Štěpán Kment

Stepan Kment received his Ph.D. in solid state physics and photoelectrochemistry in 2010 from Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic. He then spent one year as a postdoctoral research fellow at Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA. Since 2011 he has been working at the Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials of Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. Currently he is a leader and senior researcher in the group of Photoelectrochemistry. His research is focused on development of new materials, nanostructures and hybrid nanostructures for renewable energy and environmental applications such as PEC water splitting, electrocatalysis, and photocatalysis primarily via advanced plasma deposition methods. He is the main and/or co-author of more than 50 peer reviewed research papers, one chapter in book, and one patent. Stepan Kment has been awarded with five research grants. He is a member of The Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists.

Research Interests:

• Studium of functional properties of materials for photonic applications
  (solar cells, photolectrochemistry, photocatalysis,etc.).
• Plasma deposition of thin films (pulsed and HIPIMS magnetron
  sputtering, pulsed hollow cathode sputtering, atmospheric and vacuum
  PECVD methods) – Fe₂O₃,TiO₂, ZnO, FeS₂, IrO₂ and their doped versions (main dopants nitrogen, zirconium, iron).
• Chemical preparation (sol-gel and chemical bath deposition methods) of
  thin active films TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, TiO₂.
• Plasma diagnostics (OES, ion flux measurements, Langmuir probe measurements).
• Advanced physical characterization of thin films (Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, XPS, UV/Vis spectrophotometry, FTIR, AFM, SEM, GDOES).

 

Short term international visits and Courses:

April 2014 (1 month) – studying/research visit at Department of Materials Science, Institute for Surface Science and Corrosion, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (LKO) in Gremany. Prof. Schmuki’s group.

September 2013 (1 month) – research visit Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, Prof. Iannos’s group.

September 2007: Summer school on Plasma Physics in Science and Technology (PPST), Institute for Physics, Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, Germany.

March 2008: DAE-BRNS Basic Sciences School on Condensed Matter Interface with Chemistry and Biology, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science and Education, Mankhurd, Mumbai, India.

 

Awards:

2011: Rector’s award for outstanding dissertation for year 2010, Czech Technical University in Prague.

SPEA8, 8th European Meeting on Solar Chemistry and Photocatalysis,
Thessaloniki, Greece, The Best Poster Award for the paper: „On the
Improvement of PEC Activity of Hematite Thin Films Deposited by High-Power
Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering Method.”

RSD 2012 – Reactive Sputtering Deposition Int. Conf., Ghent, Belgium, The
Best Poster Award for the paper: “Hollow Cathode Plasma -Jets Deposition of
α-Fe2O3 Thin Films.

TACT 2009 – International Thin Films Conference, Taipei, Taiwan, The
Best Poster Paper Award for the paper: “Space resolved optical emission
spectroscopy of DC pulsed plasma – deposition of photoactive TiOx:N
thin films by means of low temperature multi hollow cathode plasma jet
system”.

Thin Films 2008 – The 4th International Conference on Technological
Advances of Thin Films and Surface Coatings, Singapore, Top Ten Award in
the Poster Competition for the paper: “Preparation of thin phthalocyanine
layers – their structural and absorption properties”.

 

Invited Talks

EMN 2014 – Energy Materials and Nanotechnology, Las Vegas, USA, Title of
the talk: “Plasma deposition of photonic materials for renewable energy”.

CAEP 2013 – Conference on Applied and Engineering Physics, Hue, Vietnam,
Title of the talk: “Advanced plasma-assisted deposition methods for
photonic materials and Nanostructures“.

 

Grants, projects

GACR: Advanced self-organized nanoarchitectures grown from magnetron
sputtered metal alloys for photonic applications, co-investigator
(2015-2017).

MEYS: Advanced nano-heterostructures as photoanodes for solar water
splitting, principal investigator (2016-2017)

GACR: Plasma assisted methods for the growth of photoactive hematite thin
films, the only investigator of the project (2012-2015).

ASCR: New Materials for photonic applications, principal investigator
(2012-2015).

 

Teaching Experience:

ELEC 420 – Plasma Processing of Semiconductors, spring 2011

University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

 

Professional Society Membership:

Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists

 

Publications Summary:

54 peer reviewed papers in impacted international journals, 1 chapter in
book, 1 patent, 1 functional sample, 6 utility models, 28 papers in
reviewed conference proceedings, 23 papers presented at international
conferences both oral 12 and poster 11 presentations,

H-index 13 (WOS)

Selected publications

• Kment, S.; Riboni, F.; Pausova, S.; Wang, L.; Wang,L.; Han, H.; Hubicka, Z.; Krysa, J.; Schmuki, P.; Zboril, R. Photoanodes based on TiO₂ and α-Fe₂O₃ for solar water splitting – superior role of 1D nanoarchitectures and of combined heterostructures. CHEM. SOC. REV., 2017, 46, 3716-3769.
• Kment, S.; Schmuki, P.; Zboril, R. et al. Photoanodes with fully controllable texture: the enhanced water splitting efficiency of thin hematite films exhibiting solely (110) crystal orientation, ACS NANO, 2015, 9, 7113-7123.
• Kment, S.; Schmuki, P.; Schubert, E.; Zboril, R. et al. On the improvement of PEC activity of hematite thin films deposited by high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering method, APPL. CATAL. B-ENVIRON., 2015, 165, 344-350.
• Kment, S.; Kmentova, H.; Kluson, et al. Notes on the photo-induced characteristics of transition metal-doped and undoped titanium dioxide thin films, J. Colloid. Interf. Sci., 2010, 348, 198-205.
• Kment, S.; Kluson, P.; Stranak, V.; Virostko, P.; Krysa, J.; Cada; M.; Pracharova, J.; Kohout, M.; Morozova, M.; Adamek, P.; Hubicka, Z; et al. Photo-induced electrochemical functionality of the TiO₂ nanoscale films, ELECTROCHIM. ACTA, 2009, 54, 3352-3359.
• Kment, S.; Kluson, P.; et al. Double hollow cathode plasma jet-low temperature method for the TiO₂–_xN_x photoresponding films, ELECTROCHIM. ACTA, 2010, 55, 1548-1556.
• Stranak, V.; Kment, S.; Wulf, H.; Hippler, R. Physical properties of homogeneous TiO₂ films prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering as a function of crystallographic phase and nanostructure, J. PHYS. D APPL. PHYS., 2009, 42, 105204.
• Kment, S.; Hubicka, Z.; et al. Photoelectrochemical properties of hierarchical nanocomposite structure: carbon nanofibers/TiO₂/ZnO, CATAL. TODAY, 2011, 161, 8-14.
• Kment, S.; Hubicka, Schmuki, P. et al. High-power pulsed plasma deposition of hematite photoanode for PEC water splitting, CATAL. TODAY, 2014, 230, 8-14.