연세대학교 분자광전자 연구실

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RESEARCH

The operational stability of photo- and electroactive molecules is of prime importance. However, mechanisms by which the molecules degrade have yet been fully understood. We employ synthetic, steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic, electrochemical, and quantum chemical techniques to establish factors that control the intrinsic stability of molecules.
The biggest merit of photons is their tunable and high energies. To utilize the photon energy for synthetic purposes, it is imperative to develop catalysts with strong photo-reducing and –oxidizing power. We focus on unconventional molecular catalysts, such as radical ions and low-valent metal complexes, for activating redox-resistant substrates. Primary interests are placed on understanding catalysis mechanisms, and developing organic transformation protocols.
Circular polarization offers an added benefit for expanding photonic utility. For examples, molecules that can selectively absorb and produce circularly polarized light enable novel applications, such as 3D displays, quantum informatics, asymmetric photocatalysis, encryption, and chiral sensors. We are developing novel materials with large values of quantum yields and dissymmetry factors.
Any biological processes can be photocontrolled. It is our prime research interest to develop molecular probes that can selectively detect biological species that are intimately involved in signal transmission in the human body. Further, we are also interested in photo(pro)drugs for photomodulation of neuronal and cellular signaling.
There is increasing demands for photolithographic methods amenable to producing high throughput production of semiconductors. We initiated our research to develop photoresist materials for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.
YouLab focus on organic molecular and polymeric materials. These materials offer unique advantages for creating functions. The structure of organic molecules and polymers can be modified over a broad range through synthetic techniques. Their syntheses are cost-effective, and enable fine tuning of their electronic and photonic properties. While the organic molecules and polymers serve as substrates for constructing eco-friendly, flexible devices, our prime focus is placed on the active role. The activities can be precisely modulated by structural controls, as being exploited by numerous biological systems.
We seek to provide novel strategies to unify organic molecules and inorganic materials. These two material classes have evolved differently, and face own limitations. We employ inorganic chemistry knowledge, particularly organometallic chemistry, to develop novel metal-containing molecules and polymers for photonic and electronic applications.
Our recent approaches involves transition metals, such as the first-row transition metal elements. Late transition metals, including Ru, Pd, Os, Ir, and Pt, are of our prime interest. Coinage metals of Cu, Ag and Au have emerged as our recent research focus. Molecules and polymers containing these metals offer unique d orbitals. The orbitals can be exploited to create photonic and electronic functions: they serve to break the -bandgap limitation of pure organic compounds; they also enable high redox stabilities; their directionalities direct molecular entities to be organized into well-ordered reticular structures.
We employ state-of-the-art spectroscopic technique for understating excited-state behaviors. Excited-state molecules and polymers elicit a variety of electronic processes, including fluorescence, intersystem crossing, phosphorescence, electron transfer, energy transfer, and photochemical reactions. Quantum chemical tools, transient spectroscopic methods such as laser flash photolysis, spectroelectrochemical techniques are available in our lab. Our recently added technique is chirospectroscopy. This technique enables study of excited-state processes of asymmetric compounds.

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