Molecular-level assemblies on metal oxide surfaces

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The objective of this project was to explore molecular-level assemblies based on polypyridyl transition metal complexes attached to metal oxide surfaces to provide the basis for applications such as energy conversion and electricity generation, photoremediation of hazardous waste, chemical sensors, and optical storage and photorefractive devices for communications and optical computing. We have elucidated the fundamental factors that determine the photochemistry and photophysics of a series of these photoactive inorganic complexes in solution and on metal oxide substrates by exploiting our unique transient laser capabilities. This data is being utilized to design and fabricate molecular-level photonic devices. The rich chemistry of transition metal polypyridyl complexes can be utilized to prepare molecular assemblies having well-defined redox or excited-state properties that can be finely tuned to produce desired materials properties. We plan to explore other novel applications such as photorefractive switches and optical sensors using this molecular engineering approach