Welcome to The Hedley Single Molecule Lab

Based in the School of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, The Hedley Single Molecule Lab uses cutting-edge microscopy to study the nanoscale photophysics of organic semiconductors, primarily at the single molecule/single polymer chain level. These materials are widely used in organic solar cells and light emitting diodes, and our work helps to grasp why materials do or do not work, and how efficiencies can be enhanced.

Our interests lie primarily in measuring and understanding how organic semiconductor molecules interact with each other and their environment. We do this by using confocal fluorescence microscopy to measure an individual molecule's properties, and compare this to situations where we have 2, 3 or many molecules stuck together. We can therefore understand interactions between molecules, and understand how the transition from single molecule-like properties to the normally observed bulk properties occurs.