Uttam Manna
Illinois State University, IL·Physics
Light usually interacts with molecules through "bright" pathways that are easy to see and measure. Molecules also have much weaker, hidden "dark" transitions that light rarely triggers.
- Fields
Physics
Chemistry
Materials Science
- Topics
dark transitions
magnetic dipole transitions
spin-forbidden transitions
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2028
What they work on
- Excite the normally dark transition from the ground singlet state to the excited triplet state in ruthenium complexes, using the enhanced magnetic field of high refractive index dielectric nanoparticles and metasurfaces.
- Measure the emission spectra and excited-state lifetimes of direct triplet-to-singlet emission in ruthenium complexes, using photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation, and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy.
- Track oxidation states and charge dynamics in ruthenium complexes after magnetic-dipole excitation, using transient pump–probe X-ray absorption spectroscopy, which follows how a molecule's electrons rearrange over time.
More about the research
These hidden routes matter because they could change how efficiently molecules turn light into useful energy. This project asks whether specially engineered nanostructures can make dark transitions visible and controllable.
Why it matters
Molecules waste much of the energy they absorb through spin-forbidden triplet pathways. If magnetic-field-enhancing nanostructures can drive these pathways directly, this could inform more efficient light-based energy conversion, light-driven chemical reactions, next-generation electronics, and the design of new optical materials.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Claudia Turro
Ohio State University, OH·Chemistry
Determine whether fast population of the metal-centered triplet ligand field (3LF) state is required for light-triggered ligand exchange in Ru(II) complexes, or whether exchange can occur directly from the 3MLCT state, using ultrafast electronic and vibrational spectroscopy.
Lin Chen
Northwestern University, IL·Chemistry
Track how charge carriers and excitons localize and evolve in organic metal halide hybrids on femtosecond timescales using ultrafast optical spectroscopy.
Mihai Vaida
University of Central Florida, FL·Chemistry·Early-career
Track how light-excited charge carriers move at the surface of metal-decorated 2D transition metal dichalcogenide photocatalysts, using pump-probe photoemission spectroscopy with extreme ultraviolet laser pulses at femtosecond resolution.
The school
Illinois State University: 2 labs on PI Pages, $34M a year on research, 48 research doctorates a year.
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