Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Advanced Materials at the University of Warwick

结构-功能关系是司空见惯的，尤其是在生物学中：例如，酶与底物结合以催化反应。增加的动力学维度提供了一个更完整的结构-动力学-功能（SDF）关系，它提供了前所未有的见解，在分子水平上，为什么某些光化学过程优于其他过程。再一次，在生物学中，人类的视觉是最好的例子，在分子水平上，视网膜发色团的结构变化，在吸收光之后，在几百飞秒（1fs =1x10- 15s）。将SDF关系的概念转移到一系列先进材料中，为增强其功能提供了巨大的空间。正是考虑到这一想法，我们建议开发一个多用户超快光谱设备，使人们能够在很短的时间尺度上研究光与先进材料相互作用的后果，从而建立严格的SDF关系。将促进的研究大致分为四个主题：量子材料；激光与医学；耐光性;和半导体。然而，这些主题之间存在着实质性的交叉联系，一个领域的进展将刺激另一个领域的进展——例如，了解生命组成部分的光稳定性将为改进有机半导体光伏技术提供支持——从而提供一个大于单个部分的总和。拟议的设施由五条激光光束线组成，这将使不同需求的用户能够在一个激光实验室中独立并同时在从太赫兹（THz）到x射线辐射的整个电磁波谱波长上进行超快光谱实验。这是一种独一无二的能力，研究人员的愿景是利用这一设施促进跨学科研究，使化学家、物理学家、工程师和生命科学家在多年的过程中共同努力，实现重大的科学突破。重要的是，该设施将设在华威大学的新材料和分析科学大楼内，该大楼是由化学系和物理系专门为促进这种跨学科研究而建立的。被确定的广泛用户群包括华威大学的21个小组和10多个国家和国际研究团队，研究人员希望在未来几年扩大这一群体。这些主题的针对性研究有可能为EPSRC的一些重大挑战做出变革性的贡献，包括(i) Dial-a-molecule, (ii) Emergence and Physics From Equilibrium, (iii) Functional Materials的纳米级设计，以及（iv）理解生命的物理学。例如，高场太赫兹能力将为自旋电子和多铁化合物提供极端非平衡物理，以及允许设计和表征功能光电纳米材料。同样，从分子水平上理解木质素的光保护作用，将为自然发生的木质素聚合物的光降解过程带来新的见解，这可能会为那些致力于将生物质碳含量转化为生物乙醇或化学原料的人提供信息。重要的是，虽然后一项工作有助于理解生命物理学，但它也有可能与EPSRC的邻近能源主题（特别是生物能源）产生健康的协同作用。这种协同效应在提出的跨学科研究中广泛存在，这将不可避免地导致广泛的经济和社会影响，而所提出的影响途径将加速这种影响。

Structure-function relationships are commonplace, none more so than in biology: for example an enzyme binds to a substrate to catalyze a reaction. The added dimensionality of dynamics offers a more complete structure-dynamics-function (SDF) relationship, which provides unprecedented insight, at the molecular level, of why certain photochemical processes dominate over others. Once again in biology, this is best exemplified by human vision, which, at the molecular level, involves a structural change of the retinal chromophore, following absorption of light, in a few hundred femtoseconds (1 fs=1x10-15 s). Transferring the idea of SDF relationships into a range of advanced materials offers tremendous scope towards enhancing their functionality. It is with this idea in mind that we propose to develop a multi-user ultrafast spectroscopy facility, enabling one to study the consequences of light interacting with advanced materials on very short timescales and thus establishing rigorous SDF relationships. The research that will be facilitated is broadly grouped into four themes: Quantum Materials; Lasers and Medicine; Photostability; and Semiconductors. However, substantial cross-cutting links exist between the themes, and progress in one area will stimulate another - for example understanding the photostability of life's building blocks will lend support towards improving organic semiconductor photovoltaics - thus providing a sum that is greater than the individual parts. The proposed facility consists of five laser beamlines, which will enable users with different requirements to carry out ultrafast spectroscopy experiments independently and simultaneously at wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum, from terahertz (THz) to X-ray radiation, all in a single laser laboratory. This is a one-of-a-kind capability, and the vision of the investigators is to exploit this facility to foster cross-disciplinary research, enabling chemists, physicists, engineers and life scientists over the course of many years to work together to achieve major scientific breakthroughs. Importantly, the facility will be hosted in the new Materials and Analytical Sciences building at the University of Warwick, which was set up by the Departments of Chemistry and Physics specifically to promote such cross-disciplinary research. The broad user base identified includes 21 groups at the University of Warwick and over 10 national and international research teams, which the investigators hope to expand in years to come.The targeted research across these themes has the potential to make transformative contributions to a number of EPSRC grand challenges, including (i) Dial-a-molecule, (ii) Emergence and Physics Far From Equilibrium, (iii) Nanoscale Design of Functional Materials, and (iv) Understanding the Physics of Life. For instance, the high-field THz capability will provide access to extreme non-equilibrium physics in spintronic and multiferroic compounds, as well as permitting functional optoelectronic nanomaterials to be designed and characterised. Likewise, garnering a molecular level understanding of photoprotection of the building blocks of lignin will bring new insight into photodegradation processes in the naturally occurring lignin polymer, which may then inform those working on transforming biomass carbon content into bio-ethanol or chemical feedstock. Importantly, whilst the latter work contributes to Understanding the Physics of Life, it also has the potential to create a healthy synergy with the EPSRC's neighbouring Energy theme, specifically Bioenergy. Such synergies feature widely in the cross-disciplinary research proposed, which will inevitably lead to extensive economic and societal impact that will be accelerated by the pathways to impact proposed.