Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) with Cr3+ ions could be very useful in luminescence thermometry, especially in self-calibrating temperature sensing in a wide temperature range (10-400 K). The upcoming presentation will delve into the structural and optical characteristics of formate hybrid perovskites that incorporate Cr3+ ions. The primary focus will be on examining how the organic cation A+ affects the luminescent properties and temperature sensing capabilities of [A]B(HCOO)3:Cr3+ compounds. Additionally, the presentation will showcase the impact of substituting metal B on the structure, bond lengths, distortions of CrO6 octahedra, crystal field strength surrounding Cr3+ ions, and subsequently, the luminescence properties and temperature detection.

Conducting polymer nanoantennas enable active control of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale and are emerging as a new class of materials for dynamic plasmonics. While metal plasmonics is limited to static function due to fixed permittivity, we demonstrated for the first time that conducting polymer nanostructures can provide tunable plasmonic responses in the near infrared and infrared spectral ranges. Conducting polymer nanodisks of PEDOT:sulf could be modulated by chemical redox reactions[1] as well as by electrical tuning using a convenient ion gel device structure[2]. Furthermore, we showed that semiconducting polymer nanodisks made from PBTTT could provide reversible metal-to-dielectric transition by chemical doping/dedoping and thermal annealing[3]. I will present these studies and discuss our recent further developments within this new research direction of dynamic polymer nanooptics. The emergence of tunable polymer nanoantennas for dynamic plasmonics can be greatly expected for applications in advanced integrated optics, like dynamic holography and virtual reality.

Two-dimensional (2D) Transition Metal Dichalcogenide semiconductors (TMDs) are a promising platform in view of developing a novel generation of optoelectronics devices and renewable photon to energy conversion technologies. However new ultra-compact photon harvesting schemes are required to mitigate their poor photon absorption properties. In this work we propose a novel flat-optic solution where a few layers MoS2 film is conformally deposited on a large area (cm2) nanogrooved template. The subwavelength reshaping of the TMDs film induces the excitation of photonic Rayleigh Anomalies (RA). The latter promote a strong in-plane electromagnetic confinement and can be easily tuned over a broadband spectrum by tailoring the illumination conditions. As a demonstration of the potential of this large-area surface functionalization we employed the hybrid 2D nanopatterns as a photocatalyst in a prototype photobleaching reaction of Methylene Blue (MB) molecules. We demonstrate a strong enhancement of the photochemical MB degradation, well above a factor 2, by effectively tuning the RA mode in resonance to the molecular absorption band. Therefore, these findings pave the way to flat-optics photon harvesting schemes for boosting photoconversion efficiency in large-scale hybrid 2D-TMD/polymer layers, with a strong impact in applications ranging from waste-water remediation to new-generation photonics and renewable energy storage.

Fiber-based sensors have become a promising platform for the development of remote sensing solutions, allowing in-situ and faster responses. These devices are continuously evolving and new methods of improving their performance are constantly being developed, such as the use of chemosensor agent to generate or enhance the signal to be detected. In this sense, lanthanide metal-organic framework (Ln-MOFs) has shown great potential for sensing several analytes, such as gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This work aims to develop sensors based on optical fibers coated with luminescent Ln-MOFs for remote sensing. Oxide glasses were used as a substrate for the in-situ growth of Ln-MOFs synthesized from EuCl3 and carboxylate ligands, specifically trimesic (1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic) and pyromellitic (1,2,4,5-benzene tetracarboxylic) acids. The Ln-MOFs were deposited on glass bulks and optical fibers and had its structural and photoluminescent properties investigated. The composites were exposed to different organic analytes and photoluminescence measurements revealed a luminescence quenching in the presence of acetone. Thus, such composites seem promising for VOCs sensors, and remote sensing tests can be performed using optical fibers.

Mid-Infrared methane (CH4) spectroscopy results were obtained in band III beyond 7 µm. To achieve this, the generation of supercontinuum covering the spectral range between 5 and 12 µm was realized by using purified chalcogenide optical fibers free of highly toxic elements such as arsenic and antimony. Besides a pumping with an optical parametric amplifier, an all fibered pumping scheme has also been investigated. In both configuration, supercontinuum absorption spectroscopy experiments have allowed for CH4 sensing, concentration as low as 14 ppm has been detected.