With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, the Department of Chemistry and Physics at the University of New England will acquire a spectrofluorometer to measure luminescence lifetimes. The primary research applications of the proposed instrument fall into three broad categories: (1) the design, synthesis, and characterization of novel metalloles and metallole-like compounds that display unusual luminescence characteristics, (2) characterization of the photophysical properties of "tunable" luminescent lanthanide ion-heterobimetallic dicyanides, and (3) the exploration of the photophysics and photochemistry of luminescent platinum group molecules.
Luminescence lifetime spectrometers measure the decay time of the light emitted from a sample that has been promoted to an excited state by a light source. This provides insight into the mechanisms of energy transfer and loss in materials that emit light such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and chemical sensors. The instrument will be used in research and laboratory classes by undergraduate students. This is a collaborative award. The instrument will be shared by investigators at the University of New England (UNE), the University of Southern Maine (USM), and Bowdoin College.
