Royal Military College of Canada
Materials Science & Engineering
Optical Control of Molecular and Surface Function
By: Dr. James Wojtyk
A major challenge in the construction of nanoscale devices is the development of strategies for externally controlling the function and organization of atoms and molecules. One potential solution involves the optical modulation of molecular function with photosensitive materials, as light fluxes can be easily imposed and accurately controlled. The goal of this work is to create nanoscale devices that are optically actuated. The active components of these devices will be based upon photochromic organic molecules that rapidly switch their physical and chemical properties upon exposure to light. An example is the photochromic spiropyran (SP)-merocyanine (MC) conversion:
This effort combines the expertise of organic and polymer chemists (RMC, Queen’s) with current microfabrication and photonic technologies (RMC) to develop the requisite “building blocks” for future technologies that will allow for these systems to be integrated into specific applications.
Current projects include:
- Photo-Switchable Molecular Wires
- Optical Transport Elements for Microfluidics and Nanoparticles
- Photo-Activated Molecular Recognition
For further information on any of these projects, please contact Dr. James Wojtyk : James.Wojtyk@rmc.ca
