Programme „Interactive Spin-State Switching (ISS)” (SPP 2491)
Deadline: 29. Oktober 2024
The Senate of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has announced the establishment of a new Priority Programme entitled “Interactive Spin-State Switching (ISS)” (SPP 2491). The programme is scheduled to run for six years; the present call invites proposals for the first three-year funding period (2025–2028).
Spin-state switching in molecular systems has prospective applications as smart pigment, sensors and in information processing and storage. Furthermore, it is relevant in biological processes and catalysis, where it can alter reactivity pathways. While the switching process itself is of molecular origin, the phenomenon has been mostly studied in bulk or using a top-down approach for the generation of nanostructures. Interactions between adjacent switches are found to be of high importance as they modify the materials’ properties, for instance, leading to cooperative behaviour. While considerable progress has been made in the field, it still lacks an in-depth understanding that would allow us to predict and design systems with desired physical and chemical properties. Similarly, the interaction of molecular spin switches with a matrix or surfaces is insufficiently understood. Recent achievements with microscopy and (ultrafast) electronic spectroscopy and diffraction, combined with the improved theoretical methods to describe such systems, give promise for an in-depth understanding of the switching process and the impact of interactions with the environment in a bottom-up approach. The focus of the Priority Programme “Interactive Spin-State Switching” will be to:
- provide a better understanding of the switching mechanism at the molecular level and of the interactions of the switches with the surroundings or additional functionalities through further development and application of newly emerged ultrafast X-ray methods, spectroscopy, microscopy and theoretical tools;
- develop additional small-scale readouts by exploiting interactions between molecules and with the substrate;
- build up molecular spin switches based on alternative mechanisms, for example, using additional triggers;
- adapting the sensitivity, the energy barrier and the response of the switching in view of device integration, for example, through additional readout options;
- establish unifying concepts between different spin-state switching mechanisms.
The Priority Programme SPP 2491 aims to start at the single molecule level to understand the interaction of switching units with the surrounding and/or with additional properties. The combined efforts of synthesis, sophisticated spectroscopic and high-resolved imaging methods, and quantum chemistry are needed to develop and refine new fundamental concepts regarding the microscopic switching mechanisms.
