Multifunctionality at the Nanoscale

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The main goal of my research is to understand the fundamental principles governing the coexistence of and interactions between different properties in low-dimensional materials, which are often considered to be mutually exclusive. Simultaneous control and manipulation of multiple functionally-relevant properties at the nanoscale could lead to radically new approaches to energy-efficient information technologies, solid-state lighting, photonics, and catalysis. This proposal specifically addresses the importance of multifunctionality for new sustainable technologies with long-term benefits to Canada. My research program is interdisciplinary in nature and uses a combination of synthetic, spectroscopic, structural, physical, and theoretical methods. Within the designed projects we study the role of nanostructure size, composition, phase transformation, native defects formation, and molecular functionalization in enhancing the inherent degrees of freedom at the nanoscale. These projects and the future activities related to the proposal can be classified in two major directions: • Energy-Efficient Solid State Lighting and Photonic Technologies. Expanding on my work on functional defect formation and interaction in transparent metal oxide nanocrystals, the goal of this part of my research program is to explore different ways of expanding and manipulating the electronic structure and optical properties of native defect states. As a notable example, we prepared a new class of colloidal hybrid organic-inorganic quasi-single white light emitting nanostructures (NanoLite), which has paved the way to a new approach to solid-state lighting without the need for strategically important rare earth elements. • Energy-Efficient Information Technologies. The goal of this set of projects is to investigate the correlations between electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of nanomaterials for energy-efficient and non-volatile information processing, transmittal and storage. The systems of interest include magnetic semiconductor, emerging oxide plasmonic, and multiferroic nanostructures. The implementation of multifunctional nanoscale devices rests upon our understanding of the structure-property and property-property correlations in nanomaterials. The project activities will explore complementary approaches to multifunctionality: internal (i.e. impurity-induced) and external (i.e. via heterostructure or composite formation).