Staff Members; Hugh J. Byrne, Gordon Chambers, Elizabeth Gregan

• Structure property relationships in organic molecules and polymers for photonics applications.

The group has long been engaged in the exploration of the optical properties of molecular and polymeric materials for potential applications in optoelectronics. The guiding principles are the development of an understanding of the fundamental processes in these materials through the study of simple molecular and oligomeric structures.  Structure property relationships so developed can be applied as synthetic design principles to more complex systems. Particular targets presently include an understanding of non radiative processes in PPV based compounds. Synthesis is carried out in collaboration with the Materials Synthesis and Analysis group of Focas.

Postgraduate Student: Luke O’Neill (Supervisor: Hugh Byrne)

Postgraduate Student: Patrick Lynch (Supervisor: Hugh Byrne jointly with Mary McNamara, Materials Synthesis and Applications)

• Electronic and optical properties of fullerenes

Discovered in 1985, fullerenes were hailed as the third allotrope of carbon and purported to have potential applications in many fields. Notably, it was shown that solid state fullerenes can be chemically doped to become metallic and superconducting. The POMM group have further demonstrated that insulator to metal transitions can be reversibly induced by high intensity illumination and electron injection. Continuing research is aimed at further understanding of these processes and demonstrating potential device applications.

Postgraduate Student: Naomi Brant (Supervisor: Hugh Byrne, Gordon Chambers)

Postgraduate Student: Jonathan Moghal (Supervisor: Gordon Chambers, Hugh Byrne)

Postgraduate Student: Garrett Farrell (part-time, Supervisor: Hugh Byrne,Gordon Chambers)

• Purification, processing and characterisation of Carbon Nanotubes and their composites

Hot on the heels of the discovery of fullerenes, was the discovery in 1991 of Carbon Nanotubes. Potential applications in nanoelectronics and broadly in materials science have been proposed, but verification of their properties has been hindered by their lack of processability. Research efforts in this field are aimed at improved processing techniques, fundamental studies of the material properties, and development of composite materials including an exploration of bio-composite materials.

Postgraduate Student: Sinead Keogh (Supervisor: Hugh Byrne)

Postgraduate Student: Alan Casey (Supervisor: Gordon Chambers, Hugh Byrne)

Postgraduate Student: Theresa Hedderman (part-time, Supervisor: Hugh Byrne, Gordon Chambers)

Postgraduate Student: Elizabeth Gregan (part-time, Supervisor: Hugh Byrne)

• Biomedical Applications of Spectroscopy

Studies of synthetic molecular materials lead naturally to parallel studies of biological materials and to potential biomedical applications of spectroscopy. In collaboration with the Radiation and Environmental Science Centre, the group has been investigating the potential of vibrational spectroscopy for the early diagnosis of cancer. The programme involves the fingerprinting of constituent component molecules using IR and Raman spectroscopy, tracking these fingerprints in more complex macromolecules, cells and ultimately tissue. Targets are a demonstration of the potential of spectroscopic techniques for diagnosis, but also a further understanding of the underlying processes on a molecular level.

Postgraduate Student: Eoghan O Faolain (Supervisor: Hugh Byrne jointly with Fiona Lyng, RESC)

Postgraduate Student: Aidan Meade (Supervisor: Hugh Byrne jointly with Fiona Lyng, RESC)

• Nanotoxicology

The ever increasing range of materials produced on the nanometer scale naturally raises questions of their interaction with biological systems on a cellular level. While compatibility of nanoparticles with biological systems is of importance for drug delivery, toxicity as a result of scale is an unknown field. This work aims to investigate the interaction of nanoparticles with human cell lines, to investigate both compatibility and toxicity, as well as their potential influence on cell signalling. The carbon based nanoparticles “single walled nanotubes” and “fullerenes” are explored because of their potential in the fields of drug delivery, nano-interconnects, sensors and reinforcement agents.

Postgraduate Student: TBA (Supervisor: Hugh Byrne jointly with Maria Davoren, RESC)