26th Australian Institute of Physics Congress and the Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics

Session

AIP CMM: Structure, growth and amorphicity

AIP

10 Dec 2026, 14:00

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

38. Atomic Layer Deposition of AlOx Overlayer Prevents Agglomeration of Phosphine-Ligated Au9 Clusters on RF-sputtered TiO2 Films

Mohammed Asiri (Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University)

10/12/2026, 14:00

AIP | Condensed Matter & Materials (CMM)

Contributed Oral

Maintaining the integrity of metal clusters is crucial to maintaining their unique, size-dependent properties but this is challenging as they tend to agglomerate when deposited onto a substrate. Coating metal clusters with a metal oxide layer is considered an effective approach to stabilise the clusters and prevent agglomeration. In the present work, phosphine-protected Au9 clusters deposited...

68. Atomic Structure and Thermal Evolution of MBE-Grown Ta–Ge Alloy on Ge(001)

Suhani Singh (University of Queensland)

10/12/2026, 14:15

AIP | Condensed Matter & Materials (CMM)

Contributed Oral

Tantalum–germanium (Ta–Ge) alloys have recently emerged as a promising materials platform for superconducting
quantum devices due to their compatibility with Ge-based semiconductor architectures
and demonstrated superconductivity. Understanding the atomic-scale structure and thermal stability of
these alloys is essential for developing high-quality superconductor–semiconductor...

51. Coupled fluid transport and electrochemical response in nanoporous carbons.

Mariia Liseanskaia (Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Materials and X-Ray Physics (M-2))

10/12/2026, 14:30

AIP | Condensed Matter & Materials (CMM)

Contributed Oral

Nanoporous electrically conductive carbons filled with aqueous electrolytes are of interest as systems for electrochemical energy harvesting and conversion. A key process is the formation of the electrical double layer under strong confinement during spontaneous liquid infiltration into the pore network. In contrast to supercapacitors, where charge accumulation is driven by an externally...

613. Pathways to reach the 100% sp3 Amorphous Carbon Limit

Yuzhen Guo

10/12/2026, 14:45

AIP | Condensed Matter & Materials (CMM)

Contributed Oral

Fully sp3 bonded carbon networks are highly promising candidates for wide-bandgap semiconductors, but their realization requires the complete elimination or passivation of residual sp2-hybridized atoms. The lack of long-range order makes the realization of 100% sp3 amorphous carbon a major challenge. While experiments have demonstrated that the structure of final carbon networks heavily depend...

575. Building Amorphous Organic Networks: Fundamental Structure and Applications

Linda Losurdo (University of Sydney)

10/12/2026, 15:00

AIP | Condensed Matter & Materials (CMM)

Contributed Oral

Amorphous carbon-based networks naturally occur in interstellar dust and are largely responsible for enriching the Earth with the elements of life in the form of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Complex organic molecules containing oxygen and nitrogen have also been detected in extraterrestrial carbon networks including in carbon-rich asteroids, Bennu and Ryugu. Carbon networks are heavily...

462. Ion Bombardment as a Creative Force for Preparing Poly-Aryl-Ether-Ketone Polymers for Implantation in the Body

David McKenzie (The University of Sydney)

10/12/2026, 15:15

AIP | Condensed Matter & Materials (CMM)

Contributed Oral

With all the right properties for strength, stability and safety, the poly-aryl-ether-ketones (PAEKs) are becoming champion polymers that have opened opportunities for working with the human body to repair, support and heal. The discovery of how to form and shape them with laser sintering methods and provide them with the right surface chemistry using ionised gases has been a success story...