Research Funding

Fondo Italiano per la Scienza,  Principal Investigator

The SPIROχ project combines spin management in organic devices with direct detection and control of CISS to advance organic optoelectronics. It will establish a state-of-the-art laboratory where spin/photophysics is integrated with chiral device development. SPIROχ will pioneer chiral photophysics to uncover how chirality affects organic photovoltaic (OPV) performance and lifetimes. The project will start with model systems to optimize spin interactions in organic thin films, then apply this knowledge to fully working devices. Finally, SPIROχ will ultimately explore multifunctional devices capable of generating spin currents in purely organic layers. 

European Research Council,  Principal Investigator

The LIGHT-QIS project aims to advance molecular qubits for practical quantum technologies. It will leverage light to control spin interactions, enabling qubit initialization at liquid nitrogen temperatures and above, and the creation of light-switchable quantum gates. Optically initialized qubits will be integrated into thin-film organic devices, where spin-to-charge conversion will be detected electrically. By focusing on lab-scale devices, LIGHT-QIS will demonstrate how ensembles of qubits can be initialized, manipulated, and read out, paving the way for quantum technologies beyond low-temperature, resource-intensive setups. 

Proj. Title: Photodriven spin selectivity in chiral organic molecules and devices (PHOTOCODE)

The PHOTOCODE project aims to extend the concept of the CISS effect to organic photovoltaics. Its scientific goal is to probe photoexcited spin interactions in novel chiral donor–bridge–acceptor organic dyads by combining optical and spin-sensitive techniques. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates advanced photophysical characterization, molecular engineering, and quantum mechanical calculations, PHOTOCODE seeks to unravel how chirality influences the electron transfer process and its spin selectivity.