Professor Kwang-un Jeong’s research team (Department of Polymer -Nano Science &Technology, College of Engineering; Department of Nano Convergence Engineering, Graduate School) has developed a functional luminescent material whose optical properties can be tuned in response to temperature and polarization direction by a simple coating method.

This research was selected as the cover article of the leading international journal in materials chemistry, Advanced Functional Materials (IF = 18.808, top 4.34%), on January 19, 2022.

The research team used liquid-crystalline supramolecules containing a terpyridine–platinum linkage to develop a functional optical material that exhibits excellent luminescent properties and whose emissive state can be precisely controlled in response to temperature and polarization. They also established a foundational technology to fabricate thin-film devices using a simple coating method.

Using the developed material, the team demonstrated potential applications in various fields, including optical decryption security filters. The study was conducted through collaborative research with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (United States), Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), and the Jeonbuk branch of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

Dong-gyu Kang, a Ph.D. student who led the study, conducted the research with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea’s Global Ph.D. Fellowship (2018–2020). To date, he has published ten papers as first author and has received six outstanding paper presentation awards at domestic and international conferences.

Dong-gyu Kang stated, “The thin-film form of luminescent material that can be produced via a simple coating process is an essential material with high utility and demand in future-oriented optical device industries. As shown in the paper, it can be applied to a variety of devices for controlling optical properties, including optical decryption security filters, and is therefore expected to be widely used across industries.”

Meanwhile, this research was carried out with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea (Basic Research Laboratory Support Program, Mid‑career Researcher Support Program, Materials Convergence Innovation Technology Development Program), the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (US AFRL), and the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program.