Collaborative Research: Exciton Dynamics in Chiral Molecular Nanowires

Professor Erik Grumstrup at Montana State University and Professor Jean Hubert Olivier at the University of New Mexico are supported to explore how solid-state chirality influences the behavior of excitons, short-lived packets of energy created when light is absorbed by a material. Understanding and controlling excitons is essential for light-driven chemical reactivity, light-emitting devices, and emerging quantum information systems. While chirality is known to strongly influence ground-state molecular properties, its effects on exciton behavior in extended molecular materials remain largely unexplored. This research aims to uncover how chiral molecular structures can control the motion, lifetime, and polarization of excitons. By doing so, it seeks to establish new principles for designing advanced materials that can direct energy flow with high precision. The outcomes could enable innovations in energy-efficient electronics, next-generation photonic devices, and quantum technologies. The project will provide exceptional training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students by integrating organic materials synthesis and characterization with nanoscale spectroscopy, while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across chemistry, physics, and materials science. The project combines synthetic chemistry, nanoscale materials design, and single-particle spectroscopy to systematically investigate exciton dynamics in well-defined chiral molecular assemblies. Three primary objectives guide the research: (1) establishing structure–function relationships between chiral supramolecular organization and exciton depolarization and recombination dynamics; (2) characterization of exciton transport in chiral nanomaterials; and (3) probing how chirality affects interfacial electronic coupling in hybrid systems that combine chiral organic assemblies with two-dimensional semiconductors. The experimental approach leverages covalently tethered, chirally controlled perylene-diimide nanostructures and steady-state and time-resolved polarization-resolved microscopies. Temperature-dependent studies will elucidate the roles of phonons and defects in exciton scattering and transport. In hybrid heterostructures, circularly polarized spectroscopy will be used to test chiral electronic coupling at interfaces between two-dimensional semiconductors and chiral molecular assemblies. Together, these efforts will establish a predictive framework linking molecular chirality to exciton dynamics, enabling rational design of materials with tailored optoelectronic and quantum functionalities. 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.