The COMPASS project significantly enlarged the nanocrystal material platform and the related applications. From the material side, the synthesis of the more traditional dichalcogenide nanocrystals was significantly advanced by, for example, developing a library of selenourea precursors for their synthesis, and by the demonstration of upscaled fabrication through robotized processes. Surface functionalization and self-assembly of the particles lead to films with improved properties, such as in the upconversion of the emitted light, in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solar concentrators, and in biomedical applications. Water-soluble and bio-compatible polymer beads have been developed that can be used as carriers for light emitting, plasmonic, and magnetic nanoparticles, which enabled to combine different functionalities, such as tracking, guiding, and treatment (via hyperthermia) into single object.
COMPASS also contributed strongly to the advancement of colloidal metal-halide perovskite nanocrystals which emerged only recently as a promising material. Here the COMPASS team demonstrated several synthesis protocols and methods for increasing their stability in different environments, including ion-exchange methods, the use of different amines as ligands, 0D to 3D transition mechanisms, two-dimensional layered perovskites, and lead-free double perovskite structures. Applications of these materials in LEDs and lasing structures, solar cells, photodetectors, and in catalysis could be demonstrated as a proof of concept. The photophysics of these materials was studied in great depth, and the gained knowledge led to the design of novel photonic and plasmonic systems that could be employed to boost their performance in optical applications.
So far, the COMPASS project resulted in 58 high impact publications and several patent applications.
