The Development of Novel Chiral Molecules for Organic Spintronic Applications
Imperial College London, Departments of Chemistry and Materials
Supervisors: Prof. Matthew Fuchter and Dr Jessica Wade
Project start date: October 2022
Subject areas: Synthetic chemistry, spectroscopy, materials science, devices
About the project
The realisation of advanced materials that manipulate the spin state of charge carriers at room temperature will enable energy efficient technologies and low power quantum computation devices. Current strategies to control carrier spin make use of ferromagnetic or inorganic materials, which generally require elaborately structured electromagnetic excitation, complicated multi-layer architectures and cryogenic operation temperatures. As a result, devices based on these materials are difficult to miniaturise, expensive to prepare and not scalable.
We have a long-standing interest in the use of the molecular chirality of organic molecules to control function in technological applications [1] including in light emitting [2] and light detecting devices [3]. Chiral organic materials offer an unparalleled opportunity to control electron spin at room temperature, though the Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity (CISS) effect [4] – see Figure 1. This project will design, synthesis and study novel molecules that will enable us to test the mechanism(s) that underpin the CISS effect and determine the key parameters that impact the extent of spin polarisation. These findings will inform the fabrication of CISS-based quantum technologies, including spin-based quantum information processing and quantum magnetic field sensing.
This project will be supervised by Prof. Matthew Fuchter ( https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/m.fuchter ) and Dr Jessica Wade ( https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/jessica.wade ) .
The experimental work will be conducted at the Molecular Science Research Hub (White City Campus) and the Department of Materials (South Kensington Campus). The project is in collaboration with Cambridge Display Technology ( https://www.cdtltd.co.uk ). The project will develop further skills in synthetic chemistry, while also developing new skills in the study of organic thin film materials and devices. The student will benefit from working in the highly multidisciplinary research environment at Imperial College, especially through interactions with the Centre for Processible Electronics
( https://www.imperial.ac.uk/processable-electronics ) and the London Centre for Nanotechnology ( https://www.london-nano.com ).
Eligibility
An undergraduate degree in Chemistry
Skills: An ideal candidate will have prior experience in synthetic chemistry and some exposure to the characterisation of materials and/or devices. However, applicants solely with synthetic chemistry experience, but who are enthusiastic to learn new skills in the area of conjugated organic mateirals will also be considered.
[12/4/2022]