Metal-containing conjugated materials and chemical sensors

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Materials in which chemical, optical and electronic signals are generated or interconverted are essential for new information, sensor and energy harvesting technologies.  Molecule-based materials allow a wide range of function to be built-in using chemical synthesis.  The application of these materials involves incorporating a desired property or function at the molecular level, and then organizing the material such that the chemical, optical or electronic signal may be used.  In this proposal, three major objectives are targeted: (a) New methods of efficiently harvesting solar energy using plastics containing small amounts of metals are proposed.  These metallo-polymers may provide alternatives to the currently used inorganic materials, and may be more easily processed; for example, it may be possible to print solar cells using metallo-polymers on flexible plastic substrates.  Cross-linking these polymers inside a bubble in solution gives small particles which emit longer wavelength light when irradiated.  The metal groups may be chosen to stop light emission above a specific temperature, allowing these particles to serve as tiny thermometers.   (b) New molecule-based chemical sensors allowing the detection of several chemical pollutants and toxins including carbon monoxide and sulfur monoxide are proposed.  These sensors are based on light emitted from part of the molecule:  the color and intensity of the emitted light is affected by the presence of the gas.  These may lead to cheap, small and efficient methods of detecting these substances in the environment.  (c) Nanomaterials, in which metal and semiconductor particles less than 1/1000 the diameter of a human hair in size are embedded in colored or conductive polymers will be prepared.  These small particles behave differently from the corresponding bulk materials, allowing possible application of these hybrid materials as catalysts, and in sensors and solar energy harvesting.