Research Projects

Optoelectronic technology has expanded the potential for developing highly efficient organic fluorescent materials with diverse emissive properties in the solid state. Polymorphs and multicomponent crystals of these materials can modulate photoluminescence properties due to alterations in the crystal structure. Noncovalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonds and halogen bonds, play a crucial role in modifying the crystal structure, allowing for the design of functional solids with desired properties. Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore analogues (GFPC) are widely used in molecular biology and biotechnology as genetically encoded fluorescent tags. However, their fluorescence emission is weakly emissive in solution due to free rotation across single and double bonds due to internal E/Z isomerization. The fluorescence efficiency of these modified GFPCs is sensitive to the surrounding environment, and the supramolecular effect in crystals restricts E/Z isomerization, enhancing fluorescence emission. The proposal aims to synthesize various analogues of FPC and develop their polymorphs and multicomponent crystals for tuning their photoluminescence. These novel solids will be utilized for optoelectronic applications, including waveguides. The crystal engineering strategy will be employed to broaden the scope of these materials for a wide range of fluorescence emissions. Extensive structural investigation will be conducted using X-ray diffraction, time-resolved absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques. The novel FPC materials will also be screened for optoelectronic applications, and the structure-property correlation of these novel fluorescent organic materials will be attempted to develop a new design strategy for highly efficient organic photochromic materials.