A molecular light switch?... Just add water
Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - 12:07
in Physics & Chemistry
A bit of stray moisture during an experiment tipped off scientists about the strange behavior of a complex oxide material they were studying—shedding light on its potential for improving chemical sensors, computing and information storage. In the presence of a water molecule on its surface, the layered material emits ultraviolet light from its interior. A team of researchers from Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California at Berkeley, and Temple University recently published its discovery that it is possible to control UV light production via a chemical reaction that functions like flipping a light switch.