Organic Materials

liquid crystals, conjugated polymers, organic synthesis, self-assembly and molecular recognition

We are creating new organic materials for electronics applications such as light emitting devices (LEDs), field effect transistors and chemical sensors. We are particularly interested in discovering new ways to control the self-assembly of organic molecules into nanostructured materials. A major focus of this research is to try to understand the relationship between molecular structure and macroscopic properties.

Specific goals include:

the synthesis of new disc-shaped organic molecules as liquid crystalline materials,
the use of hydrogen bonds, metal coordination and pi-pi interactions to control self-assembly processes, and
the development of synthetic methods for creating novel molecular architectures for liquid crystals and conjugated polymers.