Exploring photochemistry when distance matters: from supramolecular systems to plasmon-enhanced optical properties.

光是地球上生命的主要能量来源，控制它使人类文明进化到今天的现代社会。今天，我们认为理所当然的许多技术，从智能手机到日常电子支付，都归功于光子学，光的科学。Photonics代表了6500亿加元的全球市场，在加拿大每年产生近46亿加元的收入。虽然智能手机似乎在每一个手中，光子为基础的技术仍然在加拿大低调。阻碍该行业的一个主要挑战是从液态溶液到固态应用的可预测性缺乏。换句话说，在理想条件下在实验室中发现的分子特性可能不会转化为光子技术，其中分子彼此非常接近。* 我的研究计划的基本目标是解决这一挑战。NSERC的资助将使我的研究团队能够设计和合成“智能分子”和纳米颗粒，从而在分子水平上理解与分子邻近相关的光学和光化学变化。这些基本的科学知识是赋予光子行业先验的难以捉摸的可预测性的关键，从而提高光子技术的性能，准确性和最终成本。我的团队进行的研究为加拿大从光子学的次要参与者提升为世界领导者提供了新的机会。

Light is the major source of energy that powers life on earth, and controlling it enabled the evolution of human civilization to our current modern society. Today, many of the technologies we take for granted, from smartphones to routine electronic payment, exist thanks to photonics, the science of light. Photonics represents a $CAD 650 billion dollar global market, generating close to $CAD 4.6 billion dollars in annual revenue in Canada. Although smartphones seem to be in every hand, photonic-based technologies remain low profile in Canada. A major challenge retarding this industry is the lack of predictability in going from liquid solution to solid state application. In other words, the properties of molecules discovered in the laboratory under idealized conditions might not translate into photonic technologies, where molecules are in close proximity to one another. ***The fundamental goal of my research program is to address this challenge. NSERC funding will enable my research team to engineer and synthesize both “smart molecules” and nanoparticles that permit a molecular level understanding of the optical and photochemical changes associated with molecular proximity. This fundamental scientific knowledge is key to empowering the photonic industry with an a priori elusive predictability, thus improving performance, accuracy and ultimately cost of photonic technologies. The research conducted by my group fosters new opportunities for Canada to be promoted from minor player to world leader in photonics.**