Collaborative Research: Energy Transfer in Strongly Coupled Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Systems

非技术描述：分子系统之间的能量转移是几种自然和人工能量收集系统以及高性能光源和传感器的核心。因此，了解和控制能量传递过程对基础研究和技术应用都具有重要意义。该合作项目开发了人工有机-无机混合系统，其中能量传递过程通过工程控制周围的光学环境。该项目的结果将为设计高效的能量转移有机/无机分子系统提供指导方针，这些系统面向下一代太阳能电池、发光二极管和传感器等应用。该项目为纽约城市学院和密歇根大学的研究生和本科生提供跨学科环境的培训。此外，该项目还结合了外联工作，如高中生参与研究和向当地高中生进行公开讲座/示范。对于未来的科学家和工程师来说，这些都是极好的招聘和培训工具。技术描述：本项目的主要目标是阐明激子波函数离域在供体和受体分子之间的能量转移过程中的作用，并开发使用人工工程系统控制它的方法。在此背景下，研究人员通过强耦合有机-无机杂化激子开发了人工工程的能量传递系统。通过利用有机和无机系统中激子的根本不同性质，并将它们杂交，为能量传递提供了一种全新的控制参数。在这里，耦合强度和激子波函数是通过光、形貌和维度来控制的。研究的具体材料体系包括氧化锌（ZnO）和硫化镉（CdS）量子点的无机激子和多晶有机3,4,7,8萘四羧酸二酐（NTCDA）和蒽的有机激子。这些研究旨在为开发实际应用的高效能量传递系统奠定基础。

Non-technical Description: Energy transfer between molecular systems lies at the heart of several natural and artificial energy harvesting systems as well as in high-performance light emitters and sensors. Thus understanding and controlling the energy transfer process are of significant importance to both fundamental research and technological applications. This collaborative project develops artificial organic-inorganic hybrid systems where the energy transfer process is controlled by engineering the surrounding optical environment. The results of the project will provide guidelines for the design of efficient energy transferring organic/inorganic molecular systems geared towards applications such as next-generation solar cells, light emitting diodes and sensors. The project provides training in an interdisciplinary environment to graduate and undergraduate students at City College of New York and University of Michigan. In addition, the project integrates with outreach efforts such as high-school student participation in the research and public lectures/demonstrations to local-area high-school students. These are excellent recruiting and training tools for future scientists and engineers.Technical Description: The primary goal of this project is to elucidate the role of exciton wavefunction delocalization in the energy transfer process between donor and acceptor molecules and to develop methods to control it using artificially engineered systems. In this context researchers develop artificially engineered energy transfer systems through strongly coupled organic-inorganic hybrid excitons. By exploiting the fundamentally different nature of excitons in organic and inorganic systems and hybridizing them provides a whole new control parameter for energy transfer. Here the coupling strengths and exciton wavefunctions are controlled via light, morphology and dimensionality. Specific materials systems investigated include inorganic excitons of zinc oxide (ZnO) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dots and the organic excitons of polycrystalline organic 3,4,7,8 napthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA) and anthracene. These studies are designed to form the basis for developing highly efficient energy transfer systems for practical applications.