Synthetic Strategies Towards Molecular Complexes Exhibiting Strong Near-Infrared Circularly Polarized Luminescence

In this project, Professor Gaël Ung of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Connecticut is developing coordination complexes of lanthanides and base metals for the emission of circularly polarized light. The goal of this research is to generate molecular circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) emitters producing light in the near-infrared region with the highest possible metrics. Such emitters can have significant impacts in quantum telecommunications. The program—at the interface of organic, organometallic, inorganic and physical chemistry—will help support initiatives aimed at encouraging students from low-income areas to pursue studies in chemistry, and will provide multidisciplinary training to scientists at all levels. The proposed work is organized around the synthesis of rationally designed molecular platforms that will balance an immediate search for applicability and the means to deepen our fundamental understanding of the factors affecting CPL metrics. Original chiral monometallic lanthanide complexes will be synthesized to examine the effects of symmetry, electronic structure, and energy rate transfer on CPL metrics, thus allowing the design of CPL emitters with applicable metrics. In addition, multimetallic lanthanide-based platforms have been designed to study the process of polarized energy transfer, which could redefine strategies to obtain better CPL emitters. These design principles will be tested on base-metal CPL emitters, expanding the variety of available CPL emitters away from certain critical materials. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.