1016/j.cpc.2020.107515.
• Taylor N, Hepplestone S, Chan E, Davies FH, Price C, Rudkin I. (2020) ARTEMIS: Ab initio Restructuring Tool Enabling the Modelling of Interface Structures - v. 1.0.1. [PDF]
• Taylor NT, Price CJ, Petkov A, Romanis Carr MI, Hale JC, Hepplestone SP. (2020) The Potential of Overlayers on Tin-based Perovskites for Water Splitting, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, volume 11, no. 10, pages 4124-4130, DOI:10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c00964. [PDF]

2019

• Taylor NT, Davies FH, Davies SG, Price CJ, Hepplestone SP. (2019) Colossal Permittivity: The Fundamental Mechanism Behind Colossal Permittivity in Oxides (Adv. Mater. 51/2019), Advanced Materials, volume 31, no. 51, DOI:10.1002/adma.201970359.
• Taylor NT, Davies FH, Davies SG, Price CJ, Hepplestone SP. (2019) The Fundamental Mechanism Behind Colossal Permittivity in Oxides, Advanced Materials, volume 31, no. 51, DOI:10.1002/adma.201904746. [PDF]

2017

• Hepplestone SP, Taylor NT, Davies F. (2017) First principles electronic and elastic properties of fresnoite Ba2TiSi2O8, Materials Research Express, volume 4, pages 125904-125904, DOI:10.1088/2053-1591/aa99e8.

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