In plain words
Most dye molecules are long and flat, like a strip of paper. What happens if you bend that strip into a closed ring? Its electrons can now circulate all the way around, and the molecule’s colour, glow and ability to carry charge all change — sometimes dramatically.
We make these nanohoops and macrocycles, and compare them with their straight “open” versions to understand what the ring shape adds.
The science
- Synthesis of π-conjugated donor–acceptor macrocycles and nanohoops.
- Structure–property studies comparing cyclic and linear analogues — photophysics, supramolecular packing and charge transfer.
- Ambipolar macrocycles (e.g. spiro-xanthene / carbazole) that carry both holes and electrons.
- Effects of connectivity and dual bridging on electronic structure.
What we’re working on now
“Cyclization matters” — a 2026 study of a donor–acceptor macrocycle versus its linear analogue — and work on connectivity and dual bridging in nanohoops.