Low-Dimensional Metal-Organic Chalcogenolate Semiconductors

Abstract

The goal of this fundamental research effort is to discover novel photoactive metal-organic chalcogenolates (MOCs) with unusual and/or transformational capabilities. MOCs are a new class of low-dimensional excitonic semiconductors featuring strong covalent interactions between the organic and inorganic subunits Ð a unique feature among hybrid semiconductors. 2D MOCs, in particular, show all the characteristics of a ground-breaking nanomaterial: tunable band gap across the visible and deep-blue spectrum, strong exciton binding energy, bright luminescence, in-plane anisotropy, non-toxic and environmentally friendly elemental composition, low-cost and scalable synthetic pathways, and chemical robustness. MOC semiconductors have the potential to become the next widely-studied class of optoelectronic materials with technological applications in photonics, electronics, lasers, photodetectors, light-emitting devices, quantum information, and sensing. Novel low-dimensional organic silver chalcogenolate semiconductors will be synthesized from functionalized organodichalcogenide precursors in both single-crystal and thin-film form, and the resulting compounds will be studied by optical spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Key strategies for tuning the optical and electronic properties and for templating low-dimensional structural anisotropy include 1) functionalization of primary aromatic rings with electron donating or withdrawing groups, 2) extended pi-conjugation to induce orbital hybridization and/or formation of charge transfer complexes, 3) introduction of heteroatoms to modify ligand binding geometry, and 4) chalcogen and metal substitution.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jul 28, 2023
Source ID
W911NF2310229

Entities

People

  • William A. Tisdale

Organizations

  • Army Contracting Command
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • United States Army

Tags

Readers

  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Quantum Chemistry
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics
  • Quantum Computing
  • Space