COBRA Annual Report 2007 - Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

26
Prof.dr.ir. R.A.J. Janssen
3.2.9 Molecular Materials and Nanosystems (M2N)
The objective of the research is to investigate and
develop functional molecules, macromolecules,
materials, and nanostructures with special
electrical or optical properties that may find
future application in advanced technological
applications such as transistors, light-emitting
diodes, photovoltaic cells, and data storage. The
interest for these functional molecular materials
and nanosystems is motivated by the scientific
challenge they pose to physics and chemistry
in which miniaturization of devices to the
molecular level and the role and use of nanoscopic
dimensions are intriguing. A wide range of subjects
and techniques are used to accomplish these goals.
New Materials
Synthetic organic, inorganic, and polymer
chemistry are used to prepare new molecules and
materials that have been designed to fulfill new
functionalities. Presently attention is focused
on low-band gap polymers, n-type conducting
polymers, conjugated block copolymers and
inorganic and metal nanoparticles.
Nano-Scale Characterization
Inelastic tunneling spectroscopy is used to observe
vibration spectra of single molecules. These
experimental studies are complemented with
advanced theoretical calculations. Atomic force
microscopy and scanning Kelvin probe microscopy
are used to study the morphology of conjugated
polymers layers in actual working devices.
Optical Spectroscopy
Optical spectroscopy on time scales from 100
fs to 10 ms are being performed to visualize the
primary photoexcitations in molecular materials
and molecules and to investigate the kinetics of
energy and electrons transfer and recombination
reactions. Furthermore we study phosphorescence
of triplet states in conjugated molecules and use
high-resolution energy electron-loss spectroscopy
to study vibrational and electronic transitions of
oriented molecules at crystalline surfaces. Timeresolved
spectroscopy on working photovoltaic
devices is being used to monitor charge generation
under operating conditions.