Christopher R. McNeill - User Web Pages - Monash University

Christopher R. McNeill
Senior Lecturer, Future Fellow and VESKI Innovation Fellow
Department of Materials Engineering
Monash University
Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
Email: christopher.mcneill@monash.edu
Employment History
2007 – 2011 EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow, Optoelectronics Group, Cavendish Laboratory,
University of Cambridge
2005 – 2007 Post‐doctoral research associate, Optoelectronics Group, Cavendish Laboratory,
University of Cambridge
Qualifications
2005 Ph.D., The University of Newcastle, Australia
2001 B.Sc. (Hons. I and University Medal), The University of Newcastle, Australia
2000 B.Math., The University of Newcastle, Australia
Research Interests
Organic semiconductors, organic optoelectronic devices, device physics, structural properties of
organic thin films, photophysics of organic semiconductors, soft X‐ray synchrotron techniques (eg
STXM, NEXAFS)
Active research Grants
“Nanostructuring and nanocharacterisation of organic semiconductor devices,” ARC Futrue
Fellowship FT100100275, chief investigator, $705k, 2011 – 2014.
“Nanostructuring and nanocharacterisation of organic semiconductor devices,” VESKI Innovation
Fellowship, $150k, 2011‐2013.
Previous research Grants
“Structural Nanoprobes of Organic Semiconductor Devices,” EPSRC EP/E051804/1, principal
investigator, £744k, 2007 ‐ 2012.
“Manufacturable nanoscale architectures for heterojunction solar cells,” EPSRC EP/F056702/1, co‐
investigator, £595k, 2008 ‐ 2011.
“SUPERGEN Excitonic Solar Cell Consortium,” EPSRC EP/G031088/1, co‐investigator, £625k, 2009 ‐
2013.
“Interfacial domain structure of polycrystalline semiconducting polymer films,” EPSRC
EP/G068356/1, co‐investigator, £140k, 2009 ‐ 2013.
“Heterointerface Control of Organic Semiconductor Devices,” EPSRC EP/G070738/1, co‐
investigator, £7,632k, 2009 ‐ 2014.

Publications
51 peer‐reviewed papers since 2004 (h‐index 15) with 30 as corresponding author with many in high impact
journals such as Nano Letters, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Functional
Materials, Macromolecules and Small.
51. B. Watts and C. R. McNeill, “Imaging Nanostructures in Organic Semiconductor Films with Scanning Transmission
X‐ray Spectro‐Microscopy,” Synth. Met. Accepted 5/9/11.
50. C. Sciascia, N. Martino, T. Schuettfort, B. Watts, G. Grancini, M. R. Antognazza, M. Zavelani‐Rossi, C. R. McNeill,
and M. Caironi, “Sub‐micrometer charge modulation microscopy of a high mobility polymeric n‐channel field‐effect
transistor,” Adv. Mater. In press DOI: 10.1002/adma.201102410.
49. T. J. K. Brenner, Z. Li, and C. R. McNeill,* “Phase‐Dependent Photocurrent Generation in Polymer/Fullerene Bulk
Heterojunction Solar Cells,” J. Phys. Chem. C 115(44) 22075‐22083 (2011).
48. S. Dalgleish, J. G. Labram, Z. Li, J. Wang, C. R. McNeill, T. D. Anthopoulos, N. C. Greenham and N. Robertson,
“Indole‐substituted nickel dithiolene complexes in electronic and optoelectronic devices,” J. Mater. Chem. 21(39)
15422 (2011).
47. T. J. K. Brenner and C. R. McNeill,* “Spatially Resolved Spectroscopic Mapping of Photocurrent and
Photoluminescence in Polymer Blend Photovoltaic Devices,” J. Phys. Chem. C 115(39), 19364–19370 (2011).
46. B. Friedel, T. J. K. Brenner, C. R. McNeill, U. Steiner and N. C. Greenham “Influence of solution heating on the
properties of PEDOT:PSS colloidal solutions and impact on the device performance of polymer solar cells,” Org. Elec.
12(10) 1736‐1745 (2011).
45. C. R. McNeill,* “Imaging the domain structure of organic semiconductor films,” J. Polym. Sci. B 49(13), 909‐919
(2011).
44. K. Asadi, H. J. Wondergem, R. S. Moghaddam, C. R. McNeill, N. Stingelin, B. Noheda, P. W. M. Blom and D. M. de
Leeuw, “Spinodal decomposition of blends of semiconducting and ferroelectric polymers and the relation with
resistive switching,” Adv. Funct. Mater. 21(21) 1887‐1894 (2011).
43. Z. Li and C. R. McNeill,* “Transient photocurrent measurements of PCDTBT:PC70BM and PCPDTBT:PC70BM Solar
Cells: Evidence for charge trapping in efficient polymer/fullerene blends,” J. Appl. Phys., 109(7) 074513 (2011).
42. Z. Li, F. Gao, N. C. Greenham and C. R. McNeill,* “Comparison of the operation of polymer/fullerene,
polymer/polymer and polymer/nanocrystal solar cells: A transient photocurrent and photovoltage study,” Adv. Funct.
Mater. 21(8) 1419‐1431 (2011).
41. S. Gélinas, K. R. Kirov, C.‐N. Brosseau, O. Paré‐Labrosse, C. R. McNeill, I. A. Howard, R. Leonelli, R. H. Friend and C.
Silva, “The Binding Energy of Charge‐Transfer Excitons Localized at Polymeric Semiconductor Heterojunctions,” J. Phys.
Chem. C, 115(14) 7114–7119 (2011).
40. B. Watts, T. Schuettfort and C. R. McNeill,* “Mapping of domain orientation and molecular order in polycrystalline
semiconducting polymer films with soft x‐ray microscopy,” Adv. Funct. Mater. 21(6) 1121‐1131 (2011).
39. J. R. Moore, S. Albert‐Seifried, A. Rao, S. Massip, B. Watts, D. J. Morgan, R. H. Friend, C. R. McNeill and H.
Sirringhaus, “Polymer Blend Solar Cells Based on a High‐Mobility Naphthalenediimide‐Based Polymer Acceptor: Device
Physics, Photophysics and Morphology,” Adv. En. Mater., 1(2) 230‐240 (2011).
38. T. Schuettfort, S. Huettner, S. Lilliu, J. E. Macdonald, Lars Thomsen and C. R. McNeill,* “Surface and bulk structural
characterization of a high‐mobility electron‐transporting polymer,” Macromolecules, 44(6) 1530‐1539 (2011).
37. H. Yan, S. Swaraj, C. Wang, I. Hwang, N. C. Greenham, C. Groves, H. Ade and C. R. McNeill,* “Influence of annealing
and interfacial roughness on the performance of bilayer donor/acceptor polymer photovoltaic devices,” Adv. Funct.
Mater. 20(24) 4209–4399 (2010).

36. B. Collins, E. Gann, G. Lewis, X. He, C. R. McNeill and H. Ade, “Molecular Miscibility of Polymer‐Fullerene Blends,” J.
Phys. Chem. Lett. 1(21) 3160‐3166 (2010).
35. B. Watts and C. R. McNeill,* “Simultaneous surface and bulk imaging of polymer blends with x‐ray
spectromicroscopy,” Macromol. Rapid Comm., 31(19) 1706‐1712 (2010).
34. S. Swaraj, C. Wang, H. Yan, B. Watts, J. Luning, C. R. McNeill* and H. Ade, “Nanomorphology of bulk heterojunction
photovoltaic thin films probed with resonant soft x‐ray scattering,” Nano Letters, 10(8) 2863‐2869 (2010).
33. T. J. K. Brenner, I. Hwang, N. C. Greenham and C. R. McNeill,* “Device physics of inverted all‐polymer solar cells,” J.
Appl. Phys., 107(11) 114501 (2010).
32. B. Friedel, C. R. McNeill, and N. C. Greenham, “Influence of alkyl side‐chain length on the performance of poly(3‐
alkythiophene)/polyfluorene all‐polymer solar cells,” Chem. Mater., 22(11) 3389‐3398 (2010).
31. W. D. Oosterbaan, J.‐C. Bolsée, A. Gadisa, V. Vrindts, S. Bertho, J. D’Haen, T. J. Cleij, L. Lutsen, C. R. McNeill, L.
Thomsen, J. V. Manca, and D. Vanderzande, “Alkyl chain length independent hole mobility via morphological control
with poly(3‐alkylthiophene) nanofibers,” Adv. Funct. Mater., 20(5) 792‐802 (2010).
30. C. R. McNeill,* K. Asadi, B. Watts, P. W. M. Blom and D. M. de Leeuw, “Structure of phase‐separated
ferroelectric/semiconductor polymer blends for organic non‐volatile memories,” Small, 6(4) 508‐512 (2010).
29. I Hwang, C. R. McNeill and N. C. Greenham, “Drift‐diffusion modeling of photocurrent transients in bulk
heterojunction solar cells,” J. Appl. Phys., 106(9) 094506 (2009).
28. H.‐G. Flesch, R. Resel and C. R. McNeill,* “Charge transport properties and microstructure of
polythiophene/polyfluorene blends,” Org. Electron., 10(8) 1549–1555 (2009).
27. C. R. McNeill* and N. C. Greenham, “Conjugated Polymer Blends for Optoelectronics,” Adv. Mater., 21(38‐39)
3840‐3850 (2009).
26. C. R. McNeill,* A. Abrusci, I. Hwang, M. A. Ruderer, P. Müller‐Buschbaum and N. C. Greenham, “Photophysics and
photocurrent generation in polythiophene/polyfluorene co‐polymer blends,” Adv. Funct. Mater., 19(19) 3103‐3111
(2009).
25. B. Friedel, P. Keivanidis, T. J. K. Brenner, A. Abrusci, C. R. McNeill, R. H. Friend and N. C. Greenham, “Effects of
Layer Thickness and Annealing of PEDOT:PSS Layers in Organic Photodetectors,” Macromolecules, 42(17), 6741–6747
(2009).
24. C. R. McNeill,* I. Hwang and N. C. Greenham, “Photocurrent transients in all‐polymer solar cells: Trapping and
detrapping effects,” J. Appl. Phys., 106(2) 024507 (2009).
23. C. R. McNeill,* B. Watts, L. Thomsen, W. J. Belcher, N. C. Greenham, P. C. Dastoor and H. Ade, “Evolution of
Laterally Phase‐Separated Polyfluorene Blend Morphology Studied by X‐ray Spectromicroscopy,” Macromolecules,
42(9) 3347‐3352 (2009).
22. K. Burke, W. J. Belcher, L. Thomsen, B. Watts, C. R. McNeill, H. Ade and P. C. Dastoor, “The Role of Solvent
Trapping Effects in Determining the Structure and Morphology of Ternary Blend Organic Devices,” Macromolecules,
42(8) 3098–3103 (2009).
21. S. Swaraj, C. Wang, T. Araki, G. Mitchell, L. Liu, S. Gaynor, B. Deshmukh, H. Yan, C. R. McNeill, and H. Ade, “The
utility of resonant soft x‐ray scattering and reflectivity for the nanoscale characterization of polymers,” Eur. Phys. J.
Special Topics 168, 121–126 (2009).
20. C. R. McNeill* and N. C. Greenham, “Charge transport dynamics of polymer solar cells under operating conditions:
Influence of trap filling,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 93(20) 203310 (2008).
19. A. R. Campbell, J. M. Hodgkiss, S. Westenhoff, I. A. Howard, R. A. Marsh, C. R. McNeill, R. H. Friend and N. C.
Greenham, “Low‐temperature control of nanoscale morphology for high performance polymer photovoltaics,” Nano
Letters, 8(1) 3942‐3947 (2008).

18. C. R. McNeill,* B. Watts, S. Swaraj, H. Ade, L. Thomsen, W. Belcher and P. C. Dastoor “Evolution of the
nanomorphology of photovoltaic polyfluorene blends: Sub‐100 nm resolution with X‐ray spectromicroscopy,”
Nanotechnology, 19(42) 424015 (2008).
17. C. R. McNeill,* J. J. M. Halls, R. Wilson, G. L. Whiting, S. Berkebile, M. G. Ramsey, R. H. Friend, and N. C. Greenham,
“Efficient polythiophene/polyfluorene co‐polymer bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices: device physics and
annealing effects,” Adv. Funct. Mater., 18(16) 2309‐2321 (2008).
16. R. A. Marsh, C. R. McNeill, A. Abrusci, A. R. Campbell and R. H. Friend “A unified description of current‐voltage
characteristics in organic and hybrid photovoltaics under low light intensity,” Nano Letters 8(5) 1393‐1398 (2008).
15. J. Zaumseil, C. R. McNeill, M. Bird, D. L. Smith, P. P. Ruden, M. Roberts, M. J. McKiernan, R. H. Friend and H.
Sirringhaus, “Quantum efficiency of ambipolar light‐emitting polymer field‐effect transistors,” J. Appl. Phys. 103
064517 (2008).
14. C. R. McNeill,* S. Westenhoff, C. Groves, R. H. Friend and N. C. Greenham, “Influence of nanoscale phase
separation on the charge generation dynamics and photovoltaic performance of conjugated polymer blends –
Balancing charge generation and separation,” J. Phys. Chem. C, 111(51) 19153 – 19160 (2007).
13. P. C. Dastoor, C. R. McNeill, H. Frohne, C. J. Foster, W. J. Belcher, W. M. Campbell, D. L. Officer, I. Blake, P.
Thordarson, M. J. Crossley, N. S. Hush, J. R. Reimers, “Understanding and improving solid‐state polymer/C60‐fullerene
bulk‐heterojunction solar cells using ternary porphyrin blends,” J. Phys. Chem. C, 111(42) 15415 – 15426 (2007).
12. C. R. McNeill,* A. Abrusci, J. Zaumseil, R. Wilson, M. J. McKiernan, J. J. M. Halls, N. C. Greenham, R. H. Friend, “Dual
electron donor/electron acceptor character of a conjugated polymer in efficient photovoltaic diodes,” Appl. Phys.
Lett., 90(19) 193506 (2007).
11. C. R. McNeill,* B. Watts, L. Thomsen, W. J. Belcher, H. Ade, N. C. Greenham & P. C. Dastoor, “X‐ray microscopy of
photovoltaic polyfluorene blends: Relating nanomorphology to device performance,” Macromolecules, 40(9) 3263‐
3270 (2007).
10. C. R. McNeill,* B. Watts, L. Thomsen, W. J. Belcher, A. L. D. Kilcoyne, N. C. Greenham & P. C. Dastoor, “X‐ray
spectromicroscopy of polymer/fullerene composites: Quantitative chemical mapping,” Small, 2(12) 1432‐1435 (2006).
9. C. R. McNeill,* B. Watts, L. Thomsen, W. J. Belcher, N. C. Greenham & P. C. Dastoor, “Nano‐scale quantitative
chemical mapping of conjugated polymer blends,” Nano Letters, 6(6) 1202‐1206 (2006).
8. C. R. McNeill* & P. C. Dastoor, “Photocurrent pattern formation in polymer/methanofullerene blends imaged by
near‐field scanning photocurrent microscopy,” J. Appl. Phys. 99, 033502 (2006).
7. C. R. McNeill,* C. J. R. Fell, J. L. Holdsworth, and P. C. Dastoor, “Screening for artifacts in near‐field scanning
photocurrent microscopy images of polymer solar cells,” Synth. Met. 153(1‐3), 85‐88 (2005).
6. C. R. McNeill,* H. Frohne, J. L. Holdsworth, & P. C. Dastoor, “Near‐field scanning photocurrent measurements of
polyfluorene blend devices: directly correlating morphology with current generation,” Nano Letters 4(12) 2503‐2507
(2004).
5. C. R. McNeill,* H. Frohne, J. L. Holdsworth, & P. C. Dastoor, “Direct influence of morphology on current generation
in conjugated polymer:methanofullerene solar cells measured by near‐field scanning photocurrent microscopy,”
Synth. Met. 147(1‐3) 107‐110 (2004).
4. H. Frohne, C. R. McNeill and P. C. Dastoor “Photoenhanced injection currents in organic solar cells,” Appl. Phys.
Lett., 85(6) 1042‐1044 (2004).
3. H. Frohne, C. R. McNeill, G. G. Wallace and P. C. Dastoor, “Enhancement of polymer electronics via surface states on
highly doped polymeric anodes,” J. Phys D., 37(2) 165‐170 (2004).
2. C. R. McNeill, H. Frohne, J. L. Holdsworth, B. V. King and P. C. Dastoor, “Direct Photocurrent Mapping of Organic
Solar Cells Using a Near‐Field Scanning Optical Microscope,” Nano Letters, 4(2) 219‐223 (2004).

1. C. R. McNeill,* M .J. Clifton‐Smith, J. S. Quinton, B. V. King, S. Hotta and P. C. Dastoor, “The photovoltaic properties
of phenyl‐capped thiophene oligomers,” Curr. Appl. Phys. 4(2‐4) 335‐338 (2004).
Conference organisation
� Principal organiser of symposium N “Controlling and characterising the structure of organic semiconductor
films” at the 2011 Spring Meeting of the E‐MRS, Nice May 9 – 13 2011.
Conference/workshop Participation
(INVITED) “Polymer blend solar cells: Morphology Device Operation,” Workshop on Emerging Materials for Thin Film
Solar Cells, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, August 7 – 12, 2011.
(INVITED) “Organic devices. New perspectives provided from soft x‐ray characterization,” March Meeting of the
American Physical Society, Dallas, USA, March 21 – 25, 2011.
(ORAL) “Surface and Bulk Structural Characterization of a High‐mobility Electron Transporting Polymer,” Symposium E,
Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society, Boston, USA, Nov 29 – Dec 3, 2010.
(INVITED) “Plastic Solar Cells,” Advances in Photovoltaics Workshop, Institute of Physics, London, UK, September 15
2010.
(ORAL) “Characterisation of the microstructure of semiconducting polymer films with soft x‐rays,” 7th International
Conference on Synchrotron Radiation in Materials Science, Oxford, UK, July 12 – 14 2010.
(POSTER) “Interface structure of poly(3‐alkylthiophene) FETs: Influence of alkyl side‐chain length and SiO2
dielectric on FET mobility,” Symposium HH, Spring Meeting of the Materials Research Society, San Francisco, USA,
April 5 ‐ 9 2010.
(INVITED) “Numerical modelling of light in‐coupling and transient photocurrents in organic solar cells,” Fluxim
International Users’ Simulation Workshop ‘09, Winterthur, Switzerland, June 30 – July 1 2009.
(ORAL) “Analysis of Photocurrent Transients in Polymer Solar Cells,” Symposium A, Spring Meeting of the European
Materials Research Society, Strasbourg, France, June 8 – 12 2009
(POSTER) “Structural investigations of photovoltaic organic thin films with soft X‐ray synchrotron radiation” ,”
Symposium R, Spring Meeting of the European Materials Research Society, Strasbourg, France, June 8 – 12 2009.
(ORAL) “Analysis of Photocurrent Transients in Polymer Solar Cells,” Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics Conference,
Benidorm, Spain, May 10 – 13 2009.
(POSTER) “Nanomorphology of conjugated polymer blends probed in real and reciprocal space with soft X‐ray
spectromicroscopy and resonant scattering,” Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics Conference, Benidorm, Spain, May 10
– 13 2009.
(ORAL) “Photocurrent generation in efficient all‐polymer solar cells,” Symposium Q, Spring Meeting of the European
Materials Research Society, May 26 – 30 2008.
(ORAL) “Universal n‐type/p‐type operation of a red polyfluorene in efficient photovoltaic devices,” Young Chemists’
Workshop on Organic Photovoltaics, Spa, Belgium, April 18 – 20 2008.
(INVITED) “Device physics of organic solar cells,” 32nd Annual Condensed Matter and Materials Meeting, Wagga
Wagga, NSW, Australia, Jan 30 ‐ Feb 1 2008.

(INVITED) “Dual Electron Donor/Electron Acceptor Character of a Conjugated Polymer in Efficient Photovoltaic
Devices,” Symposium H, Nanostructured Solar cells, 2007 Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society, Boston, USA,
November 26 – 30 2007.
(ORAL) “Universal n‐type/p‐type operation of a red polyfluorene in efficient photovoltaic devices,” 7 th International
Conference on Optical Probes of π‐Conjugated Polymers and Functional Self Assemblies, Turku, Finland, June 11 – 15
2007.
(ORAL) “Probing Film Structure and Device Action on the Nanoscale in Polymer‐blend Devices” presented at the
symposium entitled Science & Technology of Next Generation Photovoltaics at the 232nd American Chemical Society
Annual Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, 10‐14 September 2006.
(POSTER) “X‐ray Microscopy of Polymer/Fullerene composites: Nanoscale Quantitative Chemical Imaging” presented
at the International Conference on the Science and Technology of Synthetic Metals (ICSM), Dublin, Ireland, July 2 – 7
2006.
(ORAL) “Direct 2‐Dimensional Current Mapping of Polymer Solar Cells,” The International Conference on Synthetic
Metals 2004, Wollongong, Australia, June 28 – July 2 2004.
(ORAL) “Direct 2‐Dimensional Current Mapping of Polymer Solar Cells,” Symposium F, Spring Meeting of the European
Materials Research Society, Strasbourg, France, May 24 – 28, 2004.
Invited Seminar Presentations
June 2010 ‐ Condensed Matter Physics Group, Durham University.
March 2010 – Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge.
September 2009 – Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University Australia.
September 2009 – CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
July 2009 ‐ International Graduate School: Materials Science of Complex Interfaces, Technical University of
Munich.
June 2009 – Nanophysics research group seminar, Cardiff University.
April 2009 ‐ Molecular Materials and Devices group seminar, Imperial College London.
March 2009 ‐ Physics of Soft Matter group seminar, University of Potsdam, Berlin.
March 2009 ‐ Solid State Seminar, Technical University of Graz.
January 2009 ‐ Condensed Matter Seminar, Birmingham University.
Refereeing Activity
Member of the EPSRC “College of Experts”
Internal Ph.D. examiner, University of Cambridge (Claudia Duffy, Astrid Gonzalez‐Rabade, Annamaria
Petrozza, Chuan Liu, Andrew Campbell, Siong‐Hee Khong, Jennifer Moore, Matthew Bird)

External Ph.D. examiner, University of Newcastle, Australia (Daniel Cotton), University of Pisa (Sagar
Kersarkar)
Selected as a referee for the following journals: Accounts of Chemical Research, ACS Nano, Advanced
Functional Materials, Advanced Materials, Applied Physics Letters, European Polymer Journal, Journal of
Polymer Science: Polymer Physics, Journal of Applied Physics, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Journal of the
American Chemical Society, Macromolecules, Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Nano Letters,
Organic Electronics, Solid State Communications, Synthetic Metals, Thin Solid Films
Other Administrative Activity
Member of Governing Body of Clare Hall, 2008 – 2011.
Member of Principal Investigators Advisory Group, University of Cambridge, 2008 – 2009.
Music committee Clare Hall, 2009‐2011.
Examiner of first year PhD reports, University of Cambridge (Certificate of Post Graduate Studies)
Member of Mott Colloquium committee, 2005 – 2007.
Organiser of optoelectronics group seminar series, 2005 – 2007.