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

光是为地球上的生命提供能量的主要来源，控制它使人类文明进化到我们现在的现代社会。今天，我们认为理所当然的许多技术，从智能手机到常规的电子支付，都要归功于光子学--光的科学。Photonics代表着价值6500亿加元的全球市场，在加拿大创造了近46亿加元的年收入。尽管智能手机似乎在每个人手中，但基于光子的技术在加拿大仍然低调。阻碍这一行业发展的一个主要挑战是，从液态应用到固态应用缺乏可预测性。换句话说，实验室中在理想化条件下发现的分子的性质可能不会转化为光子技术，因为在光子技术中，分子之间非常接近。*我的研究计划的根本目标就是应对这一挑战。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，使其能够在分子水平上了解与分子接近相关的光学和光化学变化。这一基本的科学知识是赋予光子产业以先验的难以预测的能力的关键，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角色提升为世界领先者提供了新的机会。**

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.**