Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy (FLUORATE).

Optical materials are ubiquitous in present society. From the building blocks of displays and LEDs, to fibre optic communication for ultrafast internet, (plasmonic) nanostructures for photocatalysis, bulk heterojunctions for photovoltaics, probes for imaging, sensing and revealing reaction mechanisms in chemistry and catalysis and various nanostructures for nanophotonics applications. The in-depth knowledge on the nature and dynamics of the surface and bulk properties of these materials, such as the fate of electrons and holes that arise after optical excitation requires dedicated spectroscopic techniques that can reveal both steady-state and time-resolved properties of such materials. Fluorescence spectroscopy is one of the most versatile and sensitive techniques that can provide such information. Modern detectors are able to detect single photons that are emitted at time scales ranging from several picoseconds to seconds, and with energies spanning the entire UV, visible and NIR optical range. The system applied for is a versatile steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer, that is highly modular and when combined with the already available infrastructure, provides a unique configuration allowing a wide range of experiments that provide information on a.o. ultrafast processes at picosecond timescales, delayed fluorescence from for example triplet states and with a sensitivity over a very broad wavelength range (200 – 1700nm) and accessibility to both ensemble and single-molecule detection from solutions, powders, nanoparticles, films and devices. The infrastructure will be applied in very different research fields, from photocatalysis to excitonic properties of nanomaterials, and from chemical reaction kinetics to photovoltaic and LED applications, which is also confirmed by the very diverse research topics of the 5 involved research teams.

Keywords:NANO OPTICS, FLUORESCENCE DECAY, SPECTROSCOPY, FLUORESCENCE

Disciplines:Optical properties and interactions with radiation, Lasers and quantum electronics, Instrumental methods, Spectroscopic methods