Group leader

Biosketch

Katarzyna Matras-Postołek is a chemist by education, a graduate of Cracow University of Technology (CUT), the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, with a specialization in Plastic Technology. In 2004 she started her international PhD studies at the Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, CUT. At the same time, she was conducting research on the synthesis of organic compounds in a microwave radiation field at CUT.

In early 2006, Katarzyna Matras-Postołek opened a new chapter in her research career and began research at Münster University of Applied Sciences in Germany. Her research topic was on the border of polymer chemistry and inorganic nanocrystals, focusing on polymer nanocomposites. Between 2006 and 2012, she worked as a scientist and conducted investigations on several projects with Evonik Industries AG, one of the largest German chemical companies. The culmination of her long-term work was the defense of the PhD thesis “Composites from Luminescent Nanosized ZnS:Mn and Optical Polymers – Preparation and Characterization” at CUT in 2010. During 2010-2012 she continued research on hybrid polymer nanocomposites in the frame of a postdoctoral internship at Münster University of Applied Sciences, but at that time employed in printing. 

In 2013, after almost 7 years of work in Germany, she returned to Poland to CUT as a part of the Homing Plus program financed by the Foundation for Polish Science, encouraging outstanding young academics conducting research abroad to continue their academic career in Poland. Currently, Katarzyna Matras-Postołek works as an associate professor at the Department of Biotechnology and Physical Chemistry of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, CUT. She is the leader of the Functional Nanomaterials Research Group at the university.  In 2019 she obtained her habilitation in chemistry at Rzeszow University of Technology in Poland. Since 2021 she is a Vice-Dean for Evaluation and International Cooperation at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology and a Member of the Research Excellence Council of CUT. 

Selected achievements

Katarzyna Matras-Postołek has received many scholarships, e.g. the scholarship for outstanding young scientists in Poland (2016). In 2015, she was awarded by the TOP 500 Innovators program in Poland and took part in a 9-week internship at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. From 2014 to 2019, she was a visiting professor at the University of Jinan, China. She is a scientific member of the international AMPERE Organization  and the Foundation for Polish Science Fellowship Club. Since 2023 she is the co-leader of thematic interest group (TIG) Circular Economy within the Strategic Alliance for Regional Transition (STARS EU) initiative. 

She is the author of more than 70 publications from the Philadelphia list, patents and a principal investigator of projects funded by the Foundation for Polish Science (Homing Plus), the National Science Centre (Opus Lap, Sonata Bis) and the National Centre for Research and Development (Lider) in Poland, as well as EU funds (Erasmus Action).

Research interests

Katarzyna Matras-Postołek’s research interests focus on broadly-defined subjects related to semiconductor nanocrystals and functional nanomaterials and their potential application in optoelectronics, biology, and catalysis. In the research she and her Team try to answer the fundamental questions concerning the method of obtaining high-quality inorganic nanocrystals without surface defects, with controlled morphology (0D, 1D, 2D) and size. They use various techniques of nanocrystal synthesis to this end, e.g. colloidal methods, solvothermal syntheses, reactions in a microwave radiation field and in high boiling solvents. 

The Team also focuses strongly on the modification of the obtained surfaces of the nanocrystals and on the impact of the used stabilizers on their electric and optical properties.

Due to their properties, the obtained nanocrystals, having bonded with polymers, form unique organic-inorganic hybrid functional materials which are used as active layers in construction of optoelectronic devices. The researchers of the Team are also engaged in the synthesis of polymers and nanocomposites. The nanocrystals, due to their relatively large surface area, are the perfect choices for photo- and electrocatalysis. These and other subjects form the challenges for the researchers of the Team, and also drive them in every-day laboratory and research work – their true passion !

The main scope of the research:

• Synthesis and characterization of inorganic nanocrystals with luminescent properties, including core-shell nanoparticles
• Synthesis and characterization of perovskite nanomaterials 
• Surface modification of the developed nanomaterials
• Application of nanomaterials to develop hybrid optoelectronic devices (thin-film photovoltaic cells, light-emitting diodes)
• Development of printing inks for optoelectronic devices based on nanomaterials
• Development of polymer nanocomposites
• Use of nanomaterials to develop high-performance heterogeneous phot- and electrocatalysis
• Cabron-based materials (carbon nitride) for photo- and electrocatalysis