Participants in the “Light and Matter” course at the International Science Camp enjoyed four days filled with colorful and luminous chemistry. After an introduction to the theory and experiments on organic and inorganic dyes, the 12 participants from six countries were able to give free rein to their thirst for research: they were able to become experts in one of three specialist areas (photocatalysis, luminescence, or molecular switches) and sometimes had to work hard to get more complex experiments up and running. This made the joy and pride all the greater, when the self-built organic light-emitting diode, photovoltaic cell, or dimmable mirror finally worked.
The course was rounded off with a visit to the working groups of Prof. Nadja Simeth-Crespi (the participants were supervised by Dongchen Du and Radek Tovik) and Prof. Manuel Alcarazo (supervised by Christopher Golz) at the Institute of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry at the University of Göttingen. There participants were able to learn how “professionals” use the interaction of light and matter for labeling biomolecules or “X-ray light” for structural elucidation.