FUNCTION THROUGH CHIRALITY IN ORGANIC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS AND DEVICES
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
Chirality is a fundamental symmetry property of elemental particles, molecules or even macroscopic objects like human hands. Objects are defined as chiral if they exist as a pair of "left handed" or "right handed" mirror images that cannot be superimposed. Importantly, these two forms cannot generally be differentiated by their physical properties: the chiral handedness only becomes evident when one chiral object interacts with another chiral object. Like using your right hand to shake either the right hand (homochiral), or left hand (heterochiral) of another person will lead to different results, the interaction of a chiral molecule with another chiral molecule (or object) of the same or opposite handedness can differ.
Small molecule chirality has long provided an intellectually challenging endeavour for selective chemical synthesis and catalysis. Arguably, the inspiration behind the majority of studies in (organic) asymmetric synthesis has been biologically-relevant molecules; be it complex chiral natural products or pharmaceutically active compounds. Nature has evolved with a single handedness (homochirality) and in research, biologically relevant small molecules often require chiral structures to interact selectively with a chiral biological receptor. Since such interactions ultimately control downstream function, the importance of chirality in a biological context is abundantly clear.
Conversely, other areas of science and technology have generally not considered chirality to be important for function. In the area of organic electronic devices, a small range of non-chiral conjugated organic small molecules and polymeric materials are most frequently employed. While the technological development in this area has clearly been a successful enterprise, there is pressing need for further innovation. I believe that the unique properties of chiral materials will result in chirality becoming a central design criterion for organic conjugated small molecules and lead to new paradigms in material design, device fabrication and functional applications. I propose to exploit chiral molecular architectures where the conjugated system is an integral part of the chirality, and use such molecules in a range of materials and device contexts that will exploit chirality to control nanoscale assembly and function.
Small molecule chirality has long provided an intellectually challenging endeavour for selective chemical synthesis and catalysis. Arguably, the inspiration behind the majority of studies in (organic) asymmetric synthesis has been biologically-relevant molecules; be it complex chiral natural products or pharmaceutically active compounds. Nature has evolved with a single handedness (homochirality) and in research, biologically relevant small molecules often require chiral structures to interact selectively with a chiral biological receptor. Since such interactions ultimately control downstream function, the importance of chirality in a biological context is abundantly clear.
Conversely, other areas of science and technology have generally not considered chirality to be important for function. In the area of organic electronic devices, a small range of non-chiral conjugated organic small molecules and polymeric materials are most frequently employed. While the technological development in this area has clearly been a successful enterprise, there is pressing need for further innovation. I believe that the unique properties of chiral materials will result in chirality becoming a central design criterion for organic conjugated small molecules and lead to new paradigms in material design, device fabrication and functional applications. I propose to exploit chiral molecular architectures where the conjugated system is an integral part of the chirality, and use such molecules in a range of materials and device contexts that will exploit chirality to control nanoscale assembly and function.
Planned Impact
As outlined in the 'Academic Beneficiaries' section, the science proposed herein would have significant impact on current academic and industrial knowledge in a large range of disciplines including chemistry, physics and materials science. It will therefore impact the knowledge economy in such diverse areas. For example, it may lead to new principles in organic materials selection: one could select the appropriate transport properties for a given application purely by altering the chiral purity of a single chemical semiconducting component; the conductivity simply controlled by the chiral composition selected. This would be a paradigm shift in the way OSC materials and devices are traditionally approached. Furthermore, through in-film racemisation, this approach may allow for simple nanolithography of patterned thin films with different charge transfer domains for nanoelectronics.
Any translational aspect of this proposal, for example fabricating CP-OLEDs and CP photo-OFETs, would be of high interest to a number of key industrial companies (Cambridge Display Technologies, Plastic Logic, Merck, BASF, etc) involved in plastic electronics research. Technological advances resulting from this work would have clear ramifications in terms of wealth creation within the UK; the current OLED market is valued at >$2.5B. As an example application, current AMOLED displays employ a circular polarising filter to improve contrast by reducing external reflected light. Using a circular polariser ensures almost all reflected light is blocked; however, at the same time nearly 50% of the transmitted light from the OLED emission is cut out by the filter, dramatically reducing overall display efficiency. If one was to directly generate circularly polarised light in a comparable display architecture, far more light would be transmitted, resulting in lower losses in brightness at the circular polarising filter, improving both efficiency and lifetime. The more polarised the light from the OLED, the more light would pass through the filter. Such displays with a lowered carbon footprint would be of clear environmental impact, and therefore of benefit to society as a whole. In more general terms, CP light emitting and detecting devices would have a strong impact in current and future technologies such as tomography and integrated optical quantum computing. Finally, further training of skilled co-workers and the educational experiences of students involved in this science would also have clear economic and societal impact.
Any translational aspect of this proposal, for example fabricating CP-OLEDs and CP photo-OFETs, would be of high interest to a number of key industrial companies (Cambridge Display Technologies, Plastic Logic, Merck, BASF, etc) involved in plastic electronics research. Technological advances resulting from this work would have clear ramifications in terms of wealth creation within the UK; the current OLED market is valued at >$2.5B. As an example application, current AMOLED displays employ a circular polarising filter to improve contrast by reducing external reflected light. Using a circular polariser ensures almost all reflected light is blocked; however, at the same time nearly 50% of the transmitted light from the OLED emission is cut out by the filter, dramatically reducing overall display efficiency. If one was to directly generate circularly polarised light in a comparable display architecture, far more light would be transmitted, resulting in lower losses in brightness at the circular polarising filter, improving both efficiency and lifetime. The more polarised the light from the OLED, the more light would pass through the filter. Such displays with a lowered carbon footprint would be of clear environmental impact, and therefore of benefit to society as a whole. In more general terms, CP light emitting and detecting devices would have a strong impact in current and future technologies such as tomography and integrated optical quantum computing. Finally, further training of skilled co-workers and the educational experiences of students involved in this science would also have clear economic and societal impact.
Organisations
- Imperial College London (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation)
- Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM (Collaboration)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Collaboration)
- Newcastle University (Collaboration)
- FlexEnable Ltd (Collaboration)
- St. Andrews University (Collaboration)
- DIAMOND LIGHT SOURCE (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Collaboration)
- J.A. Woollam (Collaboration)
- National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS) (Collaboration)
- Weizmann Institute of Science (Collaboration)
- University of Dresden (Collaboration)
- New York University (Collaboration)
- Sumitomo Chemical (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- University of Cambridge (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Matthew Fuchter (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Alam F
(2020)
Prospects for Additive Manufacturing in Contact Lens Devices
in Advanced Engineering Materials
Bardell-Cox OA
(2019)
Synthetic studies on the reverse antibiotic natural products, the nybomycins.
in MedChemComm
Calbo J
(2019)
A combinatorial approach to improving the performance of azoarene photoswitches.
in Beilstein journal of organic chemistry
Dos Santos J
(2022)
An S-shaped double helicene showing both multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence and circularly polarized luminescence
in Journal of Materials Chemistry C
Elsherif M
(2020)
Contact Lenses for Color Vision Deficiency
in Advanced Materials Technologies
Fuchter MJ
(2020)
On the Promise of Photopharmacology Using Photoswitches: A Medicinal Chemist's Perspective.
in Journal of medicinal chemistry
Furlan F
(2022)
Tuning Halide Composition Allows Low Dark Current Perovskite Photodetectors With High Specific Detectivity
in Advanced Optical Materials
Gerkman MA
(2020)
Arylazopyrazoles for Long-Term Thermal Energy Storage and Optically Triggered Heat Release below 0 °C.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Gibson R
(2019)
Chemical Z - E Isomer Switching of Arylazopyrazoles Using Acid
in ChemPhotoChem
Gonzalez A
(2022)
Photocontrolled Energy Storage in Azobispyrazoles with Exceptionally Large Light Penetration Depths.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Greenfield JL
(2021)
Efficient Electrocatalytic Switching of Azoheteroarenes in the Condensed Phases.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Greenfield JL
(2021)
Pathways to increase the dissymmetry in the interaction of chiral light and chiral molecules.
in Chemical science
Griffiths K
(2023)
Systematic Investigation into the Photoswitching and Thermal Properties of Arylazopyrazole-based MOF Host-Guest Complexes
in Crystal Growth & Design
Griffiths RR
(2022)
Data-driven discovery of molecular photoswitches with multioutput Gaussian processes.
in Chemical science
Hoyas PĂ©rez N
(2022)
Emerging properties from mechanical tethering within a post-synthetically functionalised catenane scaffold.
in Chemical science
Kurz W
(2020)
UV-Sensitive Wearable Devices for Colorimetric Monitoring of UV Exposure
in Advanced Optical Materials
Laidlaw B
(2021)
On the factors influencing the chiroptical response of conjugated polymer thin films.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Lam PY
(2020)
TRPswitch-A Step-Function Chemo-optogenetic Ligand for the Vertebrate TRPA1 Channel.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Lanyon-Hogg T
(2021)
Photochemical Probe Identification of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor Binding Site in Hedgehog Acyltransferase (HHAT)**
in Angewandte Chemie
Lanyon-Hogg T
(2021)
Photochemical Probe Identification of a Small-Molecule Inhibitor Binding Site in Hedgehog Acyltransferase (HHAT)*.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Mercea DM
(2019)
Enantioselective reduction of N-alkyl ketimines with frustrated Lewis pair catalysis using chiral borenium ions.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Minion L
(2023)
Insights into the origins of inverted circular dichroism in thin films of a chiral side chain polyfluorene.
in Chirality
Reyser T
(2023)
Epidrugs as Promising Tools to Eliminate Plasmodium falciparum Artemisinin-Resistant and Quiescent Parasites
in Pharmaceutics
Rueda-Zubiaurre A
(2020)
Structure-Activity Relationship Studies of a Novel Class of Transmission Blocking Antimalarials Targeting Male Gametes.
in Journal of medicinal chemistry
Rushworth J
(2022)
[5]-Helistatins: Tubulin binding helicenes with antimitotic activity
Rushworth JL
(2022)
[5]-Helistatins: Tubulin-Binding Helicenes with Antimitotic Activity.
in JACS Au
Rushworth JL
(2020)
Glycosylated Nanoparticles Derived from RAFT Polymerization for Effective Drug Delivery to Macrophages.
in ACS applied bio materials
Salerno F
(2019)
The influence of nitrogen position on charge carrier mobility in enantiopure aza[6]helicene crystals.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Schmidt J
(2021)
Computational Screening of Chiral Organic Semiconductors: Exploring Side-Group Functionalization and Assembly to Optimize Charge Transport
in Crystal Growth & Design
Shi W
(2021)
Fullerene Desymmetrization as a Means to Achieve Single-Enantiomer Electron Acceptors with Maximized Chiroptical Responsiveness.
in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Shi W
(2023)
Enantiomerically Pure Fullerenes as a Means to Enhance the Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells
in Advanced Energy Materials
Shi W
(2021)
Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells with a Superhydrophobic Two-Dimensional Capping Layer.
in The journal of physical chemistry letters
Spiliopoulou P
(2022)
Dual G9A/EZH2 Inhibition Stimulates Antitumor Immune Response in Ovarian High-Grade Serous Carcinoma.
in Molecular cancer therapeutics
Tyagi G
(2022)
Light Responsiveness and Assembly of Arylazopyrazole-Based Surfactants in Neat and Mixed CTAB Micelles.
in JACS Au
Uriz-Huarte A
(2020)
The transcriptional repressor REV-ERB as a novel target for disease.
in Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters
Wade J
(2020)
Natural optical activity as the origin of the large chiroptical properties in p-conjugated polymer thin films.
in Nature communications
Wade J
(2021)
500-Fold Amplification of Small Molecule Circularly Polarised Luminescence through Circularly Polarised FRET.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Wade J
(2020)
500-Fold Amplification of Small Molecule Circularly Polarised Luminescence through Circularly Polarised FRET
in Angewandte Chemie
Wade J
(2022)
Controlling anisotropic properties by manipulating the orientation of chiral small molecules.
in Nature chemistry
| Title | Imperial College Chirstmas Card |
| Description | Chiral OLED image selected for Imperial college Christmas card (Delivered to industry, policymakers, former staff/students and international collaborators) |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Chiral materials Christmas card sent to all Imperial College address list, with details and further links to our research work. |
| Description | Through expansive research we have discovered numerous ways in which chirality in conjugated materials can lead to new functionalities and new opportunities. This includes in technological applications such as OLEDs |
| Exploitation Route | Further fundamental research on the underlining principles and further translation of the materials. |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Electronics,Energy,Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | From a previously funded EPSRC project, we have a granted patent (WO2014016611) on circularly polarised light emitting materials. While no further IP is yet to have arisen from this particularly project, the published academic outputs further developed our reputation in this area, adding credibility to our expertise. Through our increasing profile, we continue to engage a range of companies with a view to eventually licence the IP above. This will obviously be of commercial impact, if realised. Our expertise in this area is also leading to a number of collaborations with companies, which could lead to further economic impact. We continue to disseminate our science to wide audiences, including the general public. For example, in 2022 we ran too events to engage the general public with chirality science. Dissemination to a wider audience should enable public awareness and engagement of the science developed, a result of clear societal impact. Finally, this project provided, in addition to novel science, a number of highly trained scientists, who continue to work within the science sector in the UK. This is therefore of economic value to the UK. |
| Sector | Chemicals,Electronics,Energy |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | (HEL4CHIROLED) - Helical systems for chiral organic light emitting diodes |
| Amount | € 4,160,030 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 859752 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Start | 01/2020 |
| End | 12/2023 |
| Description | Absolute asymmetric synthesis using spin-polarised electrochemistry |
| Amount | ÂŁ312,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RPG-2018-051 |
| Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 05/2022 |
| Description | EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship 2022/23 (to group postdoc Matthew Ward) |
| Amount | ÂŁ68,093 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2023 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | Fellowship (for group postdoc Yang Yang)) |
| Amount | ÂŁ32,400 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Chinese Scholarship Council |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | China |
| Start | 06/2021 |
| End | 06/2023 |
| Description | Impact Acceleration Account, Imperial College London |
| Amount | ÂŁ43,469 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | PSM569 |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2021 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | Integrated International Hub for Nano Carbon Device Science by Fusion of Synthesis and Devices |
| Amount | ￥180,000,000 (JPY) |
| Organisation | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Japan |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 03/2027 |
| Description | PhD studentship funding |
| Amount | ÂŁ61,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Cambridge Display Technology |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | Quantum Science and Device Facility (QSDF) |
| Amount | ÂŁ1,668,874 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/T031271/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 08/2022 |
| Description | Walter Benjamin Programme (awarded to group postdoc David Reger) |
| Amount | € 75,985 (EUR) |
| Organisation | German Research Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 06/2022 |
| End | 05/2025 |
| Description | CP emitters in cavities |
| Organisation | University of Dresden |
| Department | Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Materials and expertise |
| Collaborator Contribution | Mirrors/cavities and novel photonic measurements |
| Impact | None yet. Ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Chiral thin films for anti-microbial applications |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Chemistry |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developed the materials and fabrication protocols to generate chiral polymer thin films that display extraordinary chiroptical properties for antimicrobial investigations. Directed the research programme and organised regular meetings to discuss results. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Performed measurements of singlet oxygen generation (and thus potential for antimicrobial action) from chiral polymer films. Provided guidance on fabrication protocols and methodologies. |
| Impact | N/A, investigations still ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Circularly polarised detectors based on polymer - non fullerene acceptor blends |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Exploring polymer - chiral additive - non-fullerene acceptor blend systems for bulk heterojunction CP-OPDs. Thin film fabrication, characterisation, optimisation and translation into devices. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Heeney group at Imperial, contributed technical insight and the non-fullerene acceptor materials. |
| Impact | Procedures have been optimised for film fabrication and processing, currently working on translation into devices. These will represent the first single layer CP-OPDs based on achiral polymer - chiral additive - non fullerene acceptor blends, and will likely transform the field. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration on TADF materials |
| Organisation | St. Andrews University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research materials and intellectual input |
| Collaborator Contribution | Measurements and data |
| Impact | None yet. Ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Collaboration with FlexEnable |
| Organisation | FlexEnable Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration on chiral organic materials. Part of Impact Acceleration project |
| Collaborator Contribution | Advice on applications. Planned use of facilities. |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with the Diamond Light Source |
| Organisation | Diamond Light Source |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Developed the materials and fabrication protocols to generate chiral polymer thin films that display extraordinary chiroptical properties for morphological characterisations. Directed the research programme and organised regular meetings to discuss results. Led applications for focussed beam time investigations. Designed and wrote proposal for joint PhD studentship between Imperial and Diamond, which was co-funded by the CDT in Advanced Materials Characterisation and Diamond. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Guidance with experiments whilst at the synchrotron, help creating beam time proposals, technical insight in data analysis, helped write high impact scientific publications, contributed to proposal for joint PhD studentship. |
| Impact | International coverage for research collaboration and outputs (https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Home/News/LatestNews/2021/20-01-21.html) Fundamental discoveries about the processes by which chiral phases are induced in polymer thin films (chemistry, materials, physics) Funded PhD studentship on spatially resolved polarimetry measurements (co-supervised across chemistry, materials and physics at Imperial, as well as the instrumentation team at Diamond) |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Collaboration with the EPSRC SPIN Lab |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Materials |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developing novel chiral materials and fabrication protocols for chiral thin films that will be characterised in the state-of-the-art EPSRC funded SPIN lab at Imperial College, through pulsed- and CW-EPR spectroscopy and magnetic-AFM measurements. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Providing access to facilities, guidance on using new techniques, support with new fabrication protocols. |
| Impact | one Imperial College Research Fellow (physics and materials) and one Royal Society University Research fellow (chemistry), both former postdocs in the Fuchter group, secured their own funding to work on projects in the SPIN-Lab. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Computational models with the University of Newcastle |
| Organisation | Newcastle University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Preparation of chiral polymer thin films (using achiral materials from CDT and chiral small molecules/polymers synthesised in house), optimisation of induced chiroptical properties using carefully designed fabrication protocol. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Computational models of polymer conformation and associated optoelectronic properties. Investigations into how backbone torsion, polymer chemical structure and inter-chain interactions impacts the strength of the intrinsic optical activity through measurements of the electric and magnetic dipole. |
| Impact | multi-disciplinary, multi-institution investigation into the origins of the strong chrioptical effect in polymer thin films. One paper accepted in ACS Nano, one under review and one about to be submitted to Nature Photonics. Several conference presentations, including SPIE Optics & Photonics, APS Spring meeting and the ACS spring meeting. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Ellipsometry with J. A. Woollam |
| Organisation | J.A. Woollam |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Preparation of chiral polymer thin films (using achiral materials from CDT and chiral small molecules/polymers synthesised in house), optimisation of induced chiroptical properties using carefully designed fabrication protocol. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Theoretical and experimental collaboration studying the induced chiroptical properties of organic electronic thin films. Ongoing collaborative measurements and mathematical modelling of the chiroptical properties (circular birefringence, circular dichroism) of polymer thin films using Mueller Matrix Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. Mathematical models and collaborative discussions, as well as the preparation of materials for several joint publications. |
| Impact | multi-disciplinary, multi-institution investigation into the origins of the strong chrioptical effect in polymer thin films. "A unified model to explain the large chiroptical effects in chiral polymer systems through natural optical activity", which is to be submitted to Nature Photonics in the next few weeks. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Exploring novel helicene emitters with the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg |
| Organisation | Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developed the materials and fabrication protocols to generate chiral polymer thin films that display extraordinary chiroptical properties for embedding chiral small molecule emitters. Directed the research programme and organised regular meetings to discuss results. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Synthesised, purified and separated novel 'superhelicene' emitters. Helped with up study in high impact publication. |
| Impact | High impact research publications (selected as a 'hot paper'), joint applications for further funding, novel insight about the mechanisms that underpin CP-emission and absorption in polymer thin films. First experimental observation of circularly polarised (CP)-Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in polymer - helicene blends. Inspired new collaborations on light emitting chiral small molecules. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Faraday rotation measurements with the Swager Lab at MIT |
| Organisation | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Preparation of chiral polymer thin films (using achiral materials from CDT and chiral small molecules/polymers synthesised in house), optimisation of induced chiroptical properties using carefully designed fabrication protocol. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Faraday rotation measurements of chiral polymer thin films, calculation of the Verdet constant, preliminary device measurements. |
| Impact | Measurement of strongest Verdet constant for organic thin films Investigations into the potential for commercialisation of technology (for the characterisation of defects in aeroplane wings and other applications that need light-weight, lowcost sensitive magnetic field strength detection) Proof-of-concept manuscript in preparation |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Imaging with photoeleastic modulators |
| Organisation | New York University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Growth of enantiopure and racemic crystals of chiral organic molecules. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Imaging of chiral molecular crystals using photoelastic modulation to understand the chrioptical properties of materials synthesised as part of the Chiral Functional Materials research project. |
| Impact | Multi-disciplinary (physics and chemistry), ongoing research into how molecular structure impacts the chiroptical properties of crystals and thin films. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Investigating the origins of the strong chiroptical responses of organometallic complexes |
| Organisation | National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS) |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developed the materials and fabrication protocols to host - guest thin films based on organometallic helicenes. Designed methodology for characterisation and optimisation of thin films. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Designed, synthesised, purified and separated organometallic helicenes. |
| Impact | Joint applications for beam-time at the Diamond Light Source Ongoing work on materials discovery and design |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Investigation into the spin-selectivity of chiral materials with the Weizmann Institute |
| Organisation | Weizmann Institute of Science |
| Country | Israel |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Preparation of chiral polymer thin films (using achiral materials from CDT and chiral small molecules/polymers synthesised in house), optimisation of induced chiroptical properties using carefully designed fabrication protocol. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Experimental investigations into the spin selectivity of electron transport through chiral structures. Measurements made in electrochemical cells and bespoke spin valves. Preparation of substrates to allow enantioselective crystallisation from racemic solutions. |
| Impact | Experiments and data collection still ongoing. Currently optimising chiral molecular layers for spin-selective injection into the active layers of OLEDs. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Structural investigations with the Molecular Foundry |
| Organisation | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Developed the materials and fabrication protocols to generate chiral polymer thin films that display extraordinary chiroptical properties. Led application for dedicated expert time at the Molecular Foundry to investigate the morphology and structure of chiral polymer phases. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Performed 4D STEM, an electron microscopy technique that captures a full 2D diffraction pattern at each pixel position on a STEM (Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy) map. Provided insight into behaviour of polymer thin films and helped with data analysis and processing. |
| Impact | Still ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | high-resolution AFM imaging or novel polymer phases |
| Organisation | University of Nottingham |
| Department | School of Chemistry Nottingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developed the materials and fabrication protocols to generate chiral polymer thin films that display extraordinary chiroptical properties for morphological characterisations. Directed the research programme and organised regular meetings to discuss results. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Performed ultra-high resolution scanning probe and electron microscopies. Helped with the image processing and analysis. |
| Impact | High impact research papers, joint applications for long-term beamtime, novel insight about the mechanisms that underpin CP-emission and absorption in polymer thin films. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | A talk at GCHQ |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Research talk on chiral functional materials for encryption and security applications. Audiences at GCHQ branches around the UK. A lot of interest in future collaborations and further discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | All things Photonics, Photonics Media podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Appeared on All things Photonics podcast of Photonics Media. Other guests include Donna Strickland and SPIE President Anita Mahadevan-Jansen. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.photonics.com/Podcast/Jess_Wade_OLED_Displays_Chirality_and_Equity/pce27 |
| Description | Australia (online) lecture tour |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Lectures given to numerous instituted in Australia: Monash University, WEHI, CSIRO, Adelaide, UNSW, etc |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Cartoon for Google's Once Upon A Try series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Google made a series of cartoons for their Once Upon A Try campaign featuring scientists with superpowers. I helped to identify the London superheroes and was included in a video myself, discussing the applications of functional electronic materials in future devices, |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ichMxazaz2w |
| Description | Chirality and the future of electronics talk for Friends of Imperial |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A talk for 300 "Friends of Imperial" - alumni and other interested members / friends of the college community - about chiral materials and electronic devices. Great audience participation and several excited discussions have followed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/eventssummary/event_6-9-2019-11-38-1 |
| Description | Conference/Symposium lecture on the results of the grant |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I have given numerous lectures all over the world reporting the results of this award. The primarily outcome was dissemination of the research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021 |
| Description | Evening lecture for the London and South East Branch of the Institute of Physics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk for the London and South East Branch of the Institute of Physics on chiral materials and CP-OLEDs |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | High school talk on chiral materials for disadvantaged students in Haringey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 70 pupils attended for an online science careers evening. Audience were not aware of chiral materials, but the presentation sparked questions and discussion afterwards, and the teachers reported increased interest in chemistry and physics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Hosted Chiral Materials 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The second meeting hosted by the Fuchter group aimed to showcase research in the UK dealing with the preparation, study and application of chiral materials and seed a new community. Speakers and participants with interests in a diverse range of materials (chiral small molecules and polymers, liquid crystals, metamaterials, supramolecular arrays, frameworks, nanoparticles, etc) for use in a range of applications (electronics, optical, sensors, etc) were present. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.chiralmaterials.co.uk/ |
| Description | Hosted a symposium on chiral materials |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A meeting with a series of scientific talks with associated discussion and debate, alongside other networking activities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Hosted a symposium on organic semiconductors |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A meeting with a series of scientific talks with associated discussion and debate, alongside other networking activities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Hostend Chiral Functional Materials meeting 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We coordinated and hosted the UK's first chiral functional materials meeting. Discussion about CP-OLEDs and chiral materials design, student, posters and networking. Huge interest from research community as well as journal editors and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chiral-functional-materials-emerging-chemistry-and-physics-tickets-4868... |
| Description | Imperial Centre for Plastic Electronics Annual Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk on induced chirality in functional polymers as part of the annual Centre for Plastic Electronics symposium |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/centres/plasticelectronics/eventssumma... |
| Description | Imperial College Summer Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Led an interactive stall about the presence and importance of chirality in the natural world and technology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Imperial Lates |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Led an interactive stall about the presence and importance of chirality in the natural world and technology |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Inaugural lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | My Inaugural lecture at Imperial College which was also streamed live on YouTube. During my inaugural lecture I discussed my perspective of chemistry as a central science, giving case studies from my work that showcase how scientific curiosity and chemical understanding can lead to useful 'real world' applications. And how, in turn, such applications promote the need for further understanding and innovation on the molecular scale. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRDYnvyyDs0 |
| Description | Interview with AAAS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Member spotlight on my work in printed electronics using chiral functional materials, alongside discussion about diversity in physics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| URL | https://www.aaas.org/membership/member-spotlight/jessica-wade-physicist-and-author-hundreds-wikipedi... |
| Description | Interview with Chemistry World |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Interview with the RSC magazine Chemistry World |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Invited talk at SPIE O&P 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Technical talk at SPIE Optics and Photonics 2018. Part of the Organic and Hybrid Light Emitting Materials and Devices symposium. Lengthy discussion about chiral functional materials and CP-OLEDs. Found new (important) collaborator in the exhibition: J. A. Woollam & Co. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invited talk at SPIE Optics and Photonics 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited technical talk at SPIE Optics and Photonics 2019. Part of the Light in Nature symposium. Good discussion about chiral functional materials and circularly polarising-OLEDs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Lecture tour for Corday Morgan Prize |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Scientific talk with associated discussion and debate |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Lecture tour in Japan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Scientific talk with associated discussion and debate |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Materials of Design Symposium at the V&A |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A discussion about functional plastics and chiral electronic materials as part of the V&A Materials of Design Symposium. Great engagement with other academics across Imperial and the V&A. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.union.ic.ac.uk/rsm/matsoc/downloads/matsoc_winter_magazine_2017.pdf |
| Description | New Scientist Live 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at New Scientist Live on the future of electronics using chiral functional materials. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.newscientist.com/video/2182419-jess-wade-plastic-electronics/ |
| Description | New Scientist Live 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at New Scientist Live on the future of electronics and chiral mateirals. Huge interest from audience which resulted in several future workshops and discussions. Talk was covered in New Scientist magazine and led to an extended article on chiral materials. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://live.newscientist.com/2019-speaker-programme/jess-wade-magic-of-mirror-molecules |
| Description | Organised and hosted a symposium entitled: Chiral Functional Materials: Emerging Chemistry and Physics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The meeting aimed to showcase research in the UK dealing with the preparation, study and application of chiral materials and seed a new community. Speakers and participants with interests in a diverse range of materials (chiral small molecules and polymers, liquid crystals, metamaterials, supramolecular arrays, frameworks, nanoparticles, etc) for use in a range of applications (electronics, optical, sensors, etc) were present. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Pasta-shaped structures explain chiral light emission in polymers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Chemistry World article covering our recent publication in Nature Communications. The coverage sparked new collaborations and and interest from scientists all around the world. It was shared across social media by high profile journal editors and scientists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/pasta-shaped-structures-explain-chiral-light-emission-in-polymer... |
| Description | Presentation at the Blavatnik Award Game Changers Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hosted by BBC News Science Correspondent Victoria Gill, a short, interactive talks from Professor Fuchter for science enthusiasts from all walks of life-from high school students through university professors. Following the talks, a moderated discussion explored trends and insights influencing the future of science in the United Kingdom. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.nyas.org/events/2020/game-changers-9-young-scientists-transforming-our-world/ |
| Description | Presentation to Nature Publishing Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Lecture on our research to the Nature Published Group |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Research talk for the University of Delaware |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited seminar at the University of Delaware focussing on chiral materials and their application in electronic devices, very engaged audience with several questions and follow-up. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Science Live: A-Level |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A series of three talks for A-Level physics and chemistry students (1600 in London, 900 in Birmingham and 600 in Manchester) where I discussed chirality and functional electronic materials. Great interest from audience, ongoing enthusiasm and interest. Speaking alongside Jim Al-Khalili and Frank Close and described by several students and teachers in the audience as the best part of the day. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.alevelsciencelive.net/event_categories/londonphysics/ |
| Description | Talk at MRS by Li Wan (PhD student) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Technical talk by PhD student Li Wan at MRS Fall Meeting 2018 sharing recent work on CP OLEDs |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Talks at Imperial Open Days |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Delivered research talks on printed electronics every year as part of the College Open Day. Great interest and several students from the first cohort (2017) have already started studying physics at university (some at Imperial!). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| Description | Undergraduate research talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Overview of our work on the Chiral Functional Materials project and the role of EPSRC in supporting UK postgraduate materials research. A lot of interest from students about placements and opportunities in the chiral materials research group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | WIRED Live |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk at WIRED Live. WIRED Live gathered disruptive minds across technology, design, art and politics to investigate how innovation, technological advances and world events are changing the way we live, behave and interact with each other. International audience and huge enthusiasm for chiral materials research and discovery. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CFOEKnRm_M |