Sustainable Development Goals at Baku State University.

A master class was held at the Faculty of Chemistry of Baku State University in the Academician Yusif Mammadaliyev Auditorium. The guest speaker was Mahammad Babanli, Corresponding Member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) and Head of the Science Support Department at the Institute of Chemistry of the Ministry of Science and Education. He delivered a scientific lecture entitled “Some Issues in the Chemistry and Materials Science of Topological Insulators.”

Professor Babanli noted that one of the priority areas of multidisciplinary research at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and materials science is the development and investigation of a new generation of inorganic functional materials known as topological insulators. He explained that a topological insulator represents a unique quantum state of matter that behaves as an insulator in its bulk while exhibiting highly spin-polarized electrical conductivity on its surface.

According to the speaker, these remarkable properties create significant opportunities for the development of next-generation electronics, including spintronics and topological quantum computers. He also highlighted the potential applications of topological insulators in terahertz detectors used in medicine and security systems, as well as in other advanced devices based on quantum computing technologies.

Professor Babanli emphasized that research in inorganic materials science has been conducted in Azerbaijan for more than fifty years, leading to the establishment of a strong scientific school in the field. He stated that systematic studies on topological insulator materials have been carried out since 2011 and that Azerbaijani scientists have developed extensive collaborations with leading research centers in the European Union and Japan specializing in both theoretical and experimental investigations of topological insulators.

The lecturer pointed out that the outcomes of these international collaborations have been published in more than thirty scientific articles in high-impact journals indexed in the Web of Science database. He particularly highlighted the article “Prediction and Observation of the Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator,” published in the journal Nature in 2019 by Azerbaijani and international researchers. The paper received the Frontiers of Science Award at the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) held in Beijing in 2023 and was recognized as one of the most outstanding scientific publications of the preceding five years. To date, the article has received more than 1,100 citations.

Following the presentation, Professor Babanli answered numerous questions from participants and engaged in discussions on recent developments in the field.

SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)