This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Prof. Claudio Verani at Wayne State University to study redox-driven switching in transition-metal coordination complexes and molecular organization on surfaces. The work is aimed at moving coordination chemistry closer to device fabrication in molecular electronics by addressing a gap between solution-based switching and the inclusion of amphiphilic and self assembling properties in such molecules to allow for surface deposition. New approaches for ground-state switching will be explored by investigating radical formation and stabilization in square pyramidal and trigonal bipyramidal complexes. The choice of systems is inspired by the reversibility and stability observed in five-coordinate centers involved in radical-based mechanisms in enzymes. This approach includes the design of electroactive ligands, complex formation, the study of redox, magnetic, and spectroscopic properties of five-coordinate trivalent ions such as iron, among others. The influence of aromatic groups and the formation of multimetal/multiradical arrays will be assessed, and fundamental information will be obtained regarding the mechanisms of radical stabilization/cycling and weak coupling in unusual environments. New synthetic methodologies will be pursued for surface deposition based on modular monolayers obtained via Langmuir-Blodgett or self-assembled film formation.
The impact of this proposal lies in incorporating amphiphilic and self-assembling properties in a new class of redox-based switching molecules in order to integrate metal complexes into molecular electronics. The educational component strives to enhance the exposure of middle- and high school students from underrepresented demographic groups in the sciences, and addresses the training of science teachers from the Detroit Public School system by means of seminars at public schools and hands-on work in the PI's lab. African-American and Latino students will be attracted to the sciences and science-related careers, and the training of science teachers will enable these instructors to become instruments of change for a wider range of students.
