Molecular Materials: Fundamentals and Emerging Functionality

This first Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Conductivity and Magnetism in Molecular Materials is designed to support the themes of the associated Gordon Research Conference (GRC). The aim of this GRS is to provide a unique forum for exclusively young scientists at the graduate student, postdoctoral (or comparable) level to share new results and address the challenges of designing, understanding and utilizing organic materials in both fundamental and applied research areas.

As a result of their high tunability and typically low energy scales, molecular systems have emerged not only as an ideal playground for the realization of exotic states and phase transitions in the bulk, but also as functional materials, the properties of which can be specifically designed at the local molecular level. Control is exerted through targeted chemical synthesis, as well as the application of pressure, irradiation, or strong external fields. In this way, nearly all energy scales, such as spin-orbit coupling, orbital splitting, and kinetic/potential energy may be directly modified, allowing optimization of e.g. transport properties, magnetic couplings, and optical response. The significant challenges and opportunities in this field stem from its interdisciplinary nature, with advancements often achieved through close collaboration between synthetic, experimental, and theoretical groups. It is for this reason that a secondary focus of the GRS will be to empower the young participants to build such collaborations, as well as outline the diverse topics to be covered later in the GRC in order to make connections between different areas more apparent.

Topics that will be emphasized mirror those of the associated GRC, and include: molecular spin qubits and quantum information; organic and molecular magnets; single-molecule spintronics devices; organic photovoltaics; quantum electronic materials; organic conductors and superconductors; photo-switchable materials; magnetic/conducting hybrid materials; materials in extreme environments and far from equilibrium; and ultrafast light matter interactions.