Synthesis and Characterization of Amorphous Inorganic Cluster Compounds

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Continuing and extending the work done in project A1 in the first funding period of FOR 2824, we investigate adamantane-like clusters of the [(RT)4E6] type (R = organic substituent; T = Si, Ge, Sn; E = S, Se, Te), which under certain circumstances exhibit extreme nonlinear optical properties in the form of a spectrally broad (white-light) emission. In cooperation with the PIs of the other projects within FOR 2824, these compounds are investigated experimentally and theoretically with respect to their nonlinear optical properties and with respect to their microscopic and macroscopic structures; here, the substances also serve as benchmark compounds for new experimental and theoretical methods to study amorphous materials in general. Among the major long-term goals of FOR 2824 are understanding the physical mechanism behind the new form of white light generation and the use of the materials in engineered devices. Based on the results obtained in the first funding period, we are therefore targeting in project A1 those substances that are particularly suitable for the formation of homogeneous, robust samples with the desired white-light emission properties as a result of their combination of R/T/E (or R/R', T/T', E/E'). We will develop synthetic routes to new compounds where R, T, and E can be uniform or diverse. We also propose – also in cooperation with project A2 – promising extensions of the compound library toward extended cluster cores, multifunctional substituents, and polymeric materials. In the case of crystalline materials, we will determine their structures. However, in terms of white-light generation, amorphous materials are the focus of the project. Therefore, the control of amorphousness is another important goal of the project A1 in the second funding period. We want to influence this specifically through glass formation, by exposure to external pressure, and by incorporation into scaffolds. The most promising compounds, as determined by our own pre-screening using a simple laser setup and simple DFT calculations, will be passed on to the theorists and physicists in FOR 2824, who will then perform more detailed studies on them in close cooperation with us and ultimately use the compounds for the fabrication of test devices.