Urgent Acquisition of an Absolute Photoluminescence Quantum Yield Spectrometer

NSERC RTI申请资金用于购买绝对光致发光量子产率光谱仪，该光谱仪迫切需要申请团队提供尖端的培训环境，保持竞争力，并最终在国际舞台上蓬勃发展。Hamamatsu C11347-12光谱仪被特别选为一种具有成本效益的解决方案，克服了我们目前的仪器限制，也避免了现有基础设施的重复。它将容纳400-1000 nm光致发光的液体，固体和薄膜样品，并将有助于在低温下进行这些测量。这种配置将最大限度地扩大材料的范围，可以表征，包括荧光和磷光标本。它还为HQP的培训提供了显著的优势，因为用于确定绝对光致发光量子产率的传统仪器需要专门的专业知识，因此，非专家通常无法使用。相反，所要求的基础设施不需要这种专门知识，并且在概念上和实际上都是可访问的。它将促进西方7个不同研究小组67名HQP核心小组的实践，基于概念的培训，包括光谱专家和非专家。******申请团队包括从事积极项目的研究小组，专注于光致发光材料的开发和对其光物理特性的深入了解，以最终允许其使用，例如，作为生物成像探针和光收集（太阳能电池）和发光（oled）技术的功能组件。确定绝对光致发光量子产率的能力对这些活动的成功至关重要。尽管西方在这一领域拥有长期实力，但申请团队目前无法获得确定绝对光致发光量子产量所需的设施，也无法为此目的升级现有基础设施。国际社会在很大程度上已经从相对量子产率确定方法转向绝对方法，这一事实加剧了这一缺陷。这种理念的变化是由于大多数光致发光材料所表现出的溶剂化显色性的再现性差，不同能量下影响分析物和标准物之间匹配的非线性探测器灵敏度，以及相对便宜的仪器的发展，现在允许广泛的研究人员进行这些测量。* * * * * * * *

NSERC RTI funds are requested for the acquisition of an Absolute Photoluminescence Quantum Yield Spectrometer that is urgently required for the applicant team to provide a cutting-edge training environment and to maintain competitiveness and ultimately flourish on the international stage. The Hamamatsu C11347-12 Spectrometer has been specifically chosen as a cost-effective solution that overcomes our current instrument limitations that also avoids duplication of existing infrastructure. It will accommodate liquid, solid, and thin-film samples that photoluminesce from 400-1000 nm and will facilitate these measurements at low-temperature. This configuration will maximize the range of materials that can be characterized, including both fluorescent and phosphorescent specimens. It also offers significant advantages for the training of HQP as conventional instrumentation used for the determination of absolute photoluminescence quantum yields require specialized expertise, and as a result, are generally not accessible to non-experts. Conversely, the requested infrastructure does not require such expertise and is conceptually and practically accessible. It will facilitate the hands-on, concept-based training of a core group of 67 HQP across 7 different research groups at Western, including both spectroscopy experts and non-experts.******The applicant team includes research groups engaged in active programs focused on the development of photoluminescent materials and an advanced understanding of their photophysical properties to ultimately allow for their use, for example, as biological imaging probes and as the functional component of light-harvesting (solar cells) and light-emitting (OLEDs) technologies. The ability to determine absolute photoluminescence quantum yields is critical to the success of these activities. Despite a long-standing strength at Western in this area, the applicant team does not currently have access to the facilities required to determine absolute photoluminescence quantum yields, nor is it possible to upgrade existing infrastructure for this purpose. This deficiency is exacerbated by the fact that the international community has largely moved away from relative quantum yield determination methods in favor of absolute methods. This change in philosophy is due to issues surrounding poor reproducibility associated with the solvatochromocity exhibited by most photoluminescent materials, non-linear detector sensitivity at different energies that affects the match between analyte and standard, and the development of relatively inexpensive instrumentation that now allows for these measurements to be made by a wide range of researchers. ********