Project description
Project W07 investigates fluorescent organic molecules encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride as optically readable spin qubits and near-field probes. Building on controlled molecular encapsulation, modelling of molecule-substrate interactions, and scanning probe platforms, the project aims to enable optical spin polarisation and readout of single molecules. In the continuation, encapsulated emitters will be developed into scanning probes for optical near-field microscopy, targeting spin-sensitive sensing and atomic-scale spatial resolution.

Prof. Oliver Kühn
Phone: +49 (0)381 498 6950
oliver.kuehnuni-rostockde
Project description

In project W07, we will encapsulate fluorescent molecules into Boron Nitride multilayers, at a sufficiently low density that single molecules can be observed in a diffraction-limited confocal microscope. We will perform low-temperature spectroscopy of the resulting systems, in the spirit of single-molecule experiments in organic matrices. These experiments will be supported by electronic structure theory and molecular dynamics simulations. The single emitters will finally be used as point sources in optical near-field microscopy, aiming to study Förster energy transfer into other systems of the CRC and beyond.
Project leaders
Prof. Friedemann Reinhard
Phone: +49 (0)381 498 6840
Email: friedemann.reinharduni-rostockde
Prof. Oliver Kühn
Phone: +49 (0)381 498 6950
Email: oliver.kuehnuni-rostockde
Publications
- Interlayer Force Field for the Anisotropic Interaction between Planar Organic Molecules and Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Boron Nitride
T. Abdurakhmonov and O. Kühn
J. Chem. Theory Comput. 22(2), 1046–1058 (2026)
- Harnessing the Diamond-Air Interface as an Efficient Photon Antenna for Solid-State Emitters
P. Weinbrenner, A. Lopez Benet, I. Gozel and F. Reinhard
Nano Lett.26(3), 990–996 (2026)
- Growth of Few-Layer Molecular Crystals of PTCDI on Hexagonal Boron Nitride by Microspacing Air-Gap Sublimation
N. le Coutre, T. Abdurakhmonov, P. Weinbrenner, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, T. Korn, F. Fennel, O. Kühn and F. Reinhard
ACS Appl. Opt. Mater. 3(2), 455–462 (2025)
- BSE@GW-based protocol for spin-vibronic quantum dynamics using the linear vibronic coupling model. Formulation and application to an Fe(ii) compound
F. Bogdain, S. Mai, L. González and O. Kühn
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 27, 15609-15621 (2025)
- Performance of the Bethe-Salpeter Equation for Electronic Excitations in First-Row Transition Metal Complexes
F. Bogdain and O. Kühn
J. Chem. Theory Comput. 21(9), 4494–4505 (2025)
- Planar scanning probe microscopy enables vector magnetic field imaging at the nanoscale
P. Weinbrenner, P. Quellmalz, C. Giese, L. Flacke, M. Müller, M. Althammer, S. Geprägs, R. Gross and F. Reinhard
Quantum Sci. Technol. 10, 015037 (2025)
- ChiSCAT: Unsupervised Learning of Recurrent Cellular Micromotion Patterns from a Chaotic Speckle Pattern
A. Trelin, S. Kussauer, P. Weinbrenner, A. Clasen, R. David, C. Rimmbach and F. Reinhard
Nano Lett. 24(40), 12374–12381 (2024)
- Three-dimensional magnetic resonance tomography with sub-10 nanometer resolution
M.T. Amawi, A. Trelin, Y. Huang, P. Weinbrenner, F. Poggiali, J. Leibold, M. Schalk, and F. Reinhard
npj Quantum Inf 10, 16 (2024)
- The OpenMolcas Web: A Community-Driven Approach to Advancing Computational Chemistry
G.L. Manni, I.F. Galván, A. Alavi, F. Aleotti, F. Aquilante, J. Autschbach, D. Avagliano, A. Baiardi, J.J. Bao, S. Battaglia, L. Birnoschi, A. Blanco-González, S.I. Bokarev, R. Broer, R. Cacciari, P.B. Calio, R.K. Carlson, R.C. Couto, L. Cerdán, L.F. Chibotaru, N.F. Chilton, J.R. Church, I. Conti, S. Coriani, J. Cuéllar-Zuquin, R.E. Daoud, N. Dattani, P. Decleva, C. de Graaf, M.G. Delcey, L. De Vico, W. Dobrautz, S.J.S. Dong, R.L. Feng, N. Ferré, M. Filatov, L. Gagliardi, M. Garavelli, L. González, Y.F. Guan, M.Y. Guo, M.R. Hennefarth, M.R. Hermes, C.E. Hoyer, M. Huix-Rotllant, V.K. Jaiswal, A. Kaiser, D.S. Kaliakin, M. Khamesian, D.S. King, V. Kochetov, M. Krosnicki, A.A. Kumaar, E.D. Larsson, S. Lehtola, M.B. Lepetit, H. Lischka, P.L. Ríos, M. Lundberg, D.X. Ma, S. Mai, P. Marquetand, I.C.D. Merritt, F. Montorsi, M. Mörchen, A. Nenov, V.H.A. Nguyen, Y. Nishimoto, M.S. Oakley, M. Olivucci, M. Oppel, D. Padula, R. Pandharkar, Q.M. Phung, F. Plasser, G. Raggi, E. Rebolini, M. Reiher, I. Rivalta, D. Roca-Sanjuán, T. Romig, A.A. Safari, A. Sánchez-Mansilla, A.M. Sand, I. Schapiro, T.R. Scott, J. Segarra-Martí, F. Segatta, D.C. Sergentu, P. Sharma, R. Shepard, Y.N. Shu, J.K. Staab, T.P. Straatsma, L.K. Sorensen, B.N.C. Tenorio, D.G. Truhlar, L. Ungur, M. Vacher, V. Veryazov, T.A. Voss, O. Weser, D.H. Wu, X.C. Yang, D. Yarkony, C. Zhou, J.P. Zobel and R. Lindh
J. Chem. Theory Comput. 19(20), 6933–6991 (2023)
- Calibrating single-qubit gates by a two-dimensional Rabi oscillation
Y. Huang, M. Amawi, F. Poggiali, F.Z. Shi, J.F. Du and F. Reinhard
AIP Advances 13(3), 035226, (2023)


