Molecular, polymeric and nanostructured materials for optoelectronics

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This research program is directed towards the development of new molecular and polymeric materials for use in optoelectronics, with a focus on efficient display and lighting technology. Artificial lighting currently accounts for 19% of global electricity consumption and is forecast to increase by 80% by 2030 unless the implementation of energy-efficient lighting substantially improves. Solid-state lighting based on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is a promising technology with the potential to address these concerns, yet the high cost and short lifetimes of OLED lighting panels remain significant barriers to the adoption of this technology in consumer lighting.******This proposal consists of three main research themes: 1) the synthesis of luminescent compounds for solid-state lighting; 2) the synthesis of functional brush polymers for electronic devices, and 3) the self-assembly of polymers into hierarchical nanostructured materials.******The first of these themes will focus on improving next-generation OLED displays by developing new materials with improved lifetimes and efficiencies. While OLED technology is now widespread in small consumer devices such as cellular phones and cameras, the lifetimes of the luminescent compounds inside the displays are not yet satisfactory for use in consumer lighting, where devices are normally left on for hours at a time. Our research will seek targeted improvements in this technology with the long-term goal of making consumer OLED lighting a reality.******The second research theme aims to address the high cost of fabrication of OLED lighting panels, which remains the main obstacle to the widespread adoption of OLED lighting. We will seek to develop both new polymeric materials and processing techniques for these next-generation displays. Our long-term goal is to bring OLED fabrication costs down in order to make this technology cost-competitive with traditional fluorescent lighting, such that substantial savings may be realized from both residential and commercial energy use. ******With these methods established, we will extend this chemistry to our third research theme, which aims to fabricate complex electronic structures on the nanoscale from newly created polymeric materials. These fundamental studies will examine problems at the interface of electronics and nanotechnology, such as the fabrication of macromolecular wires and diode-like structures by low-cost solution-phase processes. Such structures have potential applications in diverse fields such as electronics, nanomedicine, and environmental sensing, and our studies will seek to better understand how these nanostructures can be fabricated and controlled.