Materials Scientist
Materials Scientist

Biography

Peter Sushko uses computational modeling to understand the electronic structure of materials, reveal mechanisms of defect formation and transport, and predict materials behavior in complex environments. He joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL’s) Physical Sciences Division in 2014 as an associate division director with responsibilities for materials science. Before joining PNNL, he held several research positions in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the London Centre for Nanotechnology at University College London. In 2008, he was awarded the Royal Society University Research Fellowship and was promoted to a reader (associate professor) in 2012.  Sushko received his BS and MS degrees in physics from St. Petersburg State University (Russia) and his PhD in physics from University College London.

For more information, visit Sushko's Google Scholar page.

Research Interest

  • Properties of complex oxides, two-dimensional materials, metals, and metal alloys as well as their heterojunctions, superlattices, and multilayers.
  • Roles of surfaces, interfaces, defects, and disorder.
  • Mechanisms of charge transport and atomic diffusion, optical properties, synthesis pathways, and chemical reactivity.
  • Computational (ab initio) methods for materials modeling.

Education

  • PhD in Physics, University College London
  • MS in Theoretical Physics, St. Petersburg State University
  • BS in Physics, St. Petersburg State University

Affiliations and Professional Service

  • Materials Research Society
  • American Physical Society
  • Institute of Physics

Awards and Recognitions

  • Daiwa Adrian Prize, 2013
  • Royal Society University Research Fellowship, 2008–2013 and 2013–2016
  • Carey Foster Prize for the best postgraduate research in physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, 2000
  • Overseas Research Students Award, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the UK, 1997–1999
  • Mayor of St. Petersburg Award for undergraduate students, 1994 and 1995
  • International Soros Science Program Award, 1994

Publications

2021

  • Gwalani B., W. Fu, M. Olszta, J. Silverstein, D.R. Yadav, P. Manimunda, A. Guzman, K. Xie, A. Rohatgi, S. Mathaudhu, C.A. Powell, P.V. Sushko, Y. Li, A. Devaraj. 2021. “Lattice misorientation evolution and grain refinement in Al-Si alloys under high-strain shear deformation.” Materialia, Volume 18,101146. doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2021.101146
  • Chrysler M., J. Gabel, T.L. Lee, A.N. Penn, B.E. Matthews, D.M. Kepaptsoglou, Q.M. Ramasse, J.R. Paudel, R.K. Sah, J.D. Grassi, Z. Zhu, A.X. Gray, J.M. LeBeau, S.R. Spurgeon, S.A. Chambers, P.V. Sushko, J.H. Ngai. 2021. “Tuning band alignment at a semiconductor-crystalline oxide heterojunction via electrostatic modulation of the interfacial dipole.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2015.13443.
  • Ren P., Z. Lu, M. Song, L. Liu, B. Wang, N. Wei, M.E. Bowden, M. G. Wirth, D.E. Perea, D. Zhang, E.C. Buck, Y. Han, P. V. Sushko, D. Li. 2021. “Formation of pyrophosphates across grain boundaries induces the formation of mismatched but oriented interfaces in silver phosphate polypods.” Applied Surface Science,149980. doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.149980
  • Ren P., Z. Lu, M. Song, J. Lee, J. Zheng, P.V. Sushko, D. Li. 2021. “Atomic Gradient Structures: Atomic Gradient Structure Alters Electronic Structure in 3D across the Bulk and Enhances Photoactivity.” Advanced Energy Materials 11.13. doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202170052
  • Kowalski K., R. Bair, N.P. Bauman, J.S. Boschen, E.J. Bylaska, J. Daily, W.A. de Jong, T. Dunning Jr, N. Govind, R.J. Harrison, M. Keçeli, K. Keipert, S. Krishnamoorthy, S. Kumar, E. Mutlu, B. Palmer, A. Panyala, B. Peng, R.M. Richard, T.P. Straatsma, P. Sushko, E.F. Valeev, M. Valiev, H.J.J. van Dam, J.M. Waldrop, D.B. Williams-Young, C. Yang, M. Zalewski, T.L. Windus. 2021. “From NWChem to NWChemEx: Evolving with the Computational Chemistry Landscape.” Chemical Reviews 121, no. 8. doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00998
  • Kaspar T.C., Q. Pang, P.V. Sushko, M.E. Bowden, J. Tao, B. Gwalani, and M.J. Olszta, et al. 2021. "Metastable orientation relationships in thin film Cu-Cr bilayers." Scripta Materialia 194. PNNL-SA 156813. doi:10.1016/j.scriptamat.2020.113635
  • Nakao T., K. Ogasawara, M. Kitano, S. Matsuishi, P.V. Sushko, and H. Hosono. 2021. "Ship-in-a-Bottle Synthesis of High Concentration of N2 Molecules in a Cage-Structured Electride." Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 12, no. 4:1295-1299. PNNL-SA-159367. doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c03800
  • Beck R.A., L. Lu, P.V. Sushko, X. Xu, X. Li. 2021. “Defect-Induced Magnetic Skyrmion in Two-Dimensional Chromium Tri-Iodide Monolayer.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.03149.

2020

  • Durnev M., M. Glazov, X. Linpeng, M. Viitaniemi, B.E. Matthews, S.R. Spurgeon, and P.V. Sushko, et al. 2020. "Microscopic model for the stacking-fault potential and the exciton wave function in GaAs." Physical Review B 101, no. 12: Article No. 125420. PNNL-SA-148814. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.101.125420
  • Gwalani B., M.J. Olszta, S. Varma, L. Li, A. Soulami, E.J. Kautz, and S. Pathak, et al. 2020. "Extreme Shear-Deformation-Induced Modification of Defect Structures and Hierarchical Microstructure in an Al-Si Alloy." Communications Materials 1. PNNL-SA-153669. doi:10.1038/s43246-020-00087-x
  • Kishida K., M. Kitano, M. Sasase, P.V. Sushko, H. Abe, Y. Niwa, and K. Ogasawara, et al. 2020. "Air-Stable Calcium Cyanamide-Supported Ruthenium Catalyst for Ammonia Synthesis and Decomposition." ACS Applied Energy Materials 3, no. 7:6573-6582. PNNL-SA-154003. doi:10.1021/acsaem.0c00754
  • Lu Z., A.M. Chaka, and P.V. Sushko. 2020. "Thermal conductance enhanced via inelastic phonon transport by atomic vacancies at Cu/Si interfaces." Physical Review B 102, no. 7:075449. PNNL-SA-147455. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.102.075449
  • Sushko P.V., and S.A. Chambers. 2020. "Extracting band edge profiles at semiconductor heterostructures from hard-x-ray core-level photoelectron spectra." Scientific Reports 10. PNNL-SA-145389. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69658-9
  • Wang L., Z. Yang, M.E. Bowden, J.W. Freeland, P.V. Sushko, S.R. Spurgeon, and B.E. Matthews, et al. 2020. "Hole-Trapping-Induced Stabilization of Ni4+ in SrNiO3/ LaFeO3 Superlattices." Advanced Materials 32, no. 45:2005003. PNNL-SA-152538. doi:10.1002/adma.202005003

2019

  • Chambers S.A., and P.V. Sushko. 2019. "Influence of crystalline order and defects on the absolute work functions and electron affinities of TiO2- and SrO-terminated n-SrTiO3(001)." Physical Review Materials 3, no. 12:125803. PNNL-SA-148767. doi:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.3.125803
  • Chambers S.A., and P.V. Sushko. 2019. "Probing energy landscapes in multilayer heterostructures: Challenges and opportunities." APL Materials 7, no. 11:Article No. 110904. PNNL-SA-149827. doi:10.1063/1.5129155
  • Kaspar T.C., P.V. Sushko, S.R. Spurgeon, M.E. Bowden, D.J. Keavney, R.B. Comes, and S. Saremi, et al. 2019. "Electronic structure and band alignment of LaMnO3 / SrTiO3 polar / non-polar heterojunctions." Advanced Materials Interfaces 6, no. 1:1801428. PNNL-SA-137669. doi:10.1002/admi.201801428
  • Lim Z., N. Quackenbush, A. Penn, M. Chrysler, M.E. Bowden, Z. Zhu, and J. Ablett, et al. 2019. "Charge Transfer and Built-in Electric Fields between a Crystalline Oxide and Silicon." Physical Review Letters 123, no. 2:Article No.026805. PNNL-SA-138000. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.026805
  • Lim Z., N. Quackenbush, A. Penn, M. Chrysler, M.E. Bowden, Z. Zhu, and J. Ablett, et al. 2019. "Charge Transfer and Built-in Electric Fields Between a Crystalline Oxide and Silicon." Physical Review Letters 123, no. 2:Article Number 026805. PNNL-SA-144010. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.026805
  • Wang L., Y. Du, P.V. Sushko, M.E. Bowden, K.A. Stoerzinger, S.M. Heald, and M. Scafetta, et al. 2019. "Hole-Induced Electronic and Optical Transitions in La1-xSrxFeO3 Epitaxial Thin Films." Physical Review Materials 3, no. 2:Article Number 025401. PNNL-SA-139953. doi:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.3.025401

2018

  • Chambers S.A., Y. Du, Z. Zhu, J. Wang, M.J. Wahila, L.J. Piper, and A. Prakash, et al. 2018. "Interconversion of intrinsic defects in SrTiO3(001)." Physical Review B 97, no. 24:245204. PNNL-SA-131613. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.97.245204
  • Lin S., C. Kuo, R.B. Comes, J. Rault, J. Rueff, S. Nemsak, and A. Taleb, et al. 2018. "Interface properties and built-in potential profile of a LaCrO3/SrTiO3 superlattice determined by standing-wave excited photoemission spectroscopy." Physical Review B 98, no. 16:165124. PNNL-SA-131974. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.98.165124
  • Mohamed A.H., R.T. Oxland, M.A. Aldegunde, S.P. Hepplestone, P.V. Sushko, and K. Kalna. 2018. "Narrowing of band gap at source/drain contact scheme of nanoscale InAs-nMOS." Solid State Electronics 142. PNNL-SA-136076. doi:10.1016/j.sse.2018.01.006
  • Ong P., Z. Yang, P.V. Sushko, and Y. Du. 2018. "Formation, Structural Variety, and Impact of Anti-Phase Boundaries on Li Diffusion in LiCoO2 Thin Film Cathodes." Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 9, no. 18:5515-5520. PNNL-SA-137774. doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b02185
  • Spurgeon S.R., P.V. Sushko, A. Devaraj, Y. Du, T.C. Droubay, and S.A. Chambers. 2018. "Onset of Phase Separation in the Double Perovskite Oxide La2MnNiO6." Physical Review B 97, no. 13:134110. PNNL-SA-123784. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.97.134110
  • Yang Z., P. Ong, Y. He, L. Wang, M.E. Bowden, W. Xu, and T.C. Droubay, et al. 2018. "Direct Visualization of Li Dendrite Effect on LiCoO2 Cathode by In Situ TEM." Small 14, no. 52:1803108. PNNL-SA-135382. doi:10.1002/smll.201803108

2017

  • Chambers S.A., T.C. Droubay, T.C. Kaspar, I.H. Nayyar, M.E. McBriarty, S.M. Heald, and D.J. Keavney, et al. 2017. "Electronic and Optical Properties of a Semiconducting Spinel (Fe2CrO4)." Advanced Functional Materials 27, no. 9:Article No. 1605040. PNNL-SA-121344. doi:10.1002/adfm.201605040
  • Moghadam R., Z. Xiao, K. Ahmadi-Majlan, E. Grimley, M.E. Bowden, P. Ong, and S.A. Chambers, et al. 2017. "An Ultrathin Single Crystalline Relaxor Ferroelectric Integrated on a High Mobility Semiconductor." Nano Letters 17, no. 10:6248-6257. PNNL-SA-123226. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b02947
  • Nayyar I.H., S.E. Chamberlin, T.C. Kaspar, N. Govind, S.A. Chambers, and P.V. Sushko. 2017. "Effect of doping and chemical ordering on the optoelectronic properties of complex oxides: Fe2O3-V2O3 solid solutions and hetero-structures." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. PCCP 19, no. 2:1097-1107. PNNL-SA-122741. doi:10.1039/C6CP06087K
  • Ong P., L. Johnson, H. Hosono, and P.V. Sushko. 2017. "Structure and stability of CaH2 surfaces: on the possibility of electron-rich surfaces in metal hydrides for catalysis." Journal of Materials Chemistry A 5, no. 11:5550-5558. PNNL-SA-121592. doi:10.1039/C6TA09561E
  • Ong P., Y. Du, and P.V. Sushko. 2017. "Low Dimensional Oxygen Vacancy Ordering and Diusion in SrCrO3-d." Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 8, no. 8:1757-1763. PNNL-SA-123934. doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b00355
  • Spurgeon S.R., P.V. Sushko, S.A. Chambers, and R.B. Comes. 2017. "Dynamic Interface Rearrangement in LaFeO3 / n-SrTiO3 Heterojunctions." Physical Review Materials 1, no. 6:063401. PNNL-SA-127972. doi:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.063401
  • Toda Y., S. Ishiyama, E. Khutoryan, T. Idehara, S. Matsuishi, P.V. Sushko, and H. Hosono. 2017. "Rattling of Oxygen Ions in a Sub-NanometerSized Cage Converts Terahertz Radiation to Visible Light." Nano Letters 11, no. 12:12358-12364. PNNL-SA-124011. doi:10.1021/acsnano.7b06277
  • Zhu Y., P.V. Sushko, D. Melzer, E. Jensen, L. Kovarik, C. Ophus, and M. Sanchez-Sanchez, et al. 2017. "Formation of Oxygen Radical Sites on MoVNbTeOx by Cooperative Electron Redistribution." Journal of the American Chemical Society 139, no. 36:12342-12345. PNNL-SA-129307. doi:10.1021/jacs.7b05240

2016

  • Comes R.B., S.R. Spurgeon, S.M. Heald, D.M. Kepaptsoglou, L. Jones, P. Ong, and M.E. Bowden, et al. 2016. "Interface-Induced Polarization in SrTiO3-LaCrO3 Superlattices." Advanced Materials Interfaces 3, no. 6:Art. No. 1500779. PNNL-SA-111839. doi:10.1002/admi.201500779
  • Dicks O.A., A.L. Shluger, P.V. Sushko, and P. Littlewood. 2016. "Spectroscopic properties of oxygen vacancies in LaAlO3." Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter 93, no. 13:Article No. 134114. PNNL-SA-116034. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.93.134114
  • Johnson L., P.V. Sushko, Y. Tomota, and H. Hosono. 2016. "Electron anions and the glass transition temperature." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113, no. 36:10001-10012. PNNL-SA-116661. doi:10.1073/pnas.1606891113
  • Kaspar T.C., P.V. Sushko, M.E. Bowden, S.M. Heald, A. Papadogianni, C.M. Tschammer, and O. Bierwagen, et al. 2016. "Defect compensation by Cr vacancies and oxygen interstitials in Ti4+-doped Cr2O3 epitaxial thin films." Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics 94, no. 15:Article No. 155409. PNNL-SA-118171. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.94.155409
  • Konstantinou K., P.V. Sushko, and D.M. Duffy. 2016. "Modelling the local atomic structure of molybdenum in nuclear waste glasses with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. PCCP 18, no. 37:26125-26132. PNNL-SA-118012. doi:10.1039/C6CP03076A
  • Spurgeon S.R., Y. Du, T.C. Droubay, A. Devaraj, X. Sang, P. Longo, and P. Yan, et al. 2016. "Competing Pathways for Nucleation of the Double Perovskite Structure in the Epitaxial Synthesis of La2MnNiO6." Chemistry of Materials 28, no. 11:3814-3822. PNNL-SA-115671. doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b00829
  • Xu P., T.C. Droubay, J.S. Jeong, K.A. Mkhoyan, P.V. Sushko, S.A. Chambers, and B. Jalan. 2016. "Quasi 2D Ultrahigh Carrier Density in a Complex Oxide Broken Gap Heterojunction." Advanced Materials Interfaces 3, no. 2:Article No. 1500432. PNNL-SA-107557. doi:10.1002/admi.201500432
  • Xu P., Y. Ayino, C.J. Cheng, V.S. Pribiag, R.B. Comes, P.V. Sushko, and S.A. Chambers, et al. 2016. "Predictive Control over Charge Density in the Two-Dimensional Electron Gas at the Polar-Nonpolar NdTiO3/SrTiO3 Interface." Physical Review Letters 117, no. 10:106806-6. PNNL-SA-123678. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.106803

2015

  • Chambers S.A., Y. Du, M. Gu, T.C. Droubay, S. Hepplestone, and P.V. Sushko. 2015. "Dominance of interface chemistry over the bulk properties in determining the electronic structure of epitaxial metal/perovskite oxide heterojunctions." Chemistry of Materials 27, no. 11:4093-4098. PNNL-SA-108999. doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b01118
  • Cheng Y., Y. Shao, L.R. Parent, M.L. Sushko, G. Li, P.V. Sushko, and N.D. Browning, et al. 2015. "Interface Promoted Reversible Mg Insertion in Nanostructured Tin-Antimony Alloys." Advanced Materials 27, no. 42:6598-6605. PNNL-SA-108383. doi:10.1002/adma.201502378
  • Kimmel A., and P.V. Sushko. 2015. "Mechanisms of formation of chemical bonds and defect formation at the a-SiO2/BaTiO3 interfaces." Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 27, no. 47:Article No. 475006. PNNL-SA-124197. doi:10.1088/0953-8984/27/47/475006
  • Konstantinou K., P.V. Sushko, and D.M. Duffy. 2015. "Structure and ionic diffusion of alkaline-earth ions in mixed cation glasses." Journal of Non-crystalline Solids 422. PNNL-SA-110319. doi:10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2015.05.005
  • Parent L.R., Y. Cheng, P.V. Sushko, Y. Shao, J. Liu, C.M. Wang, and N.D. Browning. 2015. "Realizing the Full Potential of Insertion Anodes for Mg-ion Batteries Through the Nano-Structuring of Sn." Nano Letters 15, no. 2:1177-1182. PNNL-SA-106031. doi:10.1021/nl5042534
  • Zhang H., Y. Du, A. Papadogianni, O. Bierwagen, S. Sallis, L.J. Piper, and M.E. Bowden, et al. 2015. "Perovskite Sr-doped LaCrO3 as a new p-type transparent conducting oxide." Advanced Materials 27, no. 35:5191-5195. PNNL-SA-109679. doi:10.1002/adma.201501959
  • Zhang H., Y. Du, P.V. Sushko, M.E. Bowden, V. Shutthanandan, S. Sallis, and L.J. Piper, et al. 2015. "Hole-induced insulator-to-metal transition in La1-xSrxCrO3 epitaxial films." Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics 91, no. 15:155129. PNNL-SA-105791. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.91.155129

2014

  • Comes R.B., P.V. Sushko, S.M. Heald, R.J. Colby, M.E. Bowden, and S.A. Chambers. 2014. "Band-Gap Reduction and Dopant Interaction in Epitaxial La,Cr Co-doped SrTiO3 Thin Films." Chemistry of Materials 26, no. 24:7073-7082. PNNL-SA-105536. doi:10.1021/cm503541u
  • Hayashi K., P.V. Sushko, Y. Hashimoto, A. Shluger, and H. Hosono. 2014. "Hydride ions in oxide hosts hidden by hydroxide ions." Nature Communications 5. PNNL-SA-101488. doi:10.1038/ncomms4515
  • Kaspar T.C., S.E. Chamberlin, M.E. Bowden, R.J. Colby, V. Shutthanandan, S. Manandhar, and Y. Wang, et al. 2014. "Impact of Lattice Mismatch and Stoichiometry on the Structure and Bandgap of (Fe,Cr)2O3 Epitaxial Thin Films." Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 26, no. 13:Article No. 135005. PNNL-SA-99168. doi:10.1088/0953-8984/26/13/135005
  • Zhang H., P.V. Sushko, R.J. Colby, Y. Du, M.E. Bowden, and S.A. Chambers. 2014. "Reversible nano-structuring of SrCrO3-d through oxidization and reduction at low temperatures." Nature Communications 5. PNNL-SA-101384. doi:10.1038/ncomms5669

2013

  • Chambers S.A., M. Gu, P.V. Sushko, H. Yang, C.M. Wang, and N.D. Browning. 2013. "Ultra-low contact resistance at an epitaxial metal/oxide heterojunction through interstitial site doping." Advanced Materials 25, no. 29:4001-4005. PNNL-SA-92870. doi:10.1002/adma.201301030
  • Sushko P.V., K.M. Rosso, J. Zhang, J. Liu, and M.L. Sushko. 2013. "Oxygen vacancies and ordering of d-levels control voltage suppression in oxide cathodes: the case of spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4-d." Advanced Functional Materials 23, no. 44:5530-5535. PNNL-SA-93845. doi:10.1002/adfm.201301205
  • Wang Y., K.A. Lopata, S.A. Chambers, N. Govind, and P.V. Sushko. 2013. "Optical absorption and band gap reduction in (Fe1-xCrx)2O3 solid solutions: A first-principles study." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 117, no. 48:25504-25512. PNNL-SA-94739. doi:10.1021/jp407496w

2011

  • Mckenna K.P., D. Koller, A. Sternig, N. Siedl, N. Govind, P.V. Sushko, and O.E. Diwald. 2011. "Optical Properties of Nanocrystal Interfaces in Compressed MgO Nanopowders." ACS Nano 5, no. 4:3003-3009. PNNL-SA-76875. doi:10.1021/nn200062d
  • Sushko P.V., A.L. Shluger, A.G. Joly, K.M. Beck, and W.P. Hess. 2011. "Exciton-driven highly hyperthermal O-atom desorption from nanostructured CaO." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115, no. 3:692-699. PNNL-SA-74573. doi:10.1021/jp1078423