Overview 

This project aims to pioneer quantum sensors based on individual spins in luminescent molecules as a new class of nanoscale probes. 

Background & motivation 

By leveraging principles such as superposition and entanglement, quantum sensors enable magnetic and electric fields, strain and temperature to be detected with unprecedented sensitivity and spatial resolution. Among quantum-sensing platforms, optically readable electronic spins in solid-state systems have shown remarkable promise [1], enabling magnetic-resonance at the nanoscale, and opening impactful applications across biomedicine, materials science, and quantum technologies. To date, defect-based spins in crystals such as diamond have powerfully led the way but face key challenges in their tunability (i.e., tailoring for a specific sensing application) and proximal integration (i.e., coupling to targets with nanoscale spatial precision).  

Quantum sensors from optically interfaced molecular spins 

Housing spins in chemically synthesised molecules offers a compelling pathway to overcome these challenges and open unique opportunities for quantum sensing enabled by: 

  • tunability: chemical systems enable atomistic control over spin and optical properties for specific sensing tasks. 
  • nanoscale modularity: molecules’ compact (~1 nm) size opens unprecedented proximity to targets such as biological systems. 
  • versatility: functionalisation and self-assembly open novel routes for deployment. 

Objectives 
Our work has demonstrated key breakthroughs for molecular spin-based quantum sensing, including effective optical-spin interfaces [Science, 370, 1309 (2020)] [2], room-temperature operation [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 120801 (2024)] [3], and chemically enhanced spin readout [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 147, 22911 (2025)] [4]. Building on these demonstrations, this PhD project will push the frontier of molecular quantum sensing through unprecedented single-spin capabilities by: 

  • Demonstrating measurement and control of single molecular spins for quantum sensing. 
  • Exploring how molecular tunability can enhance key quantum-sensing metrics. 
  • Developing unique application use cases leveraging molecular advantages. 

Methodology 

You will experimentally investigate candidate molecules using techniques such as: 

  • optically detected electron spin resonance; 
  • time-correlated single-photon counting; 
  • cryogenic scanning confocal microscopy; 

complementing these with simulations of spin- and -optical dynamics, and analysis of structure-function relationships.  

This multidisciplinary work will develop a broad skillset in quantum technologies—including magnetic-resonance based qubit control, quantum optics, molecular-level engineering, and quantum-mechanical simulations—with the overarching goal of opening unprecedented capabilities for nanoscale quantum sensing through a single-spin molecular platform. 

Additional details 
You’ll join the Quantum Optospintronics Group at the University of Glasgow, working in a collaborative, supportive, and interdisciplinary environment—spanning solid-state physics, quantum engineering, and physical chemistry—and with state-of-the art facilities (e.g., for detecting individual electron/nuclear spins).  We have a broad network of national and international collaborators for you to interface with as well as experience generating related intellectual property (with three patent applications related to optically interfaced molecular spins).