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Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa
Dr

Mike Tebyetekerwa

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Overview

Background

Dr Tebyetekerwa is an ARC DECRA Fellow and Sub-Group Leader at UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation and ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide(GETCO2), working with Professor Xiwang Zhang. His current main research interests at UQ School of Chemical Engineering rotate around water and electrochemical systems such as electrochemical CO2 capture and conversion to valuable chemicals and electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide and/or hydrogen. He is deeply interested in designing scalable and industry-relevant chemical cells and generators. He completed his PhD from The Australian National University (ANU), where his research focused on optical spectroscopy and advanced characterization of semiconducting materials and their devices (Supervised by Prof Dan Macdonald, A/Prof. Dr. Hieu T. Nguyen and Prof. Yuerui (Larry) Lu). Dr Tebyetekerwa also holds a Master's in Materials Processing Engineering from Donghua University, Shanghai, where his research focused on fibrous materials for flexible energy storage (Supervised by Academician Meifang Zhu and A/Prof Shengyuan Yang). Mike supervises projects for undergraduate, master's, and PhD students on topics related to the following research interests;

  1. Scalable electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide and/or hydrogen from water*
  2. Scalable electrochemical CO2 capture and reduction to valuable chemicals*
  3. Reconstructed graphite for sodium-ion batteries
  4. High surface area electrospun fibre materials for various applications
  5. Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules and their engineered applications
  6. Light-matter understanding of 2D materials and other semiconductor materials for optoelectronics*

*Currently funded and active ongoing projects

Featured works

In addition to his research, Mike lectures Sustainable Energy Technologies and Supply Systems (ENGY7000) course as part of the Master of Sustainable Energy (MSE) program.

Availability

Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa is:
Not available for supervision

Qualifications

  • Doctoral (Research) of Engineering, Australian National University

Research interests

  • Electrochemical CO2 Capture and reduction to valuable chemicals.

    My research in this space heavily leans on using water and electricity to capture CO2. Fully funded in 2024 by ARC ($412,037), this project on electrochemical CO2 capture aims to improve the capture capacity for CO2 by first understanding the underlying mechanisms. At the end of the project, more energy-efficient CO2 devices built for use at different scales are expected to be possible. See more: Tebyetekerwa et al. Adv. Energy Mater. 2024, 14, 2400625.

  • Electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide.

    Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most commonly used chemicals in the world. Despite its widespread use, its traditional production method—the anthraquinone process—is indirect, energy-intensive, and not environmentally friendly. My research aims to find and optimise electrochemical hydrogen peroxide production via the so-called two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e-ORR) or two-electron water oxidation reaction (2e-WOR).

  • Light-matter interactions in low-dimension 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides and other semiconductors

    My work in this space involves mainly utilising optical spectroscopy, such as steady-state micro-photoluminescence, time-resolved photoluminescence, and absorbance/transmission spectroscopy, to study semiconductors (mainly 2D materials, Silicon, and Perovskites) and understand their light-matter interaction properties. This can help uncover and predict their properties in devices such as solar cells, transistors, LEDs, and related devices. See more: Tebyetekerwa et al ACS Nano, 14 (2020) 14579-14604.

  • Functional fiber materials for energy and environment

    Traditionally, textile fibers are used for clothing, upholstery, and insulation in homes, offices, and industries due to their insulating properties derived from pure insulating polymers. However, this is changing rapidly. My work in this area of research involves the incorporation of nanomaterials into fibers for new functional properties to expand their use in several other industries, such as automotive, electronics, energy, water purification, construction, agro-food sectors, and more. See more: Tebyetekerwa et al. Energy Environ. Sci., 12 (2019) 2148-2160. Tebyetekerwa et al , Matter, 2 (2020) 279-283.

  • Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules and their applications

    Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules are a relatively new class of materials known to have the so-called molecular rotors in their structures. These rotors can be restricted or left to rotate as they wish. The extent of their restriction gives them unique properties, making them suitable for a wide range of applications, such as molecular machines, sensors, photodetectors, LEDs, paints, solar concentrators, and more. My research direction involves studying their possible applications in various fields. See more: Tebyetekerwa et al, ACS Nano, 14 (2020) 7444-7453.

Research impacts

In 2023, Mike was awarded an ARC DECRA fellowship (commenced in 2024), which is one of the country's most competitive fellowships for early career researchers. His ARC DECRA fellowship aims to develop new electrochemical carbon capture technology. Mike's research on fibers, AIEgens, 2D materials, and other semiconducting materials has been widely recognized and published in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Science, Advanced Materials, Energy and Environmental Science, and ACS Nano. His work focuses on solving global energy and environmental issues and has resulted in groundbreaking discoveries. Some of his notable achievements include quantifying the maximum open-circuit voltage that can be achieved by a 2D monolayer solar cell (Advanced Materials), contributing to the first certified 21.6% efficiency in perovskite solar cells larger than one square centimeter (Science), and proposing a new method for measuring fiber/wearable battery performance (Energy and Environmental Science). Mike's work has also received extensive media coverage, having been featured by over 60 media channels worldwide.

Some International Media Releases.

  • 04/2024:GETCO2 Nanogenerator turns CO2 into Sustainable Power. ABC News, Brisbane Times, UQ News, GETCo2, etc
  • 08/2023: ARC supports UQ research and innovation-UQ News
  • 08/2021: Twist brings new possibilities for ultra-thin 2D materials - ANU, The Graphene Council, Physics.org, etc
  • 01/2021: New study reveals secrets to solar success (a world-record perovskite solar cell) - ANU, Renew Economy, etc
  • 08/2020: Notable mentions in CECS's 2020 Remote Teaching and Student Experience awards for exceptional support to the convenor and students in course ENG4524/ENGN6524 Photovoltaic Technologies
  • 05/2019: Scientists unlock the potential of ultra-thin 2D materials - ANU, CECS ANU, 2CC Radio Canberra Weekender, Physics.org, Opli, etc.
  • 02/2019: What lies in the future of fibre materials and devices - DHU, China News, etc

Works

Search Professor Mike Tebyetekerwa’s works on UQ eSpace

108 works between 2017 and 2025

61 - 80 of 108 works

2020

Journal Article

Mechanisms and applications of steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides

Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Zhang, Jian, Xu, Zhen, Truong, Thien N., Yin, Zongyou, Lu, Yuerui, Ramakrishna, Seeram, Macdonald, Daniel and Nguyen, Hieu T. (2020). Mechanisms and applications of steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides. ACS Nano, 14 (11), 14579-14604. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.0c08668

Mechanisms and applications of steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy in two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides

2020

Journal Article

Intelligent materials

Liu, Kai, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Ji, Dongxiao and Ramakrishna, Seeram (2020). Intelligent materials. Matter, 3 (3), 590-593. doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2020.07.003

Intelligent materials

2020

Journal Article

Which is a better fluorescent sensor: aggregation-induced emission-based nanofibers or thin-coating films?

Ding, Yexin, Li, Weili, Wang, Fangming, Li, Hongkun, Yang, Shengyuan, Wang, Lijun, Wang, Zhiming, Tebyetekerwa, Mike and Tang, Ben Zhong (2020). Which is a better fluorescent sensor: aggregation-induced emission-based nanofibers or thin-coating films?. Materials Advances, 1 (4), 574-578. doi: 10.1039/d0ma00409j

Which is a better fluorescent sensor: aggregation-induced emission-based nanofibers or thin-coating films?

2020

Journal Article

Emission control from transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers by aggregation-induced molecular rotors

Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Cheng, Yanhua, Zhang, Jian, Li, Weili, Li, Hongkun, Neupane, Guru Prakash, Wang, Bowen, Truong, Thien N., Xiao, Chuanxiao, Al-Jassim, Mowafak M., Yin, Zongyou, Lu, Yuerui, Macdonald, Daniel and Nguyen, Hieu T. (2020). Emission control from transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers by aggregation-induced molecular rotors. ACS Nano, 14 (6), 7444-7453. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03086

Emission control from transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers by aggregation-induced molecular rotors

2020

Journal Article

Electrospun nanofibers-based face masks

Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Xu, Zhen, Yang, Shengyuan and Ramakrishna, Seeram (2020). Electrospun nanofibers-based face masks. Advanced Fiber Materials, 2 (3), 161-166. doi: 10.1007/s42765-020-00049-5

Electrospun nanofibers-based face masks

2020

Journal Article

Hydrogenation Mechanisms of Poly‐Si/SiO x Passivating Contacts by Different Capping Layers

Truong, Thien N., Yan, Di, Chen, Wenhao, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Young, Matthew, Al-Jassim, Mowafak, Cuevas, Andres, Macdonald, Daniel and Nguyen, Hieu T. (2020). Hydrogenation Mechanisms of Poly‐Si/SiO x Passivating Contacts by Different Capping Layers. Solar RRL, 4 (3) 1900476, 1-1. doi: 10.1002/solr.202070033

Hydrogenation Mechanisms of Poly‐Si/SiO x Passivating Contacts by Different Capping Layers

2020

Journal Article

High stress-driven voltages in net-like layer-supported organic-inorganic perovskites

Tusiime, Rogers, Zabihi, Fatemeh, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Yousry, Yasmin Mohamed, Wu, Yue, Eslamian, Morteza, Yang, Shengyuan, Ramakrishna, Seeram, Yu, Muhuo and Zhang, Hui (2020). High stress-driven voltages in net-like layer-supported organic-inorganic perovskites. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 8 (8), 2643-2658. doi: 10.1039/c9tc05468e

High stress-driven voltages in net-like layer-supported organic-inorganic perovskites

2020

Journal Article

What is next for electrospinning?

Tebyetekerwa, Mike and Ramakrishna, Seeram (2020). What is next for electrospinning?. Matter, 2 (2), 279-283. doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2020.01.004

What is next for electrospinning?

2020

Book Chapter

Advanced chemical applications of modified cotton

Lugoloobi, Ishaq, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Memon, Hafeezullah and Sun, Chao (2020). Advanced chemical applications of modified cotton. Textile science and clothing technology. (pp. 501-527) edited by Hua Wang and Hafeezullah Memon. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-9169-3_20

Advanced chemical applications of modified cotton

2020

Journal Article

Tandem Solar Cells: Spatially and Spectrally Resolved Absorptivity: New Approach for Degradation Studies in Perovskite and Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells (Adv. Energy Mater. 4/2020)

Nguyen, Hieu T., Gerritsen, Sven, Mahmud, Md Arafat, Wu, Yiliang, Cai, Ziyuan, Truong, Thien, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Duong, The, Peng, Jun, Weber, Klaus, White, Thomas P., Catchpole, Kylie and Macdonald, Daniel (2020). Tandem Solar Cells: Spatially and Spectrally Resolved Absorptivity: New Approach for Degradation Studies in Perovskite and Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells (Adv. Energy Mater. 4/2020). Advanced Energy Materials, 10 (4). doi: 10.1002/aenm.202070016

Tandem Solar Cells: Spatially and Spectrally Resolved Absorptivity: New Approach for Degradation Studies in Perovskite and Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells (Adv. Energy Mater. 4/2020)

2019

Journal Article

Hydrogen-Assisted Defect Engineering of Doped Poly-Si Films for Passivating Contact Solar Cells

Truong, Thien N., Yan, Di, Samundsett, Christian, Liu, Anyao, Harvey, Steven P., Young, Matthew, Ding, Zetao, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Kremer, Felipe, Al-Jassim, Mowafak, Cuevas, Andres, MacDonald, Daniel and Nguyen, Hieu T. (2019). Hydrogen-Assisted Defect Engineering of Doped Poly-Si Films for Passivating Contact Solar Cells. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2 (12), 8783-8791. doi: 10.1021/acsaem.9b01771

Hydrogen-Assisted Defect Engineering of Doped Poly-Si Films for Passivating Contact Solar Cells

2019

Journal Article

Spatially and spectrally resolved absorptivity: new approach for degradation studies in perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells

Nguyen, Hieu T., Gerritsen, Sven, Mahmud, Md Arafat, Wu, Yiliang, Cai, Ziyuan, Truong, Thien, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, The Duong, , Peng, Jun, Weber, Klaus, White, Thomas P., Catchpole, Kylie and Macdonald, Daniel (2019). Spatially and spectrally resolved absorptivity: new approach for degradation studies in perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 10 (4) 1902901, 1902901. doi: 10.1002/aenm.201902901

Spatially and spectrally resolved absorptivity: new approach for degradation studies in perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells

2019

Journal Article

Contactless, nondestructive determination of dopant profiles of localized boron-diffused regions in silicon wafers at room temperature

Nguyen, Hieu T., Li, Zhuofeng, Han, Young-Joon, Basnet, Rabin, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Truong, Thien N., Wu, Huiting, Yan, Di and Macdonald, Daniel (2019). Contactless, nondestructive determination of dopant profiles of localized boron-diffused regions in silicon wafers at room temperature. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) 10423, 10423. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46986-z

Contactless, nondestructive determination of dopant profiles of localized boron-diffused regions in silicon wafers at room temperature

2019

Journal Article

Aluminium and zinc co-doped CuInS2 QDs for enhanced trion modulation in monolayer WS2 toward improved electrical properties

Zhang, Jian, Zhang, Yupeng, Zhang, Jian, Wang, Bowen, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Zhu, Yi, Liu, Boqing, Nguyen, Hieu T., Lu, Yuerui and Tian, Shouqin (2019). Aluminium and zinc co-doped CuInS2 QDs for enhanced trion modulation in monolayer WS2 toward improved electrical properties. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 7 (47), 15074-15081. doi: 10.1039/c9tc05469c

Aluminium and zinc co-doped CuInS2 QDs for enhanced trion modulation in monolayer WS2 toward improved electrical properties

2019

Journal Article

Fluorescent aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based thermosetting electrospun nanofibers: Fabrication, properties and applications

Li, Weili, Ding, Yexin, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Xie, Yixiao, Wang, Lin, Li, Hongkun, Hu, Rong, Wang, Zhiming, Qin, Anjun and Tang, Ben Zhong (2019). Fluorescent aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based thermosetting electrospun nanofibers: Fabrication, properties and applications. Materials Chemistry Frontiers, 3 (11), 2491-2498. doi: 10.1039/c9qm00342h

Fluorescent aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based thermosetting electrospun nanofibers: Fabrication, properties and applications

2019

Journal Article

Perovskite solar fibers: current status, issues and challenges

Balilonda, Andrew, Li, Qian, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Tusiime, Rogers, Zhang, Hui, Jose, Rajan, Zabihi, Fatemeh, Yang, Shengyuan, Ramakrishna, Seeram and Zhu, Meifang (2019). Perovskite solar fibers: current status, issues and challenges. Advanced Fiber Materials, 1 (2), 101-125. doi: 10.1007/s42765-019-00011-0

Perovskite solar fibers: current status, issues and challenges

2019

Journal Article

Retained fluorescence of aggregation-caused quenched Rhodamine grafted in the hierarchical mesopores of silica MCM-41 at solid-state

Li, W., Wang, Jun, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Ding, Yexing, Qiu, Zhenyu, Yan, Chao, Liu, Feng and Zhang, Jide (2019). Retained fluorescence of aggregation-caused quenched Rhodamine grafted in the hierarchical mesopores of silica MCM-41 at solid-state. Advanced Powder Technology, 30 (10), 2218-2224. doi: 10.1016/j.apt.2019.07.002

Retained fluorescence of aggregation-caused quenched Rhodamine grafted in the hierarchical mesopores of silica MCM-41 at solid-state

2019

Journal Article

All-Cellulose-Based Quasi-Solid-State Sodium-Ion Hybrid Capacitors Enabled by Structural Hierarchy

Xu, Zhen, Xie, Fei, Wang, Jing, Au, Heather, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Guo, Zhenyu, Yang, Shengyuan, Hu, Yong-Sheng and Titirici, Maria-Magdalena (2019). All-Cellulose-Based Quasi-Solid-State Sodium-Ion Hybrid Capacitors Enabled by Structural Hierarchy. Advanced Functional Materials, 29 (39) 1903895, 1-12. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201903895

All-Cellulose-Based Quasi-Solid-State Sodium-Ion Hybrid Capacitors Enabled by Structural Hierarchy

2019

Journal Article

Critical insight: Challenges and requirements of fibre electrodes for wearable electrochemical energy storage

Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Marriam, Ifra, Xu, Zhen, Yang, Shengyuan, Zhang, Hui, Zabihi, Fatemeh, Jose, Rajan, Peng, Shengjie, Zhu, Meifang and Ramakrishna, Seeram (2019). Critical insight: Challenges and requirements of fibre electrodes for wearable electrochemical energy storage. Energy and Environmental Science, 12 (7), 2148-2160. doi: 10.1039/c8ee02607f

Critical insight: Challenges and requirements of fibre electrodes for wearable electrochemical energy storage

2019

Journal Article

1-D polymer ternary composites: understanding materials interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism toward ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors

Yu, Senlong, Wang, Xingping, Xiang, Hengxue, Tebyetekerwa, Mike and Zhu, Meifang (2019). 1-D polymer ternary composites: understanding materials interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism toward ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors. Science China Materials, 62 (7), 995-1004. doi: 10.1007/s40843-018-9402-1

1-D polymer ternary composites: understanding materials interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism toward ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    New electrodes for green electrochemical carbon dioxide capture
    ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2023
    Visual water quality monitoring using aggregation-induced emission luminogens
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Master Philosophy

    Engineering and Design of Industry-Relevant Hydrogen Peroxide Electrolyser and Generator

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Advanced membrane electrolysers for CO2 electroreduction

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Materials for electrochemical CO2 capture

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Lei Ge, Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Tailoring local interfacial environments for efficient electrochemical ion separation and carbon capture

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    2D transition metal phosphide nanomaterials for H2 production

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Nanoengineered MXene-based electrode materials for capacitive deionization

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Utilising co-products of water electrolysis in wastewater treatment

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Tom Rufford, Dr Ray Bi, Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Engineering Surface Oxygen Reduction Reaction in 2D Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Peroxide Production

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Xiangkang Zeng, Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Rational design of semiconductors for light-driven hydrogen peroxide production

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Xiangkang Zeng, Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Exploring lignocellulose-derived nanomaterials in CO2 electrochemical conversion

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang, Professor Darren Martin

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Nanoengineered MXene-based electrode materials for capacitive deionization

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Enhanced approaches to engineering the scale-up of CO2 electrolysers from bench to pilot scale

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Xiwang Zhang, Professor Tom Rufford

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Enzyme-assisted deconstruction of lignocellulose and reconstruction into high value bio-derived advanced materials

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen, Professor Darren Martin

Media

Enquiries

For media enquiries about Dr Mike Tebyetekerwa's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au