Multifunctionality at the Nanoscale

我研究的主要目的是了解低维材料中不同性质共存和相互作用的基本原理，这些性质通常被认为是相互排斥的。在纳米尺度上同时控制和操纵多种与功能相关的特性，可能会带来节能信息技术、固态照明、光子学和催化的全新方法。该提案特别涉及多功能对加拿大长期受益的新的可持续技术的重要性。我的研究项目本质上是跨学科的，使用了合成、光谱、结构、物理和理论方法的组合。在设计的项目中，我们研究了纳米结构的尺寸、组成、相变、本征缺陷的形成和分子官能化在提高纳米尺度固有自由度方面的作用。这些项目和与该提案有关的未来活动可分为两大方向： ·高能效固态照明和光子技术。在我关于透明金属氧化物纳米晶中功能缺陷形成和相互作用的工作的基础上，我这部分研究计划的目标是探索扩展和操纵本征缺陷态的电子结构和光学性质的不同方法。作为一个值得注意的例子，我们制备了一类新的胶体有机-无机准单一白色发光纳米结构(NanoLite)，它为不需要具有战略意义的稀土元素的固态照明的新方法铺平了道路。 ·节能信息技术。这一系列项目的目标是研究纳米材料的电、磁和光学特性之间的相关性，用于节能和非易失性的信息处理、传输和存储。感兴趣的系统包括磁性半导体、新兴氧化物等离子体和多铁性纳米结构。多功能纳米器件的实现依赖于我们对纳米材料中结构-性质和性质-性质相关性的理解。项目活动将探索多功能的互补方法：内部(即杂质引起的)和外部(即通过异质结构或复合材料形成)。

The main goal of my research is to understand the fundamental principles governing the coexistence of and interactions between different properties in low-dimensional materials, which are often considered to be mutually exclusive. Simultaneous control and manipulation of multiple functionally-relevant properties at the nanoscale could lead to radically new approaches to energy-efficient information technologies, solid-state lighting, photonics, and catalysis. This proposal specifically addresses the importance of multifunctionality for new sustainable technologies with long-term benefits to Canada. My research program is interdisciplinary in nature and uses a combination of synthetic, spectroscopic, structural, physical, and theoretical methods. Within the designed projects we study the role of nanostructure size, composition, phase transformation, native defects formation, and molecular functionalization in enhancing the inherent degrees of freedom at the nanoscale. These projects and the future activities related to the proposal can be classified in two major directions: • Energy-Efficient Solid State Lighting and Photonic Technologies. Expanding on my work on functional defect formation and interaction in transparent metal oxide nanocrystals, the goal of this part of my research program is to explore different ways of expanding and manipulating the electronic structure and optical properties of native defect states. As a notable example, we prepared a new class of colloidal hybrid organic-inorganic quasi-single white light emitting nanostructures (NanoLite), which has paved the way to a new approach to solid-state lighting without the need for strategically important rare earth elements. • Energy-Efficient Information Technologies. The goal of this set of projects is to investigate the correlations between electrical, magnetic, and optical properties of nanomaterials for energy-efficient and non-volatile information processing, transmittal and storage. The systems of interest include magnetic semiconductor, emerging oxide plasmonic, and multiferroic nanostructures. The implementation of multifunctional nanoscale devices rests upon our understanding of the structure-property and property-property correlations in nanomaterials. The project activities will explore complementary approaches to multifunctionality: internal (i.e. impurity-induced) and external (i.e. via heterostructure or composite formation).