Research and Strategy of Chemistry Laboratory
The Laboratory of Chemistry was established in 1994 as the Department of Chemistry simultaneously with the appointment of the first professor of Chemistry at TUT (prof. Helge Lemmetyinen). In 2008 the Departments of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology were combined to the Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering.
The Laboratory of Chemistry has two research groups and two focuses:
- Supramolecular photochemistry (SPC-group , since 1994 led by Prof. Helge Lemmetyinen)
- Synthetic organic chemistry (Synthesis-group , since 2002 led by Prof. Robert Franzén).
Photochemistry is also part of the Nanophotonic Consortium in TUT, one of the three Leading-Edge Fields of Research of the University. The research strategy of the SPC-group)is based on the following assertion, which was presented in the Introduction of an approved application, entitled "Organic Thin Films with Functional Activity" for the National Programme on Materials and Structure Research of the Academy of Finland 1994:
“The branch of chemistry, which focuses on complex structures of association of several moieties and on the novel chemical properties resulting from this higher complexity is called supramolecular chemistry. Present day’s supramolecular chemistry has two “souls”, one is based upon synthesis of complex organic structures by synthetic chemistry, and one in which the structural complexity is achieved by self-assembling and self-organization of smaller units without the help of covalent bonds. This kind of molecular thinking - often referred to as chemical engineering or nanochemistry - is the basis for the design of molecular devices, namely structures which perform a very specific function. A photon is at the same time a quantum of energy and a bit of information. The interaction of light with matter can therefore be used for energy or information purpose. The results that can be obtained depend on the degree of organization of the receiving matter.”
Statistics and lists of publications