Peter Reiss

Is Deputy Head of the SyMMES Lab. Before coming to France, he graduated from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1997 and received his PhD in inorganic chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Dieter Fenske in 2000. After a post-doctoral stay at CEA-Grenoble he was hired as a staff researcher in 2002.

 Peter Reiss develops low-toxicity semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots for applications ranging from biological imaging and optoelectronics to energy conversion and storage. In particular, his work has contributed to improving the photoluminescence properties of InP-based nanocrystals. This type of quantum dots is now used in TV screens to improve color rendering while reducing power consumption. He was also among the first to demonstrate that ternary materials such as CuInS₂ can exhibit strong luminescence in nanocrystal form. This discovery paved the way for a large number of ternary and quaternary quantum dots for a variety of applications. More recently, Peter Reiss has turned his attention to the infrared range, with the development of quantum dots free of toxic heavy metals, covering a wide spectral range from around 1 to 2 µm. For the moment, these materials are being used for in vivo imaging and the detection of fruit diseases, but they could also be applied in many other fields (night vision, surveillance, facial recognition, etc.). The innovative synthesis methods and new materials designed by Peter Reiss have led to the creation of the start-up company (Enwires) and are the subject of numerous publications and patents.