Design and Synthesis of Smart Molecular Materials

The aim of the project is to develop new switchable materials comprised of both organic and organometallic molecular systems that can sense and respond to their environment. So-called 'smart materials', these systems can change their colour, structure and electronic properties in response to temperature, pressure, light and the presence of certain chemicals. They are being used to design new responsive devices with applications in healthcare, sensing and display technologies. Molecular (or molecule-based) systems provide multiple advantages for this type of application, primarily due to their intrinsic chemical and functional versatility as well as the small size of their functional units.

The project provides experience in a wide range of synthetic and characterisation techniques in this highly interdisciplinary field of research. The initial phase of the project involves synthesis of materials using a combination of traditional synthetic chemistry methods and solvent-free green-chemistry. Chemical characterisation is performed using standard techniques including NMR, UV-vis, mass spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and so on. Full analysis of properties will be undertaken via reflectivity measurements (to characterise changes in colour), Raman spectroscopy, AFM, SEM and TEM as required. Devices in the form of functional thin films and interfaces will be produced using a number of novel techniques for in-situ synthesis of smart materials currently under development in the Shepherd group.