Metal-Organic Liquid Crystals as Single-Source Precursors for Semiconductor Nanocrystals

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry (MSN) Program is funding Andrea R. Tao of the University of California, San Diego for research to develop new methods to prepare semiconductor nanostructures. These structures have a wide variety of applications in optics, such as wireless telecommunication, remote sensing, and bioimaging. The ability to synthesize them with precisely controlled chemical and physical properties is important to understand how light interacts with matter at the nanoscale and to fully exploit their exciting technological applications. To achieve broader impact, this work integrates research with mentoring, education, and outreach. This work promotes nanoscience education at the pre-college level through research internships and short courses in nanoscience for high school educators, with particular attention given to the inclusion of underrepresented minorities and women. This research aims to discover and develop novel synthetic pathways for achieving new low-dimensional semiconductor nanomaterials with precisely controlled chemical compositions and morphologies. The approach involves the synthesis of metal-organic liquid crystals that are to serve as precursors for the nucleation and growth of copper chalcogenide nanocrystals. These materials are being synthesized for the study of localized surface plasmon resonance in the infrared wavelengths. The carrier density, sizes, and shapes of the resulting nanocrystals are programmed by rationally designing the chemical composition, stoichiometry, molecular structure, and supramolecular order of the liquid crystal precursor. The synthetic techniques developed in this study are also being extended towards the development of an entire toolbox of metal chalcogenide nanomaterials with tailored optical, electronic, and chemical properties.