New approaches to the development of highly efficient organic chromophores

About this project

Project description

The development of highly efficient organic materials using novel synthetic methodologies represents significant research efforts in both organic chemistry and materials chemistry, contributing to organic electronics. Organic electronics made of efficient organic materials as the active materials have undergone a revolution in our daily life through such as most of mobile phones screens including high-end iPhones, and TV markets, replacing LCD flat panel displays for new experience such as flexible and foldable panels. The core of next-generation organic electronics lie at the era of wearable electronics and the internet of things (IoTs) by making use of transparent display technology, which allows users to see what are shown on the screen whilst still being able to see through regardless the displays are off or on. They can be applied to a variety of exciting applications such as augmented reality (AR) where digital images can be overlaid onto real ones, like navigation systems for automobiles, displaying information directly on a car windscreen, and head mounted goggles for biomedical or surgical applications.

The forecast market of AR related products is expected to reach approximately US$133.8 Billion in 2021. Key industrial players in ARs include Sony, Apple, Immersion, Magic Leap, Daqri LLC, Blippar, Wikitude, CyberGlove, ODG, Eon Reality, Samsung, Microsoft and Google. To realising such a high brightness display, the existing state-of-the-art organic light-emitting materials have been proved ineffective due to major issues related to so called efficiency roll-off that is, device efficiency significantly drops at higher brightness owing to bimolecular loss processes. The program aims to apply new materials design theory to create new classes of highly efficient materials by using novel and advanced synthetic approaches to overcome device efficiency roll-off issue for our next-generation transparent electronics. It is expected to advance the see-through technology using new functional materials and new device architectures.

Outcomes

The field of transparent displays is emerging as the next frontier in organic materials and electronics in particular, the ability to efficiently emit light without the efficiency roll-off problem using new device architecture for device high efficiency and transparency. We have a significant opportunity to make a big impact to this field because of our historically strong expertise in new synthetic methodologies at IIT-D (Prof Nidhi Jain), and material design and synthesis for organic materials (Assoc Prof Shih-Chun Lo) and devices (Assoc Prof Ebinazar Namdas) at UQ. We have all the necessary expertise and infrastructures already in place. We can also access world’s most advanced research facilities at the partner organisation at Kyushu University, Japan. This unique positions are considered as a major advantages in organic materials development and electronics research.

The expected outcomes include creation of novel highly efficient organic materials through applying new organic synthetic approaches, establishment of new knowledge of structure-property relationship of materials and new fundamental understanding of device physics, and creation of new transparent light-emitting pixels for augmented reality (AR) – a combination of real and virtual world. This joint research project is highly multi-disciplinary, bringing leading chemists, physicists and engineers together. The project is also very fundamental and proof-of-concept in nature (both in materials and devices development) and the successful outcomes will have significant impacts to the academic communities and be of immediate interest to the related industrial sectors. Students working in this joint project will have excellent opportunities in gaining skills of multi-disciplinary research, training in developing new organic synthetic methodologies, applying such new approaches to functional organic materials, leading to the establishment of new understanding of chemical structure-properties relationship, and advanced organic device characteristics, as well as support of access to world’s most advanced research facilities and international collaboration for the exciting augmented reality technologies.

Information for applicants

Essential capabilities

Advanced organic chemistry.

Desireable capabilities

Material chemistry.

Expected qualifications (Course/Degrees etc.)

Master in (organic or organometallic) chemistry.

Candidate Discipline

Synthetic organic chemistry, material purification and characterisation, material chemistry, basic physical chemistry and/or inorganic chemistry.

Project supervisors

Principal supervisors

UQ Supervisor

Associate Professor Shih-Chun Lo

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
IITD Supervisor

Professor Nidhi Jain

Department of Chemistry
Additional Supervisor

Associate Professor Ebinazar B. Namdas

School of Mathematics and Physics