Faculty News
Biwu Ma, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering
‘Butterfly’ molecule could build sensors, photoenergy devices
By Kathleen Haughney
Exciting new work by a Florida State University research
team has led to a novel molecular system that can take
your temperature, emit white light, and convert photon
energy directly to mechanical motions.
And, the molecule looks like a butterfly.
Biwu Ma, associate professor in the Department of
Chemical & Biomedical Engineering in the FAMU-FSU
College of Engineering, created the molecule in a lab
about a decade ago, but has continued to discover that
his creation has many other unique capabilities.
“It is so wonderful to be able
to make things really happen
with my new team here in
Tallahassee.”
For example, the molecular butterfly can flap its “wings”
and emit both blue and red light simultaneously in certain
environments. This dual emission means it can create
white light from a single molecule, something that usually
takes several luminescent molecules to achieve.
And, it is extremely sensitive to temperature, which makes
it a thermometer, registering temperature change by
emission color.
“This work is about basic, fundamental science, but also
about how we can use these unique findings in our
everyday lives,” Ma said.
Among other things, Ma and his team are looking at
creating noninvasive thermometers that can take better
temperature readings on infants, and nanothermometers
for intracellular temperature mapping in biological
systems. They are also trying to create molecular machines
that are operated simply by sunlight.
“These new molecules have shown very interesting
properties with a variety