My research is in the area of synthetic organic chemistry. About half of my group works on projects related to photonics: We are making synthetic retinal derivatives, this work aims to determine what molecular prerequisites are essential for the fast and selective photoisomerizations seen in rhodopsin (responsible for vision in vertebrates) and bacteriorhodopsin (which is a photosynthetic apparatus). We are also involved in making new rylene based dyes, and in building ‘functional nano-devices’ based on chiral, photoisomerizable monomers. When these monomers are polymerized they form light sensitive materials with a variety of potential applications.
For further information, please see my research pages or send me an email.