ORGANIC CHEMISTRY & MATERIALS

The main theme of our research is the design, synthesis and characterization of functional organic molecules and materials for advanced energy applications. The molecules we are working on mostly, are perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid derivatives, PTCAs in short.

These organic dye molecules exhibit outstanding properties, such as chemical robustness, thermal, photochemical and electrochemical stability, along with outstanding optical and electronic properties. These compounds have been applied as industrial colorants, fluorescent sensors, and n-type semiconductors in the field of organic electronics and photovoltaics. From a chemical perspective, PTCAs are extremely versatile compounds that offer plenty opportunities for chemical modifications. These modifications enable a systematic tuning of their optoelectronic properties.

We have developed methodologies for synthesizing PTCAs, using flexible and scalable synthetic methods, aiming at the attachment of  functional groups at well-defined positions. Application of these molecules is focused on artificial photosynthesis, organic batteries and fluorescent probing.