The Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms B Program supports Professor Miguel A. Garcia-Garibay of the University of California, Los Angeles to develop robust reactivity models for reactions in the solid state using single crystal X-ray diffraction, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, and chemical kinetics by laser flash photolysis. A large number of chemical processes occur with light, and in the absence of external reagents, chemical bonds can be broken and new bonds can be made under the rigid constraints of solid state environments. Such reactions display levels of chemical control that compete with those observed for reactions catalyzed by enzymes. Recent developments by Professor Garcia-Garibay's group have shown that crystals with sizes in the ca. 200 nm scale are ideal for the novel implementation of analytical and engineering applications. This project also investigates quantum chain reactions in crystals, characterized by the formation of more than one product per photon absorbed, with signal amplification values as high as one million.
This project makes a key contribution to green chemistry and sustainability by demonstrating that reactions in crystals can be scaled up to multi-kilogram scales using nanocrystals samples suspended in water. Reactions in solids are important in a variety of circumstances. They include the undesirable decomposition of solid pharmaceuticals and consumer products, the degradation and aging of structural solids, and the fatigue of solid state devices. However, the broadest scientific and technological impact of this proposal is to help develop the intellectual and human infrastructure needed to understand reactions in solids at a level now common for the gas phase and in solution. The investigator has been successful attracting women and minority students to his research group by maintaining a highly supportive and creative environment that fosters careers in materials science and in science education. The PI has established several collaborations with faculty at Trade Technical College, which has a very large Hispanic and African American population in downtown Los Angeles, and which will encourage their students to pursue careers in chemistry and materials science.
