Question: What was the glow in the light experiment about? What was involved?

Sinead Balgobin answered on 8 Nov 2015:

The glow in the light experiment was very unexpected! I had been trying to make a molecule in different ways for nearly a year, using different reagents. I decided to use a catalyst (something to help the reaction go faster) that contained rhodium (very expensive, my boss wasn’t a big fan).

The molecule I wanted to make is what is called a polyaromatic heterocycle. This is a molecule that has carbon and nitrogen atoms bonded together to make lots of “wheels” stuck together. The electrons in these molecules can move about relatively easily, which is something I didn’t really think about affecting what the molecule would look like when I made it.

I didn’t really think I HAD made it at first- I didn’t believe I was supposed to be making something that would glow that brightly! But I proved that it was the right thing. Turns out, all those electrons moving about can use light energy to emit their own light energy, in the form of a bright yellow glow, like a glowstick!

I had thought that my molecules and the reaction I was creating would be useful for medicinal molecules, but the unique properties of the glow in the light molecule means it could be used for other things, like OLEDs which are used to make really thin screens for TVs, phones and tablets.

It was very exciting 😀