In this project funded by the Chemical Synthesis program (SYN) of NSF's Division of Chemistry, Professor David A. Shultz of the North Carolina State University and his students are investigating donor-acceptor interactions that are ubiquitous in both nature and in molecular electronics. Research in this area includes a wealth of effort aimed at developing an understanding of how molecular bridge (B) fragments facilitate electron transfer between donors (D) and acceptors (A), especially over long distances. This project will show how the electron spin exchange coupling in semiquinone-nitronylnitroxide (SQ-B-NN) D-B-A biradical ligands can be used to reveal key structure-property relationships concerning the electronic coupling matrix element, H_DA. Elucidating these fundamental structure-property relationships can lead to significant advances in our understanding of electron transfer/transport in molecule-based devices as well as suggest novel molecular architectures for such devices.
The proposed research aims to prepare and characterize molecules designed to clarify and to advance our understanding of how electrons are transferred from one part of a molecule to another. Electron transfer is ubiquitous in both nature (e.g., photosynthesis) and in the marketplace (electronic devices). The results will advance our understanding of intramolecular interactions that control electron transfer and may revolutionize the design of molecules for electronics. This research area provides excellent training for students in the areas of molecular design, synthesis, spectroscopy and theory. In addition, the PI will support students from a local HBCU for summer research.
