Organic–Inorganic Hybrids for Light-Emitting Devices and Integrated Optics

Abstract

This work provides an overview of the latest advances in organic–inorganic hybrid materials with applications in light-emitting devices and integrated optics. The organization of the chapter intends to help the reader to gain a clear insight into the topic, from the description of the material’s synthesis to the photoluminescence results that emphasize the potential technological applications of these photonic mate- rials for light-emitting purposes, integrated optics and non-linear optical effects. In Sect. 12.2 conventional synthetic procedures that have been extensively used during the last decades to generate photoluminescent stable and efficient siloxane-based class I and class II disordered hybrids are described. The relevance of the sol–gel method in this context is highlighted. This section also covers recent and exciting progress in the emerging domain of hierarchically structured photonic hybrid materials prepared through the combination of sol–gel and self-assembly strategies. Reference is made to the assembly of nanobuilding blocks (NBBs) and to the few ordered materials that have been produced on the basis of the ordered hybrid approach. In Sect. 12.3 several amorphous and highly-organized hybrid structures, lacking metal activator centres (Sect. 12.3.1 ) and incorporating optically-active centres (Sect. 12.3.2 ), are discussed. Emphasis is laid on their absorption and photolumi- nescent features and on the quantification of the colour emission and absolute external quantum yield. Due to their relevance to optical applications, particular attention is given to amine-functionalized cross-linked sol–gel derived hybrids in the non-doped and doped states which exhibit external photoluminescence quantum yields as high as 35 and 50%, respectively. This review ends with Sect. 12.4 in which the requirements for developing integrated and non-linear optical devices based on hybrid materials are addressed. L.D.