Low-Dimensional Nano-Architectures for Light Emission and Light-to-Electricity Conversion (LOW-LIGHT)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Bernd Smarsly, since 10/2022
• Subject Area: Solid State and Surface Chemistry, Material Synthesis ; Physical Chemistry of Solids and Surfaces, Material Characterisation
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 465086537

The overarching goal of LOW-LIGHT is to rationally design stable and highly efficient hybrid nanomaterials for optoelectronic applications, which include light harvesting/conversion and light emission, to be implemented in proof of-concept devices. The rational hybridization of all carbon-based nano-objects (the Nano Building Blocks, NBBs) and their formulation into stable colloidal dispersions ready for thin films processing are essential activities that constitute the core of LOW-LIGHT ambitious objectives. Key to this development is the control of the interactions and self assembly properties of the NBBs at the nanoscale, in order to optimize the structure-property-function relationships in the integrated nano-systems, with the aim of mimicking the perfection of natural structures for light conversion. The nano-hybrids approach proposed by LOW-LIGHT thus represent a merging point between the highly efficient commercial solutions mostly based on inorganics and the chameleonic purely organic electronics.By taking advantage of the unique properties of low dimensional materials, the individual carbon-based NBBs (small molecules, carbon dots, nanoribbons and nanotubes, graphene based materials) will be assembled into hybrids employing a bottom up approach, to gain control over the different degrees of complexity of the individual structures and to finetune the opto-electronic and transport properties of the final assemblies. The presence of highly interchangeable NBBs will allow the synthesis of the best assembly for a given target function, i.e. to obtain smart materials which pertain to the Type I (energy transfer-ET) or Type II (charge transfer-CT) heteronanojunctions (HNJs). Moreover, the rational design (ensured by the use of state-of-the-art computational methods) will allow the pre-screening of the many possible NBBs combinations to perform a fine tuning of the energy levels together with a mechanistic insight into the ET and CT processes occurring at these HNJs. LOW-LIGHT will thus foster both the production of an electric current following light absorption and/or the opposite process (i.e. electroluminescence) by means of efficient ET and/or CT at binary interfaces based on low dimensional materials.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Poland
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Derck Schlettwein
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Silvio Osella
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Professorin Teresa Gatti, Ph.D., until 10/2022