Luminescent silicon nanostructures and COVID-19

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Abstract

This Faraday Discussion volume is unique in the hundred plus year history of the Faraday Discussion series, being produced at a time of unprecedented circumstances worldwide and without the preceding Faraday Discussion conference having taken place.

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The conference, due to take place on 12–14 February 2020 in York, UK, was cancelled at the beginning of February due to health and travel uncertainties created by the news of the emerging COVID-19 virus. At the beginning of 2020 the world first began to hear about the COVID-19 virus, and by early February 2020 we were learning more about the dangers of the virus and what this would mean for a conference such as the Faraday Discussion. In early February, given that the conference was due to take place imminently, it was necessary to take fast and clear action to remove any uncertainty regarding delegates’ travel plans. Cancelling the conference was a very difficult decision, however, the wellbeing, health and safety of the conference delegates were the primary concern, and cancelling the conference was the only realistic decision that could have been made at the time.

Cancelling the conference left us with a big question over the accompanying and subsequent Faraday Discussion volume. The Faraday Discussion papers had already been submitted and published online, but of course, the unique aspect of the published Discussion volume is a record of the questions and comments made at the Discussion conference and which are published alongside the papers. How would we go about recreating this when the Discussion conference did not take place? The answer came quickly – we were very fortunate to receive the good will, support and commitment of the scientific committee, authors and researchers of this community who came forward and submitted questions and comments in writing. The Discussion comments you see in the forthcoming pages are an important record of the questions the community had about the papers and topic in 2020. Uniquely for a Faraday Discussion these questions were asked and collected in writing rather than being asked in person at a conference.

The Discussion volume sections focus on:

• the synthesis and functionalisation of silicon nanocrystals and porous silicon and how the synthetic procedure impacts on the optical and electronic properties of the material;

• the luminescence and electronic properties of silicon nanostructures as a function of dimension, size, crystallinity and their surface chemistry, from both theoretical and experimental perspectives;

• the use of porous silicon and silicon nanocrystals for sensing and bioimaging applications;

• the application of silicon nanostructures for energy conversion devices and photocatalysis.

Another unique aspect of the Discussion conference would have been the presentation of the Spiers Memorial Award and it is appropriate for us to mention this here. Up to two Spiers Awards are made each year, in recognition of an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of a Faraday Discussion. The Award commemorates Frederick S. Spiers, who is best known for his work as Secretary of the Faraday Society, which he helped to found in 1902. The Introductory Lecturer of this Discussion, Professor Leigh Canham, was selected to receive the Spiers Memorial Award for his pioneering work in silicon quantum dots and contributions to practical applications of silicon nanostructures in the electronics, photonics and biomedical fields. Professor Canham is Professor of Nanomaterials for Biomedicine and Photonics at the University of Birmingham, and we congratulate him on his Award.

It remains for us to say that in these very difficult and unprecedented times we are very grateful for the commitment of the scientific committee and the community of researchers who have made such a positive contribution to this Faraday Discussion. We are hopeful that this Discussion volume reflects their time and commitment, and importantly that it will become a valuable record for the scientific community going forward into the future.

Susan Weatherby, Programme Manager, Royal Society of Chemistry

John M. Seddon, Chair, Faraday Standing Committee on Conferences and Imperial College London

Paola Ceroni, Chair, Faraday Discussion Scientific Committee and University of Bologna

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