Urgent Acquisition of an Absolute Photoluminescence Quantum Yield Spectrometer

NSERC RTI的资金用于购买绝对光致发光量子产额光谱仪，这是申请团队迫切需要的，以提供尖端的培训环境，保持竞争力，并最终在国际舞台上蓬勃发展。Hamamatsu C11347-12光谱仪被特别选为一种具有成本效益的解决方案，它克服了我们目前仪器的局限性，同时避免了现有基础设施的重复。它将容纳液体，固体和薄膜样品，从400-1000 nm的光致发光，并将促进这些测量在低温下。这种配置将最大限度地扩大可表征的材料范围，包括荧光和磷光样品。它还为HQP的培训提供了显着的优势，因为用于确定绝对光致发光量子产率的传统仪器需要专业知识，因此，非专家通常无法访问。相反，所要求的基础设施不需要这种专门知识，在概念上和实际上都是可以利用的。它将促进在西方的7个不同的研究小组，包括光谱学专家和非专家的67个HQP核心小组的动手，基于概念的培训。申请人团队包括从事积极计划的研究小组，专注于光致发光材料的开发，并对其物理特性有深入的了解，最终允许其用作生物成像探针以及光捕获（太阳能电池）和发光（OLED）技术的功能组件。确定绝对光致发光量子产率的能力对于这些活动的成功至关重要。尽管Western在这一领域具有长期的优势，但申请团队目前无法使用确定绝对光致发光量子产率所需的设施，也不可能为此目的升级现有基础设施。国际社会已经在很大程度上放弃了相对量子产额确定方法，转而采用绝对方法，这一事实加剧了这一缺陷。这一理念的变化是由于周围的问题与solvatochromocity表现出的大多数光致发光材料，非线性检测器灵敏度在不同的能量，影响分析物和标准之间的匹配，以及相对便宜的仪器，现在允许这些测量的发展是由广泛的研究人员。********

NSERC RTI funds are requested for the acquisition of an Absolute Photoluminescence Quantum Yield Spectrometer that is urgently required for the applicant team to provide a cutting-edge training environment and to maintain competitiveness and ultimately flourish on the international stage. The Hamamatsu C11347-12 Spectrometer has been specifically chosen as a cost-effective solution that overcomes our current instrument limitations that also avoids duplication of existing infrastructure. It will accommodate liquid, solid, and thin-film samples that photoluminesce from 400-1000 nm and will facilitate these measurements at low-temperature. This configuration will maximize the range of materials that can be characterized, including both fluorescent and phosphorescent specimens. It also offers significant advantages for the training of HQP as conventional instrumentation used for the determination of absolute photoluminescence quantum yields require specialized expertise, and as a result, are generally not accessible to non-experts. Conversely, the requested infrastructure does not require such expertise and is conceptually and practically accessible. It will facilitate the hands-on, concept-based training of a core group of 67 HQP across 7 different research groups at Western, including both spectroscopy experts and non-experts.******The applicant team includes research groups engaged in active programs focused on the development of photoluminescent materials and an advanced understanding of their photophysical properties to ultimately allow for their use, for example, as biological imaging probes and as the functional component of light-harvesting (solar cells) and light-emitting (OLEDs) technologies. The ability to determine absolute photoluminescence quantum yields is critical to the success of these activities. Despite a long-standing strength at Western in this area, the applicant team does not currently have access to the facilities required to determine absolute photoluminescence quantum yields, nor is it possible to upgrade existing infrastructure for this purpose. This deficiency is exacerbated by the fact that the international community has largely moved away from relative quantum yield determination methods in favor of absolute methods. This change in philosophy is due to issues surrounding poor reproducibility associated with the solvatochromocity exhibited by most photoluminescent materials, non-linear detector sensitivity at different energies that affects the match between analyte and standard, and the development of relatively inexpensive instrumentation that now allows for these measurements to be made by a wide range of researchers. ********