
Exploitation of Solar Energy
The group aims at developing new solutions to the exploitation of solar energy, which is by far the Earth's most abundant energy resource.
The group's activities focus on both the development of new light-harvesting photovoltaic devices and of new organic materials for efficient storage of energy. In addition, elucidation of fundamental aspects of light-harvesting and how to tune absorption maxima, interactions between chromophores, fluorescence properties, vibrational relaxation, and electron transfer processes as well as designing proof-of-concept systems are core areas of the group.
The group integrates theory, spectroscopy and organic synthesis and is headed by three researchers.
This was a former research center. The people below were the acquainted with the center.
Staff
Professor
Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen
Post doc's
Dr. Christian Richard Parker
Dr. Martyn Jevric
Dr. Mikkel Andreas Christensen
Dr. Søren Lindbæk Broman
PhD students
Henriette Schjøtt Lissau
Alex Vlasceanu
Anne Ugleholdt Petersen
Jonas Udmark
Johannes Fabritius Pedersen
Master Students
Kasper Fjelbye (with Lundbeck a/s)
Huixing Jiang
Kirstine Sonne
Frederik Præstholm Jørgensen
Mads Mansø
Martin Drøhse Kilde
Bachelor students
Trine Nørgaard Christensen
Lasse Johansen
Maria Fritz Berentzen
Joakim Holck Andersen
Anders Bo Skov
Guest Scientists
Dr. Martina Carcciarini (University of Florence)
- Photochromic and Light-harvesting Molecules
- Redox-active Molecules
- Donor-Acceptor Molecules (charge-transfer systems)
- Molecular Wires and Switches
- π-Conjugated Oligomers and Macrocycles
Photochromic and Light-harvesting Molecules - "Solar Heat Batteries"
One goal is to develop photochromic molecules that can harvest sunlight, store the energy in chemical bonds via photo-isomerization reactions, and release the energy again when needed. In particular, we work on tuning the properties of the dihydroazulene (DHA) / vinylheptafulvene (VHF) photo/thermoswitch. DHA undergoes a light-induced ring-opening reaction to generate VHF, which in time returns to DHA. By suitable functionalization, we aim at controlling both the amount of energy stored in the meta-stable VHF isomer and the rate of the VHF to DHA back-reaction. For example, both the ring-opening and ring-closure reactions are stongly influenced by electron-donating or withdrawing substituents placed in either the five- og seven-memberede ring of DHA.
We have particular focus on using metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, such as the Suzuki coupling, for functionalizing the DHA core. By a bromination / elimination / cross-coupling protocol, an acryl substituent is readily incorporated regioselectively in the seven-membered ring of DHA:
In a related project, we are developing photoresponsive liquid crystals based on the DHA/CHF system - click for more information
This was a former research center. The people below were the acquainted with the center.
Staff
Professor
Kurt Mikkelsen
Post docs
Jonas Elm, elm@chem.ku.dk
PhD students
Stine T. Olsen, stine.olsen@chem.ku.dk
Master Students
Mia H. Hansen
Aske Gejl
Freja Eilsø Storm
This was a former research center. The people below were the acquainted with the center.
Staff
Professor
Henrik Kjærgaard
Post docs
Lin Du, lindu@chem.ku.dk
Nicolai Christian Bork, bork@chem.ku.dk
PhD Students
Sidsel Dahl Schrøder, sidsel@chem.ku.dk
Kasper Mackeprang, mackeprang@chem.ku.dk
Anne Schou Hansen, anne.schou@chem.ku.dk
Master Students
Zeina Maroun
Jens Heide Wallberg
- "Arylethynyl Derivatives of the Dihydroazulene / Vinylheptafulvene Photo / Thermoswitch - Tuning the Switching Event", J.Am.Chem.Soc. 2010, 132,9265-9174.
- "Gaining control. Direct Suzuki Arylation of Dihydroazulenes and Tuning of Photo/Thermochromism", Eur.J.Org.Chem. 2011,1033-1039.
- "Dihydroazulene Photoswitch operating in Sequential Tunneling Regime: Synthesis and Single-Molecule Junction Studies", Adv.Funct.Mater. 2012,224249-4258.
- "Ultrathin Reduced Graphene Oxide Films as Transparante Top-Contacts for Light Switchable Solid-State Molecular Junctions", Adv.Mater. 2013,25,4264-4170.
- "Palladium-mediated Strategies for Functionalizing the dihydroazulene Photoswitch: Paving the Way for its Exploitation in Molecular Electronics", J.Org.Chem. 2013,78,4348-4356.
- "Linear Free-energy Correlations for the Vinylheptafulvene Ring Closure: a Probe for Hammett values", Chem.Eur.J. 2013,19,9542-9548.
- "Syntheses of Donor-Acceptor Functionalized Dihydroazulenes", J.Org.Chem. 2014,79,41-64.
- "CuAAC and RuAAC with Alkyne-functionalissed Dihydroazulene Photoswitches and Determination of Hammett -Constants for Triazoles", Aust.J.Chem. 2014,67,531-534.
- "Synthetic protocols for the key functionlizations of the photochromic dihydroazylene scaffold", Arkivoc 2014,i, 249-263.
Contact
Mogens Brøndsted Nielsen
Head of Organic Synthesis, Professor
Office: B506
Phone: +45 5170 0144
E-mail: mbn@chem.ku.dk
Kurt Mikkelsen
Head of Theory, Professor
Office: C315A
Phone: +45 5137 4211
E-mail: kmi@chem.ku.dk
Henrik Kjærgaard
Head of Spectrocopy, Professor
Office: C418
Phone: +45 3532 0334
E-mail: hgk@chem.ku.dk