CAS: Collaborative Research: Integrative Learning of Fluorescence Fluctuations in Perovskite Quantum Dots Using A Data Science Assisted Single-Particle Approach

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry (MSN) program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Jing Zhao and Kun Chen of the University of Connecticut and Professor Ou Chen of Brown University are combining advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques with data science approaches to study the blinking behavior of individual perovskite quantum dots (QDs). The fluorescence coming from a single QD is not constant, but rather exhibits periods of light emission followed by periods of darkness. In short, they blink. Blinking is a universal behavior of QDs and understanding its mechanism is critical to many applications. However, determining the blinking mechanism is challenging because it must be studied in one QD at a time, and one must study many QDs to draw meaningful conclusions. To address this challenge, Professors Zhao, Chen, and Chen along with their students will apply modern statistical learning approaches to analyze fluorescence blinking in many perovskite QDs with varying compositions. The discoveries could have implications for how QDs are used in applications ranging from LED displays to biological imaging. The research methods and findings will be integrated into outreach activities and virtual chemistry laboratory modules, as well as workshops introducing data science techniques to chemistry students. The project will apply modern statistical learning and data science approaches to analyze fluorescence fluctuations in single perovskite QDs with the goal of gaining mechanistic insight that is free of the implicit bias often encountered when interpreting data from single-particle measurements. The project will leverage the knowledge and knowhow from three investigators who are experts in materials science, single-particle spectroscopy, and modern data science approaches to measure and analyze the fluorescence signals of a large number of individual perovskite QDs. The team will examine QDs with varying composition in their cation and anion sites, compositions, and lattice distortions using optical microscopy techniques, and through the application of statistically rigorous analysis methods, gain a deeper understanding of the photophysical mechanisms that govern their blinking behavior. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.