119th CEMS Colloquium

Title

Photon energy conversion by maximizing the potential of molecular self-assembly

Abstract

Developing advanced technologies to harvest and convert solar energy effectively is one of the most critical issues. In recent years, we have developed molecular systems that show photon-up conversion based on self-assembly. Triplet-triplet annihilation-based photon upconversion (TTA-UC) is a promising methodology that can be applied to many sunlight-based energy conversion systems. Fundamental studies of TTA-UC have focused on the diffusion of excited triplet molecules in organic media, which limits their applications. Inspired by biological photosynthetic systems, we integrated the concepts of self-assembly and energy migration to develop efficient photon-upconverting molecular systems.^1-12 Interestingly, some of the molecular self-assemblies dispersed in solution or organogels revealed oxygen barrier properties, which allowed TTA-UC even under aerated conditions.^3,5,6-8 In this talk, we will discuss our recent development on the TTA-UC molecular systems with controlled energy landscapes, the design of NIR-to-Visible,9 and visible-to-UV upconversion materials in films.^13-14 Also, the application of molecular self-assembly and phase transition to improve the performance of molecular solar thermal fuels (STFs) will be addressed,^14-16 with the recent integration of triplet photochemistry and STFs.¹⁷

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