New composite materials could light the way to advances in imaging

Research led by University of Utah chemists has resulted in new composite materials capable of converting long low-energy lightwaves to higher-energy light, potentially opening more efficient avenues for transferring energy.

According to a recently published study, Ming Lee Tang and colleagues developed a method for joining minute silicon crystals with organic carbon-based molecules to develop hybrid compounds with optoelectronic properties that could enhance numerous technologies that harness light.

The discovery hinges on the strong chemical bonds her lab was able to achieve between two completely different materials, silicon and hydrocarbons.

“We use those excited states that are not the same as in the bulk materials in your computer,” said Tang, an associate professor of chemistry who came to the U from the University of California Riverside two years ago. “They absorb more strongly and you can also convert the energy in different ways that are not allowed in the bulk material. It’s different physics.”

Read the entire story by Brian Maffly @theU.