Abstract:
The Hudson group develops luminescent organic semiconductors for applications in biological imaging, photocatalysis and display technology. This lecture will describe our research spanning organic, polymer, and physical chemistry, showcasing contributions from UBC’s own students and postdoctoral fellows. We are particularly interested in enhancing the stability of optoelectronic materials, a parameter that is critical to nearly every application in which they are used. New π-conjugated systems with locked planarity designed to limit nonradiative decay will be described, including azatriangulenes, s-heptazines and imidazophenothiazines. Materials with advanced optical properties such as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), room-temperature phosphorescence, and two-photon absorption will also be discussed. The use of luminescent materials for bioimaging, and photocatalysis will also be highlighted.