This is award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professors James Demas at the University of Virginia and Benjamin DeGraff at James Madison University to continue an integrated program of metal complex and polymer synthesis coupled with fluorescence microscopy, dynamic polarization, time resolved emission spectroscopy to probe the fundamental photochemical properties of Ru(II), Os(II), Re(I), and Ir(III) complexes with diimine ligands. The research aims toward an in-depth fundamental understanding of the detailed interaction of these complexes in solution and in polymers with regard to the rational design of new types of luminescent sensor systems or systems with enhanced sensivity and stability. Sensor systems for oxygen, pH, carbon dioxide sensors, and metal ions will be studied.
This research is designed to enable the development of new and enhanced sensors for a wide range of technological areas including industrial, biomedical, and environmental monitoring. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in the fundamentals of luminescence and in applying these techniques to an important range of problems amenable to spectroscopic analysis.
