SONSEUROCORES - Self Organised Hybrid Devices (SOHYD)

Molecular electronics is emerging as a powerful technology platform and is an area that is recognised as one of the recent European success stories in science. It combines many of the attributes of present day electronics and optoelectronics with attractive possibilities for control of functionality at the molecular level. Important advantages of molecules are their versatility in design of electronic properties, their dimensions, and their organization by self-assembling techniques to obtain self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) or functional domains . In these nanostructures one has the possibility to combine active electronic components with passive ones as for example electronic conductors with insulators, or molecular assemblies with different refractive indexes for light guiding modes . Of particular interest is the development of devices using supra- and super-molecular self-organized architectures, where the limited functionalities of individual molecular components are enhanced by their organization into larger super molecular systems. Although, rapid progress has been made in the fields of supra molecular and super molecular chemistry, including the demonstrations of redox switches and light driven molecular machines it is striking that there are still only few examples of technological applications in this field . There are two key factors behind the lack of technological exploitation of such complex architectures. Firstly, whilst enhanced functionality of super molecular structures has been widely demonstrated in solution, the integration of such super molecular structures into solid state electronic or optoelectronic devices has been very limited to date . Secondly, and more importantly, there still remains a basic lack of understanding between the molecular entity and the self-organized materials structure, as well as its function in molecular electronic devices. These issues are of fundamental interest and essential to the development of 'next generation' molecular electronic and hetero supra molecular devices. This project will aim to address these issues and investigate optical and electrical phenomena arising in well defined nano-structured assemblies. We aim to explore the potential of these nanostructured assemblies in electronic device applications such as solar cells, field-effect transistors and light emitting diodes. To turn this aim into reality we will conduct a multidisaplinary research program involving novel nanomaterials synthesis, functional characterization (laser based optical pump-prope spectroscopy), and electrical device fabrication and testing.