In this project, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamic & Mechanism B Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Todd A. Hopkins of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Butler University is developing unique solvents called deep eutectic solvents as circularly polarized light emitting materials. Deep eutectic solvents are well suited to the task, because of the ability to control their properties. This project explores how to design deep eutectic solvents that improve the efficiency of emitted circularly polarized light. Circularly polarized light emitting materials, such as circularly polarized organic light emitting diodes, have potential application in quantum computing, for generating holographic images, and as security labels. This project engages undergraduate students in research at the interface of physical, inorganic, and materials chemistry, and involves collaboration between undergraduate research students and students enrolled in a physical chemistry laboratory course.
More technically, the goal of this project is to develop circularly polarized light emitting materials based on luminescent lanthanide complexes dissolved in deep eutectic solvents. Deep eutectic solvents are formed from combinations of hydrogen bond acceptor and donors, whose properties can be controlled through choice of components. Therefore, the selection of hydrogen bond acceptor with chiral hydrogen bond donor can generate a deep eutectic solvent that provides both chiral selection and charge carrier properties to enhance electroluminescence of the dissolved lanthanide complexes. This project involves 1) screening chiral hydrogen bond donors for low melting point deep eutectic solvent formation; 2) characterizing the physical properties of the deep eutectic solvents; 3) characterizing the chiroptical properties of lanthanide complexes in the successful deep eutectic solvents; and 4) developing circularly polarized organic light emitting diodes out of the successful deep eutectic solvent/lanthanide systems. The high-throughput approach to screening deep eutectic solvent properties in this project yields a large amount of data on deep eutectic solvent-structure property relationships that will be shared in a public database to help the research community develop better predictive models.
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.
