Lei Gao studied Physics at Southeast University, China. In 2022, she joined the group of Prof. Dr. Mischa Bonn and Dr. Hai Wang at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research as a visiting scholar. She received her Ph.D. in 2025 from Southeast University, where her research focused on investigating low-energy excitations in semiconductor materials-including monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and perovskites-using terahertz spectroscopy. After completing her Ph.D., she continued her research as a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Mischa Bonn’s department and was later appointed as a group leader in the Department of Molecular Spectroscopy at MPIP in the same year.
Main Research Interests
The research in her group focuses on the generation and transport of charge carriers following optical excitation in low-dimensional optoelectronic materials, such as graphene, TMDs, and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). These processes critically determine the efficiency of energy conversion in optoelectronic devices and are highly sensitive to their surrounding environment. The current research directions include:
Optoelectronic conversion in low-dimensional materials
By systematically investigating photoexcited processes and capturing the associated carrier dynamics via THz spectroscopy, the group aims to establish strategies for controlling charge transport and recombination pathways, ultimately enabling the design of highly efficient optoelectronic devices. At the same time, in situ THz read-out techniques are implemented to directly monitor and map carrier dynamics under real device operating conditions, providing real-time insights into charge transport phenomena.
Interfacial control of charge dynamics through solid-liquid coupling
The goal is to uncover how interfacial coupling governs charge dynamics and to gain a deeper understanding of solid-liquid interactions by probing the corresponding optoelectronic responses in solids.