Faculty Directory

Mercouri Kanatzidis

Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Contact

Website

Profile at Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

Mercouri's website

Departments

Materials Science and Engineering

Education

B.S.: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 1979

Ph.D.: University of Iowa 1984

Research Interests

The Kanatzidis group conducts research in solid-state and materials chemistry, emphasizing the discovery, design, synthesis, crystal growth, and fundamental understanding of new inorganic and hybrid materials. Major research areas include halide perovskite science and perovskite solar cells; thermoelectric materials for heat-to-electricity conversion; semiconductor crystals for X-ray, gamma-ray, and neutron detection; metal chalcogenide ion-exchange materials for nuclear and environmental remediation; nonlinear optical and quantum materials; and the exploratory synthesis of new chalcogenides, halides, intermetallics, and multinary compounds. A central objective is to establish relationships among chemical composition, crystal structure, electronic structure, and functional properties, and to use these principles to guide the discovery of materials for energy, detection, and environmental applications.

Significant Recognition

• William H. Nichols Medal, American Chemical Society, New York Section, 2026
• Honorary Doctorate, ETH Zurich, 2025
• Honorary Professor, University of Ioannina, 2025
• Albert Einstein World Award of Science, 2025
• ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials, 2025
• Honorary Doctorate, University of Cyprus, 2024
• Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2024
• Sigma Xi Walston Chubb Award for Innovation, 2024
• Centenary Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023
• Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2023
• The mineral kanatzidisite named in his honor by the International Mineralogical Association, 2023
• Global Energy Prize 2022
• DOE Ten at Ten Scientific Ideas Award for the first demonstration of all-solid-state solar cells using halide perovskite materials, 2019
• Chemical Pioneer Award, American Institute of Chemists, 2018
• Honorary Doctorate, University of Crete, 2017
• ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry, 2016
• James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials, American Physical Society, 2016
• Elected Fellow, American Physical Society, 2016
• Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation, 2016
• Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher since 2015, with recognition across chemistry, physics, and materials science

Selected Publications

1. Garai, R.; et al. “Bypassing the Yellow Phase for Extremely Stable Formamidinium Lead Iodide Perovskite Solar Cells.” Science 2026, 392, eaeb7992. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aeb7992
2. Zhao, H. D.; et al. “A Stoichiometrically Conserved Homologous Series with Infinite Structural Diversity.” Science 2025, 390, 1057-1063. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea8088
3. Bayikadi, K. S.; Liu, Z. F.; Peters, J. A.; Pandey, I. R.; Vuong, P. Q.; Imam, S.; Kanatzidis, M. G. “CsPbBr3 Perovskite Planar Detectors Surpass CdZnTe in High-Energy Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy.” Advanced Materials 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202510931
4. Liu, C.; et al. “Two-Dimensional Perovskitoids Enhance Stability in Perovskite Solar Cells.” Nature 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07764-8
5. Liu, Y. K.; et al. “Implications and Optimization of Domain Structures in IV-VI High-Entropy Thermoelectric Materials.” Journal of the American Chemical Society 2024, 146, 12620-12635. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c01688
6. Liu, C.; et al. “Bimolecularly Passivated Interface Enables Efficient and Stable Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.” Science 2023, 382, 810-815. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adk1633
7. Xia, Y.; Gaines, D.; He, J.; Pal, K.; Li, Z.; Kanatzidis, M. G.; Ozolins, V.; Wolverton, C. “A Unified Understanding of Minimum Lattice Thermal Conductivity.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2023, 120, e2302541120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302541120
8. Zhou, X.; et al. “Discovery of Chalcogenide Structures and Compositions Using Mixed Fluxes.” Nature 2022, 612, 72-77. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05307-7
9. Sidhik, S.; et al. “Deterministic Fabrication of 3D/2D Perovskite Bilayer Stacks for Durable and Efficient Solar Cells.” Science 2022, 377, 1425-1430. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7652
10. He, Y.; et al. “CsPbBr3 Perovskite Detectors with 1.4% Energy Resolution for High-Energy Gamma-Rays.” Nature Photonics 2021, 15, 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-00727-1
11. Zhou, C.; et al. “Polycrystalline SnSe with a Thermoelectric Figure of Merit Greater than the Single Crystal.” Nature Materials 2021, 20, 1378-1384. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01064-6
12. Wang, Z.; et al. “Suppressed Phase Segregation for Triple-Junction Perovskite Solar Cells.” Nature 2023, 618, 74-79. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06006-7
13. Chen, H.; et al. “Regulating Surface Potential Maximizes Voltage in All-Perovskite Tandems.” Nature 2023, 613, 676-681. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05541-z
14. Park, S. M.; et al. “Low-Loss Contacts on Textured Substrates for Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.” Nature 2023, 624, 289-294. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06745-7
15. Pournara, A. D.; et al. “Unconventional Mechanism in the Selective Removal of Lead and Cadmium from Acidic Media Using Na(x+2y)Sn(4-y)S8·3H2O (NMS-7).” Journal of the American Chemical Society 2026, 148, 4976-4988. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c14558